While many are awaiting Sunday’s El Classico at the Santiago Bernabeu, the OAKA Spyros Louis Stadium in Athens will host an intense encounter between AEK Athens FC and Olympiacos CFP. Both sides have survived each challenge in the Greek Cup thus far, but will go to head-to-head in the Greek capital for the right to hoist the Greek Cup trophy.

For a textual preview, check out the Olympiacos Blog by clicking here.

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.

The hosts went ahead on the twenty-minute mark through their Algerian ace Djebbour. Eluding his defenders enough to warrant a shot, Djebbour’s ouncing effort found its way past ‘keeper Fotis Kipouros to give AEK an early lead.

The advantage only stood for three minutes as Panserraikos levelled the score through their on-loan Brazilian Marco Aurelio. A well-placed free-kick by the midfielder clipped the upright before making its way into the AEK goal past Sebastian Saja.

AEK reclaimed their advantage on thirty-seven minutes as Majstorovic rose to the occasion when Ismael Blanco provided an accurate cross from the right flank. The Swedish defender beat all to the ball before heading home the go-ahead goal past Kipouros.

It was only a few minutes after Majstorovic’s tiebreaker that AEK extended their lead by a further goal through Djebbour. The Algerian striker pounced on a loose ball and neatly slotted it into the Panserraikos goal to send AEK well on their way to the win ahead of the interval.

The Athenians didn’t extend their lead in the second frame, but remain heavy favourites to progress to the finals by taking care of business away in Serres

AEK FC 3-1 Panserraikos FC

Djebbour 20′, 40′, Majstorovic 38′ – Aurelio 23′

AEK FC (Dusan Bajevic): Saja, Georgeas, Majstorovic, Kyrgiakos, Juanfran, Nsaliwa, Kafes, Tachtsidis (67′ Pelieteri), Scocco (76′ Edinho), Blanco (88′ Pliatsikas), Djebbour.

Panserraikos FC (Hugo Broos): Kipouros, Kallimanis, Voskopoulos, Papazoglou, Aurelio (46′ Pipinis), Baykara (72′ Konstantinidis), Milenkovic, Abubakari, Bule (72′ Zoundi), Bangoura, Anakoglou.

Referee: Nathaniel Charalambidis (Kavala)

Venue: OAKA Spyros Louis Stadium, Athens, Greece.

Tonight’s action kicks off in Athens between AEK and Panserraikos. Dusan Bajevic’s AEK defeated Panserraikos 5-1 two weeks ago in Serres, and are expected to win again against the visiting ‘Liontaria’.  Though their loss in the Greek Super League was crippling for pride and their chances of avoiding the relegation zone, Panserraikos shocked all of Greece when they knocked out Panathinaikos in the quarter-finals.

Later in the evening, Asteras Tripolis welcomes Olympiacos to Tripoli in what is likely to be a tactical battle. Having lost to Olympiacos twice already, Asteras will be searching for a valiant performance this evening as the Peloponnesian side targets a trip to the Cup Final. Olympiacos is coming off an emphatic 5-0 win over Iraklis and have plenty of potential to do the same in Tripoli; however, the Greek Champions have struggled during their visits to the Arcadia prefecture with just one goal to suffix one win and one loss for their travels.

* Photo Cred – novasports.gr

Asteras Tripolis FC 1-0 Panionios GSS FC
(Asteras Tripolis FC advances 2-0 on aggregate)
Bastia 34′

The action started in Tripoli as Asteras Tripolis aimed to uphold a 1-0 aggregate lead over Panionios in front of their home fans. The hosts didn’t wait for their opponents to level the aggregate score-line as Adrian Bastia put Asteras up 1-0 in the match, 2-0 on aggregate, and prematurely into the ensuing round when he struck just past the half-hour mark.

Despite having both Alvaro Recoba and Faian Estoyanoff in the line-up, Panionios was unable to solve a steeled Asteras defense. Panagiotis Stamatopoulos’ men failed to survive to reach the next round of the Greek Cup. A momentous win for Nikos Kostenoglou’s was the main story, however, as the Arcadian club is happily distracted from the relegation battle in the Super League with their first ever appearance in the semi-finals of the Greek Cup.

