Victorious debut for Poyet on Greece bench

The debut of Uruguayan manager Gustavo Poyet on the Greece bench on Friday came with a 1-0 away win over Romania in a friendly at Bucharest, offering plenty of promise for the future of the national team.

Greece dominated the game over the first hour with its 4-3-3 formation, creating numerous chances and feeling unlucky to score just once in those 60 minutes.

It was a cross by right-back Lazaros Rota that Andreas Bouchalakis met on the 39th minute to head it home at the far corner and give Greece what it thoroughly deserved in the first half.

Giorgos Giakoumakis also had a goal disallowed as offside on the 22nd, while the Romanian fans jeered their own players at half-time.

In the last half-hour though the game changed completely, with the hosts hitting the goal frame and the visitors defending hard, collecting several yellow cards in the process. The Romanians exposed the weak flanks of the Greek defense, but could not manage an equalizer, to receive more jeers upon full time.

Greece is about to play another friendly, at Podgorica against Montenegro on Monday.