Torosidis laments slow start

Vasilis Torosidis said Greece only had themselves to blame for their 2-1 loss to the Czech Republic at Euro 2012 on Tuesday.

Michal Bilek’s men found themselves 2-0 down within a matter of minutes, and although Theofanis Gekas pulled one back early in the second half, the Greeks crashed to a loss that leaves on the brink of elimination.

“I can’t understand why went into the game like this,” the 27-year-old said after the match. “The Czechs created just two opportunities and scored two goals.

“Their second goal was a bit lucky. Then we woke up, but it was too late. It’s our fault. We take responsibility for what happened. It’s very difficult to go two goals down and then try to turn things around.”

Gekas, who rose from the bench to net the consolation strike, urged his team-mates to put the disappointing result behind them and to focus on beating Russia in their final group game.

“We were in a tough place right from the beginning,” Gekas said.

“We tried very hard to reduce the score and we managed it, but we didn’t equalise. That is football.

“All the teams in our group can go through. That match with Russia is a final for Greece. We have to win in order to advance.”

Giorgos Samaras said that he was certain that Greece’s chances of qualification had not been ended by the loss.

“This defeat is not a disaster,” the Celtic striker insisted. “Our start was very bad. We tried more in the second half, but we didn’t make it. We still have hope.

“We continue to believe in qualification as long as we have hope. We have to look forward.”

Greece play Russia in their final group game in Warsaw on Saturday.