Panathianikos FC 2-3 Panserraikos FC
(Panserraikos advances 3-2 on aggregate)
Baykara 23′, Ceh 56′ (pen.), 71′ – Christodoulopoulos 75′, 90′ + 3′

In Athens, Panathinaikos was expected to easily dispose of Panserraikos after the two sides played to a 0-0 draw in Serres. The visitors, however, jumped to an early lead and were on pace for a rout of their hosts until Henk Ten Cate’s side pulled back two goals to make the result respectable, but not enough for a ticket into the next round.

Panserraikos grabbed an early lead through Deniz Baykara’s twenty-third minute goal, after the Turkish midfielder combined with team-mate Patrick Zoundi to slip past Panathinaikos defender Loukas Vyntra and slot a perfect strike past ‘keeper Mario Galinovic.

The deficit grew by a further goal for the traveling ‘Liontaria’ when Nastja Ceh converted a penalty after Vyntra had committed a foul on Giorgos Pipinis in the Panathinaikos box. The Slovenian didn’t need a spot kick to add his second of the match on seventy-one minutes. Sotiris Konstantinidis did most of the work before shuffling off the ball for the wide open Ceh, who in turn made no mistake as he beat Galinovic for the second time in fifteen minutes.

A gloomy silence fell over the Athenian crowd that expected an untroubled passage into the next round. The ever stubborn Lazaros Christodoulopoulos took matters into his own hands with a response for Panathinaikos on seventy-five minutes with a slick finish off a free-kick for the former U-21 Greece international.

A brace for the former PAOK striker was elusive until the third minute of stoppage time as another individual effort from Christodoulopoulos concluded with another goal for Panathinaikos. Speeding down the flank and then into the Panserraikos box, the 22-year old fired a shot towards the goal, and with a little help from Panserraikos Anastasios Papazoglou the visitors’ lead was reduced to just one.

Although Panathinaikos had picked up momentum in the last quarter of an hour, the effort was simply too little too late for the Athenians, who shockingly crashed out of the Greek Cup, while Panserraikos progresses to the next round.

Olympiacos CFP 2-0 PAOK FC
(Olympiacos advances 2-1 on aggregate)
Diogo 46′, Derbyshire 108′

In Piraeus the derby between Olympiacos and PAOK was renewed at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium. The hosts had lost the first leg thanks to Sergio Conceicao’s chipped effort giving PAOK the edge at the Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki.

Having already traveled to the port city for a Super League meeting, PAOK’s 2-0 defeat to Olympiacos ahead of the New Year was a worrying point for manager Fernando Santos. His side were forced to remain in a defensive shell for most of the match, but that didn’t stop Olympiacos from putting a couple ticks on the scoreboard.

After a frustrating first-half, Diogo put Olympiacos on the right track just one minute after the interval. The Brazilian accurately directed his header past PAOK ‘keeper Kostas Chalkis when a pinpoint cross from Luciano Galletti came calling for the former Portuguesa striker.

Despite Olympiacos’ early breach of the PAOK barricades had levelled the aggregate score, the highly desired second goal was far more elusive for thedefensing Greek Cup Champions. They did, however, gain an obvious advantage when Pablo Contreras and Vladimir Ivic picked up their second caution of the night ahead of the eighty-minute mark.

Down to nine men, and needing a goal, progression looked out of the question for PAOK as Ernesto Valverde’s Olympiacos looked to stamp their ticket into the round. It took them a bit of time, however, as PAOK’s pesky defending forced extra time in ‘Limani’.

The wait was over when Matt Derbyshire headed home a misguided effort from Galletti. The young Englishman was an early second-half substitute for Christos Patsatzoglou, but his presence wasn’t felt until the on-loan Blackburn Rovers forward imposed his name on the scoreboard on one-hundred and eight minutes.

There was no comeback for PAOK as Olympiacos clamped down in defense; derailing the promising bid from PAOK to reach the semi-finals.

With the win, Olympiacos sets up a semi-final meeting with Asteras Tripolis, while Panserraikos’ fairy tale run continues with another visit to the OAKA Spyros Louis Stadium to take on AEK.

