Greek Cup set for another Athenian Derby

By: Peter Katsiris | April 11th, 2009

The Greek Cup is set for another thrilling episode of the rich rivalry between Olympiacos and AEK Athens, after both sides claimed a ticket during midweek.

Leading their semi-final tie with Panserraikos by a 3-1 score-line due thanks to their dominant performance in Athens, AEK faced a relaxed night in Serres on Wednesday. A scoreless evening ensued in the second leg as AEK saw off Panserraikos limited resurgence to be the first side to qualify for the finals of the Greek Cup.

A day later attention shifted to Piraeus, where Asteras Tripolis looked to make history with a visit to Olympiacos’ Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium. The Arcadian club faced an up-hill battle after the first match finished 2-2 in Tripoli, but got off to the right start when Danijel Cesarec put Asteras on the high road to the final.

Flavio slipped past Dudu with a rapid burst down the right flank before providing an accurate cross into the box where Cesarec potently waited to head past ‘keeper Antonis Nikopolidis.

The Peloponnesian side maintained their lead heading into the second half but it was soon erased when Dudu levelled the score-line on forty-eight minutes. Confusion in the Asteras box was the result after a free-kick for the hosts and an alert Dudu thunderously struck a loose ball past Giorgos Abaris to put Olympiacos back in control.

The defending Greek Cup Champions had their hopes of a domestic double revived after a brief lull; and soon after their spirits had been lifted, Ernesto Valverde’s men grabbed a lead of their own.

Luciano Galletti slipped a sleek grounded pass into the Asteras box for Diogo, and the Brazilian scored his third goal of the tie to give Olympiacos a 2-1 lead just after the hour mark.

Asteras tried to climb back to level terms late on in the match, but there was no happy ending for Nikos Kostenoglou’s men, whose Cup run ends in disappointment after producing quite a scare for the Piraeus giants.