Greece coach Fernando Santos has praised the efforts of his team after they battled back from a goal down to draw with Poland.

The 2004 champions found themselves behind at the half-time interval, having sat back and defended for most of the opening period.

They had also suffered a setback when defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos was harshly sent off for two bookable offences.

However, Dimitris Salpingidis's second-half strike was enough to ensure a share of the spoils in the Euro 2012 opening game.

Santos believes that Papastathopoulos's red card was a mistake but said that he never doubted his team could get themselves back in the game.

"After the first 20 minutes everyone did a great job," said the 57-year-old. "If we leave aside the first 20 I am really satisfied with all my players.

"When Sokratis was sent off, it wasn't justified but still we succeeded in keeping on the pressure. I totally accept the decision of the referee but it was a difficult situation for us.

"We were confident and thought we could get in the game again. In the end both teams were tired but tried to create chances and we had the best in the second half."

The Portuguese coach took control of Greece in 2010.