After Libor Dosek gave Xanthi a slim advantage last week, the replay in Athens featured a pressured AEK looking to overturn a deficit in order to progress to the next round.

While the objective was clear for the hosts, it wasn’t until a late header from Blanco that AEK realized their dreams. El Hadji Diouf provided a cross for Edinho, but the latter headed in the direction of Blanco who sheekily fooled Xanthi ‘keeper Michael Gspurning to turn in a crucial goal for AEK.

There were no late heroics for the ‘Queen of Thrace’ as AEK held on to deny Xanthi of extending their Greek Cup plans.

With the win AEK became the first club to reach the next round of the Greek Cup, and now await the winner of the tie between Panathinaikos and Panserraikos.

That tie remains level after a 0-0 draw in Serres, but the replay is scheduled for March 4^th at the OAKA Spyros Louis Stadium in Athens.

On the same day Asteras Tripolis will plan to pad their 1-0 aggregate lead on Panionios in Tripoli, while Olympiacos aims to overturn a 1-0 deficit to PAOK at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus.

Late Winner
In Nea Smyrni, Asteras Tripolis was fortunate to secure a crucial 1-0 as a late strike by Vaggelis Kaounos gave the Arcadian club an edge ahead of the replay next week. Panionios did create chances, however, as the hosts failed to grab the initiative in the tie after Fabian Estoyanoff was denied by the woodwork, twice.

AEK has work to do
In the day’s later fixture it was Skoda Xanthi who clinically overcame AEK Athens with a 2-1 win at the Skoda Xanthi Arena. In what was yet another controversial game due to the questionable display of officiating on hand in Thrace, the hosts were out behind early thanks to a penalty goal from Ismael Blanco.

Not deflated by AEK’s early goal, Xanthi pegged back through Tomas Abraham just before halftime. The Czech midfielder capitalised on a tragic error by the AEK defense to cancel Blanco’s opener.

The home side continued their scoring spree after the interval, thanks to Libor Dosek making his presence felt on sixty-eight minutes. Scoring a hat trick on his debut with the ‘Queen of Thrace’, Dosek gave Xanthi the lead six minutes after replacing Victor Agali. The Czech striker thought he put Xanthi up 3-1 on eighty-give minutes, but the goal was called back with the linesman labelling Dosek in an offside position.

Both replays will take place next Wednesday, with AEK hosting Xanthi at the OAK Spyros Louis Stadium and Asteras Tripolis welcoming Panionios to Tripoli.

Other ties include PAOK and Olympiacos, with the former leading 1-0 after the first leg in Thessaloniki. Panathinaikos and Panserraikos are deadlocked after the first leg, but the Athenians giants are expected to take care of business in Athens. Both of these replays have been scheduled for March 4^th, due to European duties occupying both Panathinaikos and Olympiacos next week.

In a written letter to the EPO, supporters known as ‘Krites 4′ demanded that the match could be played in Tripoli, Levadeia, or…the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium.

With harsh underlying ones in the letter directed to officials of the EPO and the Greek Super League board of members, the letter appears an act of vengeance after OFI claimed referee Christoforos Zografos completed several acts of injustice during OFI’s weekend fixture with Asteras Tripolis.

“To the EPO Super League, and whoever thinks we are not deserving of a spot in the Super League, and believe by sending OFI to the Beta Ethniki [Greece's second tier of football] that rotten football will disappear, you can forget about it,” read the letter’s introductory lines.

The letter went on to portray the club as utter victims of a monopoly put in place by the league, and supporters will “lose sleep” over their club’s possible demotion to the Beta Ethniki.

On the terms of the Greek National Team, the letter was clear in portraying the ‘Ethniki’ as unwelcome guests to Greece’s largest island. Including several issues in their decision to protest Greece’s probable match with Israel at the Pankritio Stadium, ‘Krites 4′ stemmed their frustration not from just their club’s struggles, but financial issues affecting farmers, specifically an issue regarding agricultural growers from Crete in Piraeus.

Immaturely, the club also named possible venues for the Greek National Team’s World Cup Qualifying campaign, but the destinations featured the stadiums of clubs which OFI supporters strongly oppose during this time.

