10 September 2007, by Marco Pereira

Late strike denies Portugal

Portugal 2-2 Poland

Portugal succumbed to a 2-2 draw in their Euro 2008 qualifying match against Poland, in a match where the Portuguese deserved better.

A Lewandowski goal just before the interval saw the Poles go into the break with a 1-0 lead. Portugal turned around the scoreline in a vibrant second-half display thanks to goals by Maniche and Cristiano Ronaldo, but a late goal by Poland, this time by Krzynowek, saw the game end with each team getting a share of the spoils.

Portugal suffered a setback in the 13th minute when Marco Caneira picked up an injury and had to be substituted by Miguel. Despite enjoying more possession, Portugal failed to really spark in the first half.

The home side’s first good opportunity on goal came in the 26th minute when Deco threaded the needle with a pass to Nuno Gomes, who beat the offside trap but a firm shot from the Benfica striker brought a good stop out of Boruc with his feet.

Ronaldo rattles bar

One minute later, Cristiano Ronaldo was unlucky not to put Portugal one up as he rattled the Polish crossbar with a cracking free kick that Boruc had no chance of stopping.

In the 34th minute, Poland created their first opportunity of the half when Smolarek beat the Portuguese defence and raced through on goal with only Ricardo to beat. The Polish striker ripped a shot that did not miss the top corner by much.

Despite the scare, it was a surprise when Poland struck to take the lead. Blaszczykowski shot from 20 metres out, Ricardo defended by punching the ball to his left, and Lewandowski, who had followed up on the play, rolled the ball into the net despite making weak contact on the ball from a tight angle.

After the interval, Portugal came out in a fury looking for a quick equaliser. The home side spurned two opportunities as Nuno Gomes failed to get onto the end of the ball twice, while standing in the six-yard box. But persistence paid off for Portugal as the found their leveller in the 49th minute.

Poacher Maniche

Deco supplied another sizzling pass towards Nuno Gomes. A Polish defender tried cutting it off, but did not get enough purchase on his back pass towards Boruc. The Portuguese striker latched onto ball, forcing Boruc to come out and challenge, and the ball broke kindly to Maniche who slotted into the open net to make it 1-1.

One minute later, Maniche, who displayed his best form throughout the 90 minutes reminiscent of his Euro 2004 and World Cup 2006 heroics, tried his luck again and did not miss the net by much with a fine long-range effort.

In the 58th minute Portugal looked to have scored the go-ahead goal as Bosingwa crossed from the left with Cristiano Ronaldo and Nuno Gomes just failing to get a touch with the goalkeeper struggling.

In the 72nd minute the huge crowd at the Estadio da Luz erupted as the nation’s favourite son, Cristiano Ronaldo, hooked a tremendous volley inside the far post after great work by substitute Quaresma on the right wing. Ronaldo almost scored another soon after with a header after the rampaging Quaresma had turned his marker inside out and delivered another dangerous cross.

But in the 87th minute Poland denied Portugal three points that would have set them up perfectly on the home straight towards qualification. Krzynowek hit a hard low shot from 30 metres out which skidded past three Portuguese players, bounced in front of a diving Ricardo, went off the post, bounced off of the goalkeeper’s head and into the net.

The shared points mean that Portugal must win against Serbia on Wednesday or run the serious risk of missing out on next summer’s Euro 2008 tournament.

One consolation Portugal can take into Wednesday’s match is that Finland and Serbia also drew in their clash, meaning that the points difference remains the same amongst the top four in Group A. Portugal lie in third but are still be play Finland (currently 2nd) at home and have a game in hand.

PortuGOAL man of the match: Maniche
The Atletico Madrid man fully vindicated his recall by Luiz Filipe Scolari with a display brimming with verve and energy and another international goal.

Portugal:
Ricardo, Bosingwa, Fernando Meira, Bruno Alves, Marco Caneira (Miguel, 13), Petit, Deco, Maniche, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nuno Gomes (Quaresma, 69), Simao (Joao Moutinho, 81)

Poland:
Boruc, Wasilewski, Jop, Zewlakow, Bronowicki (Golanski, 55), Dudka, Lewandowski, Krzynowek, Blaszczykowski, Zurawski (Matusiak, 55), Smolarek (Lobodzinski, 73)
Yellow Cards: Boruc (21), Wasilewski (30), Bronowicki (38)

Goals:
[0-1] Lewandowski, 44
[1-1] Maniche, 49
[2-1] Cristiano Ronaldo, 72
[2-2] Krzynowek, 87