Greek Super League Review: Round 17

By: Chris Paraskevas | January 12th, 2009

In cooperation with Goal.com:

Olympiakos extended their lead at the top of the Greek Super League table to nine points this weekend.

At a glance:

Panthrakikos 1-3 Panathinaikos
Panionios 2-0 Panserraikos
Olympiakos 2-1 Xanthi
Thrasyvoulos 2-1 Levadiakos
OFI Crete 2-3 Iraklis
Larissa 2-1 Asteras Tripolis
Aris 0-0 Ergotelis
AEK Athens 1-0 PAOK

Defending champions Olympiakos extended their lead at the top of the Greek Super League ladder by nine points this weekend, as title contenders PAOK lost away to derby rivals AEK Athens and Panathinaikos moved into equal second spot with a win away against Panthrakikos.

Elsewhere, there were important victories for Iraklis and Thrasyvoulos, who managed to climb off the bottom of the table with a 2-1 home win over Levadiakos.

The action began in Komotini on Saturday though, where Henk Ten Cate’s Panathinaikos scored a 3-1 win over Emilio Ferrera’s in-form Panthrakikos outfit.

The home side took the lead through Sergio Ponce barely five minutes into the game, but Dimitris Salpiggidis equalised before half time.

Vaggelis Mantzios grabbed himself a rare league goal to give his side the lead in the second half, before former Arsenal captain Gilberto Silva sealed the win with a header in the dying stages of the match – only his second goal for the club since his summer move from London.

Panionios managed to pick up another victory under the guidance of manager Giotis Stamatopoulos on Saturday, putting two past struggling Panserraikos in Athens.

Goals either side of the half-time interval by two of Panionios’ more reputable stars gave them a win at the Nea Smyrni, Uruguay international Fabian Estoyanoff netting the first and Ghanaian midfielder Bennard Kumordzi the second.

A fine individual effort by Luciano Galletti helped Olympiakos maintain their perfect record at home this season, as Ernesto Valverde’s men enjoyed a successful Saturday with a 2-1 home win over Xanthi.

The Argentine scored the second of his side’s goals with a sublime run and delicate finish, taking his tally of goals up to eight for the season, and making him the leading goal-scorer in the Super League.

The Piraeus club opened the scoring when Stavros Stathatkis put the ball into his own net on 16 minutes, with Galletti scoring just moments later.

Xanthi pulled a goal back through Francisco Zuela in the second half, before the full-back then got himself sent off later on in the match, ending any hopes of an unlikely point at the Giorgios Karaiskaki Stadium for Georgios Paraschos’ men.

All appeared to be going to plan for Momcilo Vukotic’s Levadiakos on Sunday, as they got off to the perfect start away at relegation-threatened Thrasyvoulos.

Highly sought-after Brazilian forward Leonardo gave his side the lead after just two minutes, courtesy of a rather fortunate free-kick.

Struggling Thrasyvoulos were then gifted an equaliser in the 71st minute by the unfortunate Paraskevaidis – who headed past his own ‘keeper in quite bizarre fashion – before Josef Kozlej gave manager Sakis Tsiolis a much-needed victory with a cool finish just two minutes later.

There were five goals at the Pankritio Stadium as OFI Crete slipped to yet another Greek Super League defeat, this time at home to Makis Katsavakis’ resurgent Iraklis side.

The 3-2 win has taken the traditional Thessaloniki giants well clear of the relegation zone and into eighth place in the table, with Cyprus international Michalis Konstantinou grabbing a double and captain Tassos Katsabis scoring the winner for his team with just over 20 minutes remaining.

OFI are now equal-last with Panserraikos, their administrative problems not helped by poor form on the pitch that has seen them pick up just eleven points in seventeen matches.

Maciej Zurawski headed in his fourth goal of the season as Larissa condemned Asteras Tripolis to their fourth straight league defeat with a 2-1 win at the Alkazar.

The former Celtic striker opened the scoring for Marinos Ouzounidis’ side in the first half before Georgios Fotakis doubled their advantage in the second, Tripolis only managing a late consolation through Vaggelis Kaounos.

Aris endured another frustrating week as they were held at home by a plucky Ergotelis outfit, who managed a scoreless draw in Thessaloniki despite being reduced to ten men after only ten minutes of play.

Uruguayan winger Mario Regueiro hit the woodwork just three minutes into the match before Dimitris Gelagaris was shown a straight red card, Enrique Hernandez’s side unable to make up for their 2-0 loss away against Levadiakos last weekend.

AEK Athens scored an impressive 1-0 win over a disappointing PAOK outfit at the OAKA Spiros Louis Stadium during the round’s final match on Sunday.

Dusan Bajevic’s men largely dominated the ‘Derby of the Double-Headed Eagle’, opening the scoring on the stroke of half-time through Algerian striker Raffik Djebbour.

A deep-lying PAOK never consistently provided an attacking threat, with Zlatan Muslimovic isolated in a lone striker’s role as Fernando Santos’ side fell nine points behind league leaders Olympiakos ahead of their Greek Cup meeting with fierce rivals Aris in mid-week.