Russia deserved more: Advocaat

Russia coach Dick Advocaat (pictured) on Tuesday indicated his side deserved more out of its 1-1 draw with old rival Poland but said that errors in the second half robbed it of victory.

Russia, top of Group A after a 4-1 demolition of the Czech Republic when Poland could only draw with Greece, looked as if it would build on Friday's victory after Alan Dzagoev headed home in the 37th minute.

But the Poles levelled the scores in the 57th, when captain Kuba Blaszczykowski slotted home a Ludovic Obraniak cross with a left-foot pile-driver.

"I thought Russia was better than Poland today, but obviously it was a very good game," the Dutch coach said.

"We played really well to get a good result. You know they (Poland) have support from 40,000 people, so they've got a big advantage. (A draw) was nice but I thought the 1-0 was going to be it because we controlled the game."

Ahead of the match, Advocaat had insisted Russia did not feel like top dogs on the back of its thrashing of the Czechs, and given the Poles had managed to throw away an early lead to draw 1-1 against a 10-man Greece who missed a penalty.

Asked if his squad had nonetheless let itself get over confident against the Poles, he responded. "No, that's got nothing to do with it."

"The first game was 4-1. The second was like an away game and it was a beautiful goal to equalize. If you're objective, it was a great match. Russia had more possession. Playing a team like Poland is difficult. Both teams played well."

AFP

(China Daily 06/14/2012 page22)