Youngsters give Asteras Cup win against Iraklis

By: Peter Katsiris | January 21st, 2009

Asteras Tripolis book a spot in the next round of the Greek Cup on Tuesday, as the Arcadian side’s starlets etched their name on the scoreboard in a 2-0 win over Iraklis in Tripoli.

Both sides were level through the first half, but that didn’t stop Asteras from stamping its authority on the match. The Peloponnesian side could have taken the lead as early as the five minute mark; roviding a cross for Adrian Bastia, but the latter was narrowly defeated by a quick Wojciech Kowalewski who punched the centering ball clear.

Iraklis had a chance to find the breakthrough just before the interval, but while the Thessaloniki-based club enjoyed just a handful of opportunities throughout the match, they failed to make the most of their sparse chances. The best example of their poor finishing came on twenty-seven minutes, as Serge Die sent his effort just wide of Nikolaos Anastosopoulos’ goal.

The trend of poor finishing continued for ‘O Gireos’ in the second half, as on fifty-eight minutes another chance to grab a goal was wasted by the centenary club. Denis Epstein played a parallel ball for Argentine midfielder Miguel Sebastian Garcia, but the latter’s placed effort towards Anastosopoulos was parried by the Greek shot stopper.

It took fourteen minutes more for Asteras to penalize the visitors for their poor finishing, and with a lethal blow took a 1-0 lead on seventy-two minutes. A corner kick from Fabio Felicio reached Marcelao, before the ball ricocheted off the Brazilian towards Greek starlet Nikolaos Stratakis, who registered his first goal for Asteras with a perfect poke past Kowalewski.

Behind by a goal, but still in the match, Iraklis had the opportunity to find an equalizer in the remaining eighteen minutes. The Thessaloniki-based club, however, was unsuccessful in its attempt to find a way past Asteras. And with a fast-break going in the opposite direction, the home side sealed the match in stoppage time. Dimitris Kaounos made the long run before finding a trailing Leonidas Argyropoulos, and with a perfect one-time effort secured his first goal for his club and assured his side would be part of the quarterfinal draw.

Asteras Tripolis 2-0 Iraklis FC
Stratakis 72′, Argyropoulos 90′+2

Yellow Cards:
Asteras Tripolis – Bastia 57′, Damonte 59′.
Iraklis FC – none.

Asteras Tripolis (Nikos Kostenoglou): Anastosopoulos, Fabeta (62′ Esteves), Argyropoulos, Marcelao, Urribarri, Fytanidis, Rokas (67′ Kaounos), Stratakis, Bastia, Damonte, Felicio (75′ Psomas).

Iraklis FC (Makis Katsavakis): Kowalewski, Papazaxarias (75′ Kone), Katsambis, Foufoulas (81′ Vukovic), Sarakatsanos, Giannoulis, Die, Papasterianos, Garcia, Kiko Raton, (56′ Epstein), Agritis.

Referee: Vasilis Pamporidis

Venue: Asteras Tripolis Stadium, Tripoli, Greece.