Finland vs Greece. European Championship Qualifying Group F.
OlympiastadionAttendance23,500.
European Qualifiers: Jarkko Hurme volley rescues a point as Finland draw with Greece
Monday 13 October 2014 13:01, UK
Finland dropped into second place in European Championships Group F below Northern Ireland after drawing 1-1 at home against Greece.
Panathanaikos forward Nikolaos Karelis struck first for Greece in the 24th minute, hitting a left-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner of the goal.
But five minutes into the second half, Finland equalised through a terrific volley from defender Jarkko Hurme.
Finland had started brightly, with an early shot from Tim Sparv going wide and a Riku Riski strike blocked, but Greece had already seen Panagiotis Tachtsidis and Stefanos Athanasiadis go close by the time Karelis scored.
Then, after the break, Kasper Hämäläinen clipped a pass to the unmarked Hurme in the Greek box.
The Finland defender watched the ball drop over his left shoulder to volley with his right foot into the bottom left corner for the equaliser.
Both teams had chances to win the game, including Greece from a free kick in the 67th minute after Roman Eremenko fouled Sokratis Papastathopoulos but the Borussia Dortmund defender missed the target with his shot.
And four minutes from time, a long range effort from Greece's Vasilis Torosidis forced a save from Niki Maenpaa.
The result means former champions Greece, coached by ex-Chelsea manager Claudio Ranieri, have just one point from their first two European Qualifer matches.