Greek Wrap (…not a gyro) Round 24: A Dose of the Eternal Derby

By: Peter Katsiris | March 2nd, 2009

The 100^th edition of the Eternal Derby between archrivals Olympiacos and Panathinaikos stole most of the headlines during this weekend’s action in the Greek Super League, but there were seven other matches that made some impact on the Greek table as crunch time resumed in the Greek top flight. While the league may be settled thanks to a commanding lead for Olympiacos at the top of the table, the race for the playoffs is still out in the open, and so too is the dreaded drop to the relegation zone.

Larissa FC 3-2 Ergotelis FC
Zurawski 15′, Fotakis 47′ Guela 54′ – Fernandes 34′, Budimir 82′

A five goal thriller in Larissa ended with Ergotelis dropping a result to Larissa as the weekend’s action got off to a rampant start with Saturday’s matinee match. The hosts took the lead after the quarter-hour mark as Maciej Zurawski shot past Zsolt Posza to give the ‘Vyssini’ an early lead. Mauricio Fernandes levelled the score-line just past the half-hour mark as Ergotelis clawed back with an equalizer ahead of the interval.

It took just two minutes after the restart for Larissa to reclaim their one-goal advantage thanks to a strike from Giorgos Fotakis. Did’dy Guela put the hosts on pace for three points with his fifty-fourth minute tally, but that wasn’t enough to discourage Mario Budimir from setting up a tense finale when he found the back of the net on eighty-two minutes.

Marinos Ouzounidis’ Larissa secured the win despite a late revival by the Cretans, and extended their unbeaten streak to thirteen games. Ergotelis manager Nikos Karageorgiou was left frustrated as his side were unable to translate confidence from last weekend’s win over league leaders Olympiacos.

Next weekend Larissa will take their unbeatable run to Athens to meet with Panathinaikos, while Ergotelis’ road trip continues when they face Thrasyvoulos in Fyli.

Aris FC 2-1 Thrasyvoulos Fylis FC
Campora (pen.) 35′, Wlodarczyk 90′ + 1′ – Prittas (o.g.) 3′

It took a late strike from Piotr Wlodarczyk for Aris to fend off a pesky Thrasyvoulos at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium in Thessaloniki. The hosts had to fight their way back to claim maximum points.

Sakis Tsiolis’ Thrasyoulos was given a dream start when Aris defender Athanassios Prittas turned the ball into his own net off a Wellington corner.

They were lashed with reality soon after the half-hour mark as Javier Campora slotted home a penalty kick to equalize for the hosts.

When Nikos Karmbelas was shown his second caution of the night, it appeared Aris’ chances of bagging three points were severely dented just past the hour mark.

Iomar Mazinho’s side weren’t discouraged, however, as Aris finally grabbed the lead in the first minute of stoppage time as a somewhat Wlodarczyk somewhat clumsily deposited Neto’s pinpoint cross to give ‘O Theos tou Polemou’ a dramatic win in front of their home supporters.

The win snapped a two-game winless streak for Aris, but Thrasyvoulos’ losing streak was extended to a woeful seven games. They’ll look to snap the streak and improve their bid to escape the dreaded relegation when Ergotelis visits Fyli. Aris faces a trip south to Tripoli for a meeting with Asteras Triplis.

AEK Athens FC 2-1 Skoda Xanthi FC
Edinho 10′, Blanco 49′ – Poy 57′

Just days after their Greek Cup encounter, AEK entertained Skoda Xanthi at the OAKA Spyros Louis Stadium for the second time in four days, and like their midweek meetin in Athens, AEK edged the Thracian outfit with a slim one-goal win.

On Wednesday, it was a late goal from Ismael Blanco that gave AEK a 1-0 win to clinch progress to the semi-finals of the Cup. On Saturday, Dusan Bajevic’s side took an early lead through Edinho. The Brazilian made the most of a through pass from Blanco to beat Michael Gspurning.

Soon after the interval, Blanco put the game further out of Xanthi’s reach with a forty-ninth minute tally. The Argentine was sent in on a breakaway via a hail-marry pass from Sotiris Kyrgiakos, and made no mistake with his effort; however, a look at the replay indicated Blanco was offside when Kyrgiakos launched the ball towards the striker – it didn’t matter, the goal stood.

Eight minutes after they were undone by a questionable goal, Xanthi grabbed a goal back through Mauro Poy. Charilaos Pappas initiated the play with a through pass to the flank for Giannis Papadimitriou, and the latter cheekily slotted home a goal for the visitors.

There was no comeback in store, however, as AEK held on to claim their second victory against Xanthi in less than a week.

The Athenians will travel to Panserraikos next weekend in hopes of sealing a playoff berth in Serres, while Xanthi looks to inch closer to the highly pursued fifth place in the Super League as local rivals Panthrakikos visit the Skoda Xanthi Arena.

Levadeiakos FC 3-0 Iraklis FC
Moulopoulos 22, Napoleoni 45′, Koltzos 90′

Hoping to avoid relegation, Levadeiakos gave an astonishing performance in their 3-0 rout of Iraklis to kickoff Sunday’s Super League action.

Levadeiakos defender Athanassios Moulopoulos put his side ahead after twenty-two minutes as he concluded a passing-play between him and Leonardo with a goal.

It was Leonardo again playing provider just before the interval as his free-kick was turned in by Stefano Napoleoni.

The rout was completed late in the second half as Giorgos Koltzos breached the Iraklis defense and surged out to a breakaway on Wojciech Kowalewski, and made no mistake by firing past the Polish ‘keeper.