“They can go play in Tripoli, with the best men of Levadeia, or that of the Karaiskaki,” said the letter.

It is unclear how the EPO will deal with this, but from a neutral party’s perspective, or even that of a loyal supporter of Otto Rehhagel’s Greece, the circumstances regarding the ‘Galanoleuki’ has gone from bad to worse in recent months.

Quarterfinal Dates
Defending Champions Olympiacos were paired with Thessaloniki rivals Aris FC or PAOK. The northern Greek pair has not yet settled their round of 16 tie, after a 0-0 draw at the Toumba Stadium two weeks ago. A replay this Wednesday will see a winner emerge from Thessaloniki’s most fierce rivalry.

Skoda Xanthi faces a trip to the Greek capital as the Thracian outfit was paired with AEK Athens. While the pair drew 1-1 in Xanthi during the first half of the season, a rejuvenated AEK, led by Dusan Bajevic, will meet up with the ‘Queen of Thrace’ for a spot in the semi-finals.

Panionios and Veria haven’t settled their round of 16 tie just yet, but the winner’s future has already been determined as Asteras Tripolis will take on the team which comes out on top. Having met Veria during their stay in the Beta Ethniki, Asteras could rekindle an old rivalry if the Imathian side emerges. Meanwhile, the encounters with Panionios have strictly come in the Greek Super League, but the ‘Kyanerythri’ are likely looking no further than this Wednesday, as a replay with Veria is first up for the Nea Smyrni side.

Panathinaikos face another trip to Serres, as Panserraikos hosts the Athenian giants, after shocking Larissa to emerge from the round of 16. The ‘Liontaria’ were thumped 3-0 in their first meeting of the year with Panathinaikos at the OAKA Spyros Louis Stadium, but a home fixture against an up-and-down Trifylli side, who could be distracted with Champions League duties that loom in the horizon, could be the right tonic for Hugo Broos’ men to slip into the next round.

Scintillating Semi-finals
While the quarterfinals will be the first order for business for most of the clubs still alive in the competition, the semi-finals have plenty of reason for fans to be excited.

The draw determined a potential Athenian derby could take place in the semi-finals, as the winner of AEK Athens vs. Skoda Xanthi will face the top side between Panathinaikos vs. Panserraikos. Meanwhile, the winner from the now complex fixture between Olympiacos vs. PAOK/Aris FC will be met by the winner of Asteras Tripolis vs. Panionios/Veria.

The quarter-finals, which are a one-legged elimination playoff, are set to be played out on February 4^th, 2009, and February 18^th. A replay, if necessary, will be played out on March 4^th, 2009.

Quarterfinals
1^st leg: February 4^th, 2009; or February 18^th, 2009.
Replay: March 4^th, 2009
1: Aris FC or PAOK FC vs. Olympiacos CFP
2: Skoda Xanthi FC vs. AEK Athens FC
3: Panionios GSS or Veria FC vs. Asteras Tripolis FC
4: Panserraikos FC vs. Panathinaikos FC

Semi-finals
1^st Leg: TBD
2^nd Leg: TBD
Winner of match 2 vs. Winner of match 4
Winner of match 3 vs. Winner of match 1

Starting 2009 on an undefeated streak featuring a draw with stadium rivals Panathinaikos, and Thessaloniki duo PAOK and Iraklis, AEK was not prepared to part with their winning record to start the new calendar year.

The ‘Kitrinomavri’ started brightly as they secured the first decent look at goal on seven minutes. Edinho released an effort towards Loukas Apostolidis’ goal, but the Brazilian was denied by the Greek shot stopper who conceded a corner.

Three minutes later AEK attacked again. Algerian striker Rafik Djebbour went on a racy run before firing a shot from just outside the box, but once again Apostolidis was up to the task again but this time managed to hold to make a save.

It wasn’t until the twenty-second minute that Kerkyra finally tested the AEK backline, but AEK ‘keeper Jurgen Macho was not troubled by Ibrahim Souare’s effort.

