Greek Wrap (…not a gyro) Round 26: Time’s a ticking

By: Peter Katsiris | March 18th, 2009

Another eight matches down in the Greek Super League and the standings have gone under yet another shuffling in several races for glory. The title race looks all but over with Olympiacos streaking towards a twelfth title in thirteen years, but the playoff race is heating up while the relegation picture becomes all the more clearer with just four rounds of matches remaining on the Greek calendar.

Larissa FC 0-0 PAOK FC

Larissa’s home advantage was not enough to overcome PAOK at the Alkazar Stadium on Saturday as the two sides, who are in the thick of the playoff race, shared the spoils in a scoreless stalemate.

Having lost to Panathinaikos in Athens last week, pressure had become a factor for Larissa as rivals continue their pursuit of the final playoff spot. PAOK, meanwhile, followed last weekend’s derby draw with Olympiacos with yet another 0-0 draw to lose ground on second placed Panathinaikos and the aforementioned titleholders.

AEK FC 1-0 OFI Crete FC
Kafes 23′

Hoping to close the gap for second place, AEK grabbed a slim 1-0 win over OFI Crete at the OAKA Spyros Louis Stadium. With PAOK’s slip earlier in the day, AEK’s three points allowed for the Athenians to creep closer to their Thessaloniki rivals and almost guarantees OFI a drop to the B’ Ethniki next season.

AEK went ahead when Ismael Blanco’s cross was blocked by OFI ‘keeper Arkadiusz Malarz but only as far as Pantelis Kafes, who easily slotted his effort past an out-of-position Malarz. There was no way back for OFI, and Ioannis Matzourakis’ men look destined for a stint in the second-tier of Greek football.

Aris FC 0-1 Skoda Xanthi FC
Agali 80′

Aware of Larissa’s lapse against PAOK, Aris failed to take advantage of the opportunity to inch closer to the promise land known as the final playoff spot. Instead, it was Skoda Xanthi who gained some ground on Larissa with a 1-0 win at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium surely spoiling the home crowd’s evening.

Level throughout most of the match, Victor Agali’s sweet strike proved to be the difference. The Nigerian calmly collected a loose ball at the edge of the Aris box, and swiftly turned before smashing a driven shot into the top corner of the Aris goal.

Ergotelis FC 0-1 Asteras Tripolis FC
Kaounos 33′

Asteras Tripolis continued its climb up the Greek table as the Arcadian followed up last weekend’s 4-0 thrashing of Aris with a 1-0 defeat of Ergotelis in Heraklion. In a relegation log jam just a few weeks ago, Asteras claimed another three points to further support a late chase for the playoffs.

While last week’s rout of Aris was kickstarted by Michalis Sifakis’ sending off, Asteras surged ahead on thirty-three minutes. Adrian Bastia threaded a pass for Vaggelis Kaounos, who freely etched his name onto the scoreboard for the fifth time this season.

Despite home advantage on their side, Ergotelis failed to respond as Asteras claimed a league double over the Cretans.

Levadeiakos FC 1-1 Panionios FC
Napoleoni 72′ – Recoba 35′

With safety in the Super League not yet confirmed, Levadeiakos and Panionios played to a 1-1 draw in Levadia and the point boosted both campaigns in hopes of avoiding the drop.

Although their lead on the drop zone was – and still is – quite substantial, neither side has yet to clinch a spot in next year’s line-up of the Greek top flight. Alvaro Recoba took the initiative to assure Panionios of a spot next year as the Uruguayan netted the match’s breakthrough on thirty-five minutes. The former Inter Milan man weaved past two markers before slotting a low shot past Levadeiakos custodian Srdjan Blazic.

It took nearly forty-minutes for the home side to respond, but they managed to equalize on seventy-two minutes through Stefano Napoleoni. The Italian midfielder eluded defenders a he strolled into the Panionios half before releasing a shot from long distance. While the effort had plenty of power, Panionios ‘keeper Tomas Belic must have been disappointed with his decision to punch the ball as Levadeiakos levelled the match with a fluke-like tally.

Panthrakikos FC 2-1 Panserraikos FC
Diallo 14′, Zapropoulos 89′ – Abubakari 25′

After last week’s disastrous 5-1 loss at the hands of AEK, Panserraikos was unable to redeem themselves against fellow promoted side Panthrakikos as the ‘Liontaria’ were dealt a huge blow through a 2-1 loss in Komotini.

The hosts got off to a flying start when Abdul Diallo pounced after Panserraikos ‘keeper Fotis Kipouros fumbled Tim Matthys’ corner to allow the Burkina Faso striker easily popped in the loose ball on fourteen minutes.

The lead, however, didn’t last long. Panserraikos managed to level the score at 1-1 through a header by Mohammed Abubakari off a perfect cross from Marco Aurelio.

Heartbreak was the theme just before full-time as Panthrakikos went ahead once again, but this time there was little time for Panserraikos to respond. Set for extra time, Panserraikos’ slim chances of staying in the Super League took a heavy knock when Nikos Zapropoulos’ header beat Kipouros on eighty-nine minutes.

Thrasyvoulos Fylis FC 0-1 Panathinaikos FC
Salpigidis (pen.) 13′

Deflated by their Champions League exit thanks to the likes of Villarreal, Panathinaikos turned its attention to claiming second spot in the Greek Super League with a 1-0 win over Thrasyvoulos in Fyli.

With what was a questionable penalty call on Thrasyvoulos ‘keeper Peterson Pecanha, the referee paved the way for a spot-kick for Panathinaikos after just thirteen minutes.

Dimitris Salpigidis, who was the fouled party, made no mistake with his penalty effort to send Panathinaikos ahead with what was enough to keep Thrasyvoulos on the losing end.

Olympiacos CFP 5-0 Iraklis FC
Torosidis 60′, Oscar 64′, 79′, Derbyshire 82′, 87′

Olympiacos returned to the form which won them praises and matches by large margins in ahead of the New Year as Ernesto Valverde’s men claimed an emphatic 5-0 win over Iraklis at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium.

Vasilis Torosidis’ late first half goal was cancelled by an offside call, but the Greece international struck again on the hour mark to initiate Iraklis’ crumble.

Soon afterwards the deterioration continued as Fernando Belluschi connected with Oscar who tallied swiftly past ‘keeper Giorgos Bantis. A nearly-identical series of events panned out on seventy-nine minutes as Oscar secured a brace after another assist from Belluschi.

Not to be outdone by his Spanish teammate, Matt Derbyshire added to Iraklis woes as the unmarked Englishman easily converted a grounded cross from Leonardo to make it 4-0 for the hosts.

But the evening’s pain for Iraklis didn’t stop there, at least not until Derbyshire notched his second goal of the night. Collecting a neatly crafted pass from Predrag Djordjevic, Derbyshire weaved through the defense before beating Bantis to the near post with a grounded strike.

Next Up:

The Greek Cup takes center stage during midweek as the introductory legs of the semi-final ties take the stage in Athens between AEK and Panserraikos, and in Tripolis between Asteras Tripolis and Olympiacos.

The weekend then offers excitement as the final four weeks of football begin with the twenty-seventh round schedule:

OFI Crete FC vs. Panthrakikos FC
Iraklis FC vs. Larissa FC
Panionios FC vs. Olympiacos CFP
PAOK FC vs. Thrasyvoulos Fylis FC
Skoda Xanthi FC vs. Ergotelis FC
AEK FC vs. Levadeiakos FC
Asteras Tripolis FC vs. Panathinaikos FC
Panserraikos FC vs. Aris FC