Iraklis, who looked headed for greener pastures just two weeks ago, have been slapped with reality andremain near the relegation zone yet again. They’ll look to add some distance between them and the bottom three when they host Panionios at the Kaftanzogleio Stadium in Thessaloniki.

Levadeiakos, meanwhile, will travel to Heraklion where OFI hosts Momcilo Vukotic’s men at the Pankritio Stadium in Crete.

OFI Crete FC 0-0 Panserraikos FC

A goalless end to the affair between OFI and Panserraikos in Crete did little to help either side’s bid to escape the relegation, as the full-time came with a bitter pill of disappointment after their rivals managed to gain ground on the relegation stricken pair.

Panserraikos did, however, extend their unbeaten streak to three games. While Panathinaikos and the Greek Cup is in their immediate sights as Hugo Broos’ squad attempts to stir an upset on Wednesday night in Athens; the ‘Liontaria’ will resume their plans to remain a Super League side a few days after their Athens trip. In hopes of extending their unbeaten run to four games, the Serres side will face Athenian side AEK, who could potentially spoil their plans.

OFI’s unbeaten has already reached four matches, but it still isn’t enough for Ioannis Matzourakis’ men to escape the relegation zone. They’ll host Levadeiakos next weekend in hopes of cutting the deficit between them and their guests, who sit in the much desired thirteenth spot.

Panionios FC 2-1 PAOK FC
Lourenco 58′ – Bakayoko 75′ 90′ + 3′

Ibrahim Bakayoko put on a late goal-scoring performance to give PAOK a dramatic win over Panionios in Nea Smyrni. With Panionios leading after fifty-eight minutes, Bakayoko struck twice in the final fifteen minutes to break ‘Kyanerythri’ hearts.

Angolan striker Lourenco da Silva put the hosts ahead when he made the most of chaos in the PAOK box, and slotted home the loose ball past a confused Kostas Chalkias.

The equalizer was crafted by a run by Sergio Conceicao, who then turned the ball over to Bakayoko with a simple pass into the Panionios box. The Ivorian Coast striker made no mistake as he slotted his effort into the top corner past Panionios ‘keeper Dario Kresic.

Ten minutes after PAOK retaliated on the scoreboard, Grigoris Makos was show his second yellow of the night, to set up a grinding finale for the hosts.

With the strength in numbers, Bakayoko made sure PAOK cashed in as he scored the winning goal in the third minute of stoppage time. Conceicao again played provider as he lashed a cross towards Zlatan Muslimovic, but the Bosnian striker saw his effort slam off the crossbar. Keeping his eye on the ball, Bakayoko pounced on the rebound to slot home a somewhat acrobatic finish past Kresic.

Leaving it late to secure maximum points, PAOK extended its winning streak to three games. The Thessaloniki side now face a double date with Olympiacos which begins on Wednesday in Piraeus, as the top two sides in the Greek Super League clash at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium for a spot in the semi-finals of the Greek Cup. The venue will shift to the Toumba Stadium on the weekend, as PAOK puts its undefeated home record to its biggest test of the year.

Panionios will also take part in a quarterfinal Greek Cup tie, but they’re up against the odds with Asteras Tripolis holding an aggregate edge ahead of the return leg in Tripoli. On the league front, Panionios resumes its Super League schedule on Saturday afternoon against Iraklis in Thessaloniki.

Olympiacos CFP 0-0 Panathinaikos FC

The highlight fixture of the weekend, which is likely the latter half of most anticipated match of the season, featured two long-time rivals clashing at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus. The ancient port city played host to Olympiacos and Panathinaikos, for the 100^th league meeting between Greece’s most fierce rivals.

While there was no scoring done in Piraeus, there wasn’t a shortage of suspense as both teams looked to overcome their rivals. Jose Sarriegi was shown two yellow cards before the hour mark, as Panathinaikos was forced to play with ten-men after the Spaniard was dismissed on fifty-eight minutes.

The visiting Athenians arguably had the best chance of the match when Giorgos Karagounis slammed his seventieth minute set-piece effort off Antonis Nikpolidis’ right post.

At the other end, Fernando Belluschi forced Mario Galinovic to stretch acrobatically in order to keep out the Argentine’s header just minutes before the full-time whistle.

Olympiacos avoided defeat for the first time in three matches spanning all competitions, but the ‘Erythrolefki’ remained disappointed with the derby draw.

Two more derbies lie not too far in the horizon as a Cup meeting with PAOK is followed by a rematch with ‘Dikefale tou Vorra’ on the ensuing weekend.

Panathinaikos have a lighter schedule, but urgency will be required when Panserraikos makes a visit to the OAKA Spyros Louis Stadium with a 0-0 aggregate score-line. Larissa visits Henk Ten Cate’s Panathinaikos on Saturday.

Panthrakikos FC 0-0 Asteras Tripolis FC

In the third scoreless fixture of the weekend, Panthrakikos and Asteras Tripolis duelled to a stalemate in Komotini.

Neither could net a breakthrough, which would have rightly been vital to either outfit’s domestic campaign. Asteras Tripolis grabbed a valuable point away from home, but Nikos Kostenoglou’s men are likely to reflect on the game with a missed chance at furthering themselves from the relegation zone.

Emilio Ferrera’s Panthrakikos are not as closely associated with the bottom three clubs in the Greek table, but are also likely to feel they missed out on maximum points.

Asteras Tripolis faces Panionios at home in the Greek Cup on Wednesday, before welcoming Aris to Tripoli on Saturday. Panthrakikos’ Greek Cup campaign has already come to an end, but they face a trip to local rivals Skoda Xanthi as the Thracian pair meet in Komotini.