AEK Go Top In Weekend Of Few Goals
(Matchday 4 Recap)
GREEK SUPERLEAGUE - MATCHDAY 4
| Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16-Sep-17 | Levadiakos | 1 - 0 | Xanthi |
| 16-Sep-17 | PAOK | 1 - 0 | Panetolikos |
| 16-Sep-17 | Olympiacos | 1 - 1 | Asteras Tripolis |
| 17-Sep-17 | Panathinaikos | 1 - 0 | Apollon Smyrnis |
| 17-Sep-17 | Platanias | 0 - 0 | Kerkyra |
| 17-Sep-17 | Larissa | 0 - 0 | Atromitos |
| 17-Sep-17 | Lamia | 0 - 1 | AEK |
| 18-Sep-17 | PAS Giannina | 1 - 1 | Panionios |
AGONAsport’s George Tsitsonis brings you a full recap of matchday 4 action in the Greek SuperLeague. For all the latest fixtures and result visit here. For the the up to date Supereague standings visit here.
Those hoping to see goal-fests or matches full of attacking flair would have been best advised to skip the Greek Super League action this past weekend. Matchday 4 was one that had little of either as a total of eight goals were scored in the eight matches played. No match had more than two goals scored, and six of the matches were either decided by a single goal or were scoreless.
AEK scored one of those penalties, an 82nd minute conversion by Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, to give them a priceless 1-0 win over Lamia. That result brings Manolo Jimenez’s side to the top of the table on 10 points, two ahead of Olympiacos, as the two teams get set to do battle next weekend.
Olympiacos seem to be close to crisis mode after their 1-1 home draw against Asteras Tripolis. The Erythrolefki dropped points in the league again in a week they will be trying to forget (two draws in the Super League and defeat in the Champions’ League). Asteras were the better side and took the lead through a Michalis Manias penalty. Just as they were edging toward a win, Olympiacos scored a penalty deep into injury time which was converted by Uros Djurdjevic.
PAOK got back to winning ways as they nipped past Panetolikos 1-0. Aleksandar Prijovic’s 75th header the difference between the two sides. PAOK created enough chances to win by a more comfortable margin, but had to wait until Prijovic’s guided header.
Panionios took the lead through Giorgos Masouras just after the break, but couldn’t hang on as home side PAS Giannina earned a 1-1 draw. Masouras’ 49th minute strike was cancelled out by Bruno Chalkiadakis’ 57th minute goal. Both teams remain undefeated on the season with the result.
Panathinaikos bagged their first win of the season defeating Apollon Smyrnis 1-0 on Sunday. Omri Altman headed home an Oscar Hiljemark corner kick to give Marinos Ouzounidis’ side the win. Panathinaikos come off the bottom of the table with victory, going up to 11th.
Levadiakos picked up another positive result as they downed Xanthi 1-0. Brandao’s 3rd minute penalty kick sealed the points for Jose Anigo and company.
It was zeroes across the board in the Larisa-Atromitos and Platanias-Kerkyra matches. In a hard-fought affair at the AEL FC Arena which produced a whopping 41 fouls, Spyros Risvanis’ header should have broken the deadlock in the 85th, but despite the ball crossing the line the goal was not given to Atromitos. Platanias had the edge in chances created against Kerkyra in Chania, however could not find the breakthrough against the visitors.
Matchday MVP
Omri Altman takes the MVP award for Matchday 4. Altman scored a header in the 32nd minute to give Panathinaikos a priceless 1-0 win over Apollon Smyrni. Besides the goal, the Israeli midfielder, who came over to the Prasini in a summer move from Hapoel Tel Aviv, was at the center of everything good that Marinos Ouzounidis’ side created. Altman had chances to score more, but his overall performance give him this week’s nod.
Goal of the Matchday
Giorgos Masouras’ goal for Panionios in the 49th minute against PAS Giannina earns top honors this week. This was a fine team goal as from a throw-in Lazaros Lambrou received the ball and played wide for Valentinos Vlachos. Vlachos’ inch-perfect low ball was met by Masouras who streaking in at the far post. Only eight goals scored this weekend, but this was certainly the best of those.
Save of the Matchday
This week’s top pick comes from a defender. Kerkyra managed to pick up a point on the road after a 0-0 draw with Platanias. Special thanks goes to Stefanos Siontis for his key intervention in the second half. After Kerkyra ‘keeper Nikos Giannakopoulos made a terrible error gifting Platanias’ Nikos Korovesis the ball just outside the box, Siontis ran back to cover and managed to make a goal-line clearance from what appeared to be a certain goal from Korovesis’ shot.
Play of the Matchday
Lamia did not have many chances against AEK, however they came closest in the 32nd minute as a result of a beautiful counter-attack. Wanderson took off on a fine run from behind midfield and just outside the box laid off a delightful ball for the overlapping Stavros Vasilantonpoulos. His shot was blocked well by AEK goalkeeper Giannis Anestis and the ensuing rebound fell to the feet of Marko Blazic, who with goal at his mercy shot just over, the ball clipping the top of the crossbar. In a weekend of such little creativity from open play, this entire sequence was a bright spot.
Team Performance of the Matchday
This has to go to Levadiakos. The 1-0 win over Xanthi showed that Jose Anigo’s side are one to be reckoned with this season. Xanthi were coming off a draw against Olympiacos, but Levadiakos took control with an early penalty and never looked back. The team from the Boetia region could have scored more as they fashioned some good scoring opportunities. The victory puts Levadiakos into 5th place in the Super League, undefeated after four matches.
Surprise of the Matchday
Kerkyra picked up a valuable away point against Platanias. While there was nothing jaw-dropping about their display, this was a committed effort from Alekos Vosniadis’s men. Kerkyra were strong at the back and goalkeeper Nikos Giannakopoulos was absolutely superb despite one bad error that nearly cost his side. Four points from their first four matches isn’t a brilliant start, but points like this in away matches will help Kerkyra avoid a battle against the drop.
Disappointment of the Matchday
Olympiacos dropped points for a second consecutive week against Asteras Tripolis. Besnik Hasi’s team were out of sorts once again as only a very late penalty prevented them from incurring their first defeat of the season. With the derby against AEK looming next weekend, this was not the type of performance or result the club wanted in the lead-up to that big match.
