Greek Wrap: Round 12 (And another Olympiakos title)

By: Chris Paraskevas | December 1st, 2008

In cooperation with Goal.com:

Olympiakos edged closer to yet another Greek championship this weekend, as rivals Panathinaikos and AEK Athens both dropped points. Goal.com’s Chris Paraskevas wraps up all the action…

At A Glance:

Larissa 2 – 0 Iraklis
Thrasyvoulos 1 – 2 PAOK
Panathinaikos 1 – 1 Asteras Tripolis
Aris 2 – 0 Panserraikos
Levadiakos 0 – 0 AEK Athens
Ergotelis 0 – 0 Skoda Xanthi
Olympiakos 4 – 1 Panionios
Panthrakikos 2 – 0 OFI

The latest round of Greek Super League action began on Saturday, as two supposed title contenders had their credentials tested.

PAOK barely passed theirs away to last-placed Thrasyvoulos in Fyli, where they edged out Sakis Tsiolis’ side 2-1.

Fernando Santos’ men had taken the lead through Sergio Conceicao on 55 minutes, the Portuguese veteran forcing the ball home from close range before Luis Alves equalized with a brilliant individual effort five minutes from the end of normal time.

However, the Thessaloniki outfit showed why a label of title contenders might be justified this season, as 19 year-old striker Stefanos Athanasiadis came off the bench to net a dramatic 93rd minute winner – a reflection of both the depth and character of the PAOK squad.

There were contrasting fortunes at the OAKA Spiros Louis Stadium for fellow Greek giants Panathinaikos however, where Henk Ten Cate’s side were upstaged by Arcadian outfit Asteras Tripolis.

Under the leadership of newly appointed manager Nikos Kostenoglou, Asteras earned a deserved 1-1 draw against the Athenians to follow up their morale-boosting 3-1 win at home to Ergotelis last weekend.

Antonis Petropoulos had given Panathinaikos the lead on the stroke of half-time but a lethargic second-half performance allowed Tripolis back into the contest, Adrian Bastia half-volleying home an equalizer to bring Pana back down to earth following their historic Champions League victory over Inter Milan.

Saturday’s other action saw Marinos Ouzounidis’ Larissa break a six-game winless streak with a 2-0 victory over visiting Iraklis.

Second-half goals from former Celtic striker Maciej Zurawski and Newcastle United defender Nikos Dabizas gave the Thessalian side a vital win.

Aris kicked off Sunday with a hard-fought 2-0 win over Levadiakos at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium thanks to late goals by Segio Koke and Mario Regueiro.

Enrique Hernandez’s side move into fifth place with the win and they are currently on a six match unbeaten run.

Skoda Xanthi drew their fourth match in a row to further drop off the pace at the top of the Greek Super League table, this time held to a scoreless draw at Ergotelis and a similar fate befell AEK Athens away against Levadiakos, though their scoreless draw was slightly more dramatic.

Dusan Bajevic’s side hit the post three times, once through resurgent midfielder Tamandani Nsaliwa and twice through Algerian striker Rafik Djebbour.

Levadiakos ‘keeper Srdan Blazic produced a man-of-the-match display between the posts, making a string of superb saves to deny AEK during their second-half attacking onslaught.

His evening was appropriately capped off with two penalty saves, the first from Gustavo Manduca, before Djebbour’s finish from the rebound was cancelled out as the referee ordered the spot-kick to be retaken.

Up-stepped the much maligned Angelos Basinas, who rolled is effort into the arms of the grateful Blazic, making it the fifth game without a win for the Athenian giants.

Panthrakikos continued their amazing climb up the Greek Super League with a vital 2-0 home win over fellow relegation candidates OFI Crete.

Emilio Ferrera’s side now find themselves in fourth place, ahead of the likes of Aris and AEK, their Sunday goals coming from top scorer Abdul Diallo and Cesar Henriquez.

Olympiakos ended their week with yet another fine attacking display, making sure former manager Takis Lemonis made an unhappy return to the Giorgios Karaiskakis Stadium with his Panionios side.

Ernesto Valverde’s outfit romped to a 4-1 win thanks to goals from Fernando Belluschi, Diogo and two late efforts from substitute Konstantinos Mitroglou, that make sure they stay four points ahead of second-placed PAOK at the top of the table.