Greek Super League Wrap: Round 16

By: Chris Paraskevas | January 5th, 2009

In cooperation with Goal.com:

At a glance:

Ergotelis 0 – 1 Panthrakikos
Xanthi 0 – 0 Panionios
Asteras 0 – 1 Olympiakos
Panserraikos – Iraklis (Postponed)
PAOK 2 – 0 OFI Crete
Levadiakos 2 – 0 Aris
Thrasyvoulos 0 – 0 Larissa
Panathinaikos 0 – 0 AEK Athens

A derby stalemate between Panathinaikos and AEK Athens was arguably the highlight of Round 16 of the Greek Super League, on a weekend during which leaders Olympiakos and second-placed PAOK both grabbed victories to continue what is shaping up to be a two-horse race for the title.

The action began on Saturday where Emilio Ferrera’s Panthrakikos scored another upset victory to lift themselves into seventh place on the table.

Ergotelis were their latest victims, Nikos Karageorgiou’s side slumping to defeat following a fine second half free kick by Ludovic Clement.

While Panionios held Xanthi to a scoreless draw in northern Greece, the day’s other match saw Olympiakos extend their lead over their other two Athenian rivals with a 1-0 win away against Asteras Tripolis.

Tripolis have developed something of a reputation as giant-killers in the Super League in recent times but there was to be no repeat of their usual home heroics as Luciano Galletti’s first-half penalty was enough to give Ernesto Valverde’s men a hard-fought 1-0 win in Arcadia.

Levadiakos began Sunday’s programme by ending Aris’ unbeaten streak with a 2-0 win thanks to another double by Brazilian forward Leonardo.

A stunning second half strike gave his side the lead on 58 minutes, before he sealed the victory by pouncing on a rebound 14 minutes later.

Zlatan Muslimovic scored upon his return to first team action following a lengthy injury lay-off, helping his PAOK team a 2-0 home win over struggling OFI Crete.

The men from Thessaloniki keep the pressure up on league leaders Olympiakos, whom they trail by six points.

Muslimovic opened the scoring with a thumping strike before Vladimir Ivic finished from close-range to keep PAOK in the race for the Greek Super League title.

The two remaining matches were both scoreless draws, Larissa held away against Thrasyvoulos, where the absence of Nolberto Solano was arguably the talking point, the former English Premier League star reportedly on his way out of Greece.

The round’s other clash was between derby rivals Panathinaikos and AEK Athens at the OAKA Spiros Louis Stadium, the two sides playing out a fairly tense scoreless draw in the Greek capital.

Former Panathinaikos centre-back Sotiris Kyrgiakos – who captained AEK at the weekend – almost gave his side the lead with a first-half header that hit the post, before Gilberto Silva missed two glaring opportunities to open the scoring for the hosts on either side of the half.

Henk Ten Cate’s side are now nine points behind league leaders and fierce rivals Olympiakos in third place, whilst Dusan Bajevic maintains his undefeated record with AEK since taking over earlier in the season.

Panserraikos and Iraklis’ match was postponed due to snow and will be played this evening.