After a narrow defeat against world champion Canada, Greece returns to winning ways with at 6:1 victory over Haiti. For its part, Haiti must worry about qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Both teams started the game with much endeavour. Haiti not only successfully stood up to the favourites Greece with their defiant play, they even had the better chances thanks to quick counter-attacks. However, Greece goalkeeper Angelos Ekonomatis prevented worse on several occasions. The opening period ended goalless.
The Greeks proved to be extremely efficient in the middle period. They took the lead after just a few seconds; Arkalis netted with a direct shot in powerplay. The Southern Europeans doubled their lead shortly afterwards, with Haiti goalkeeper Rivest beaten from long range. The longer the game went on, the more the favourites took control of the game. Chimian increased the score to 3:0 in minute 25 and even a time-out by Haiti was unable to change the momentum of the game. Instead, the Greeks increased the score further thanks to Kakivelis and Panetta Tsingelis. The Haitians’ resistance was broken. In the final third, Greece did not allow anything to break through and controlled the game in a composed manner. At least St-Surin managed to score the goal of honour for Haiti with a beautiful high corner shot.
With the success against Haiti, Greece finishes the group stage with three wins from four games. For Haiti, it is becoming increasingly difficult to qualify directly for the quarterfinals. It will play its last qualifying match on Tuesday evening against defending champions Canada.
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