10-man Olympiacos leave it late against Atromitos
SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 23
Ahmed Hassan came off the bench to score a priceless match-winning goal for Olympiacos as the Piraeus giants defeated Atromitos 1-0 in Peristeri in a match which saw the visitors reduced to 10 players due to captain Omar’s red card with 17 minutes left.
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Hassan escaped marker Dimitris Goutas to head home a perfect lofted pass from Mathieu Valbuena in the first minute of added time to clinch what had seemed an unlikely win for the visitors up to that point.
The win means Olympiacos remain on their perch at the top of the table ahead of PAOK with 57 points.
Chances were at a premium in what was a closely-fought Matchday 23 encounter at the Municipal Stadium of Peristeri in West Athens, although Olympiacos were guilty of missing the game’s best chances to break the deadlock with both Omar and Giorgos Masouras the guilty parties.
Omar also completed a miserable evening by getting himself sent-off for a second yellow card for a clumsy tackle, leaving his team-mates with a tough task to try and get a victory, but they were equal to it in the end.
Savvas Pantelidis’ Atromitos side put in one of their better shifts and did just about enough to deserve a point, but they failed to see it through and ended up with nothing - a result which leaves them a tough task to try and make a late surge to get into the top six and secure a place in the Play Offs.
THE MATCH
Super League 1 leaders Olympiacos made the short trip to Peristeri knowing that they needed to win to maintain their lead. Pedro Martins’ team went back to the top of the standings following their 3-1 win over Xanthi last week and PAOK’s loss to Panathinaikos.
Olympiacos arrived in West Athens on the back of a fine run of form, having won five of their last six and would have fanied their chances against an Atromitos side in the midst of a three-match losing streak. While a playoff spot is still not beyond Pantelidis’ men, the needed three points from this match to try and get their act together quickly.
And the home side showed just how eager they were to try and pull off a surprise result, taking the initiative in the early stages and fashioning a great chance to score after 13 minutes. Javier Umbides was at the center of it, swinging over a perfect cross which was met by Apostolos Vellios, however the big striker fired his first-time effort narrowly wide from an excellent position.
That chance only served to wake up an Olympiacos team which had been going through the motions in the opening 20 minutes, and they responded by creating a fine chance of their own in the 24th minute.
It was captain Omar who got himself in a great position to shoot after cutting in from the right flank, but the Norwegian full-back’s shot was off target and Atromitos goalkeeper Balazs Megyeri breathed a sigh of relief.
The tempo of the game dropped after that point and it wasn’t until a minute before half-time when we saw some significant goalmouth action when Masouras saw his initial shot saved brilliantly by Balazs, and then when the ball came back to him from a Youssef El-Arabi backheel, the Greek international’s effort on the rebound was cleared off the line by home defender Dimitris Goutas.
The pattern of the game did not change much in the second half, with Olympiacos just about on top but unable to penetrate in behind the home side’s well-drilled defence.
Atromitos were not able to create much going forward as the Peristeri side were not able to hold on to the ball long enough, and it was Olympiacos who came close to opening the scoring in the 66th minute.
Substitute Kostas Fortounis, who came on after 18 minutes for the injured Hilal Soudani, played in Omar but the defender again failed to hit the target from a promising position.
The match had 0-0 written all over it but then came a crucial moment in the 73rd minute when Olympiacos were reduced to 10 players and it seemed that the game might open up for either side to win it.
Omar was the man who was red-carded for the Thrylos, after he picked up a second yellow card for a clumsily challenge on Giorgos Daviotos as he tried to break clear on a promising counter attack for Atromitos.
It seemed that the match was heading for a 0-0 draw at that point, but Hassan, who had replaced Masouras after 59 minutes, popped up in the penalty area and got in between two Atromitos defender to head Valbuena’s perfectly weighted past expertly past the dive of Megyeri.
STARTING LINEUPS
Atromitos: 16 Megyeri (Gk), 28 Natsos, 19 Kivrakidis, 4 Goutas, 15 Madson, 29 Strougis, 7 Busuladzic, 8 Umbides, 39 Vellios, 10 Nsikulu, 11 De Pauw
Olympiacos: 1 Sa (Gk), 2 Soudani, 3 Semedo, 14 Elabdellaoui, 5 Bouhalakis, 21 Tsimikas, 24 Ba, 8 Guilherme, 19 Masouras, 28 Valbuena, 11 El-Arabi
HIGHLIGHTS