AEK returned to its offensive dominance ten minutes later, with Edinho forcing the best out of Apostolidis to assure the match stayed level. The Brazilian continued the trend of being his side’s only workable option as he continued to cause Kerkyra’s defense headaches.

Just before stoppage time, it appeared AEK sealed a golden chance to take the lead as Edinho was eventually brought down inside the Kerkyra box to win the ‘Enosi’ a trip to the penalty spot. Stepping up to take the spot kick after winning prestigious trip to the spot for his club, Edinho was set to complete the play with the game’s first goal but he smashed his effort off the upright.

Deflated by their inability to grab a goal, AEK entered the half with questions to answer. The hosts had continuously created chances through their Brazilian ace Edinho, but while the scoreboard should’ve been extremely in favour of AEK, Kerkyra remained in the match thanks to a 0-0 score line.

Shuffling his hand ahead of the restart, Bajevic grew furious with his side after his players were unable to transfer their dominance into the early stages of the second frame.

Protests for a penalty on fifty-eight minutes was all AEK had to show for through the first twenty minutes of the second half. While the play should have resulted in a second trip to the spot for AEK, referee Christoforos Zografos shrugged off appeals for a penalty.

AEK’s offense came back to life on seventy-eight minutes as Edinho yet again tested Apostolidis, this time with an aerial effort forcing the 28-year-old into a save before Sotiris Kyrgiakos failed to take advantage of the loose ball.

Pantelis Kafes pounced on an error made by Kerkyra’s sloppy defenders one minute later, but while the Greek international had the reputation of being AEK’s clutch scorer – along with Edinho – but on this occasion Kafes was denied by the crossbar.

Edinho followed suit shortly after, as the Brazilian also found the woodwork after Djebbour played a square ball to his striking partner.

Looking to pounce on their opponents misfortunes in front of goal, Kerkyra nearly made a rare venture into AEK’s attacking third memorable on eighty-eight minutes. Souare turned his defender to create some space to allow the Guinean to attempt a volleyed effort towards Macho. While the shot was hit with plenty of conviction, the Austrian international was able to get behind the blistering strike.

A quick transition by the ‘Dikefale’ was led by Michalis Pavlis as the U-19 Greece international found teammate Ignacio Scocco with a pass clicing the Kerkyra defense. Opting to break towards the goal, Scocco trickily escaped his markers before firing a hard shot past Apostolidis.

Seizing the lead just before the beginning of stoppage, it was quite the tally for AEK after a game full of let downs not telling the truth for the Athenian giants.

Not enough time to mount a comeback, Kerkyra would be allowed to hold their heads high when the final whistle came a few mintues after AEK’s crippling breakthrough. The Beta Ethniki side gave a valiant effort at OAKA, but a break down at the eleventh hour saw the challengers collapse just before the death.

AEK’s focus returns to Super League action, where the race for the playoffs is the best AEK can do at this point. Hosting fellow playoff contenders Panionios at OAKA, AEK will be confident to triumph yet again but will be wary of their visitors who will be keen to start fresh after a 2-0 loss to OFI Crete last weekend.

For Kerkyra, their hopes of a long run in the Greek Cup are over for now; however, it does allow the islanders to improve on their current fifth place rank in Greece’s second tier in a bid to return to the top flight next term.

AEK Athens FC 1-0 Kerkyra FC
Scocco 89′

Yellow Cards:
AEK Athens FC – Geraldo Alves 14′, Basinas 22′.
Kerkyra FC – Tsemberidis 69′.

AEK Athens FC (Dusan Bajevic): Macho, Pliatsikas, Juanfran, Majstorovic (46′ Kyrgiakos), Geraldo Alves, Basinas (75′ Pavlis), Kafes, Manduca, Zorbas (52′ Scocco), Edinho, Djebbour.

Kerkyra FC (Nikos Pantelis): Apostolidis, Boutzikos (62′ Reuperne), Moustogiannis (56′ Gustavo), Athanasiadis, (67′ Israel Silva), Sentementes, Tsemberidis, Pelagias, Vitouladitis, Giannitsanakis, Makridimitris, Souare.

Referee: Christoforos Zografos

Venue: OAKA Spyro Louis Stadium, Athens, Greece.