AEK see off Lamia with ease
GREEK SUPERLEAGUE - MATCHDAY 13
| AEK | 2 - 0 | Lamia |
|---|---|---|
| Ponce 13' Anastasiadis 47 OG' |
AEK comfortably defeated Lamia 2-0 at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday evening to keep their return to winning form going and move to within two points of third-placed Atromitos.
Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage from AGONASport.com!
The Kitrinomavri had too much quality for their visitors from the Phthiotis region, as an Ezequiel Ponce effort and an own goal from Anestis Anastasiadis proved enough to seal all three points for Marinos Ouzounidis’ men.
It’s the second 2-0 win in a row for AEK following their shock 2-1 defeat by Panaitolikos a few weeks ago, and although the reigning champions are still nine points adrift of leaders PAOK, the win at least keeps AEK in touch.
For Lamia, it was their sixth match without a win, and it was not hard to see why they are in that kind of form with a disjointed approach that yielded little possession and virtually no scoring chances.
THE MATCH
Having banished their Champions League blues last week, it was imperative that AEK managed to get another three-point haul tonight to keep the pressure on PAOK and Olympiacos at the top.
And a bright start from AEK was rewarded after 13 minutes when they opened the scoring through Ponce, who is in a rich vein of form right now for the Kitrinomavri.
That move that lead to the goal began with AEK captain Petros Mantalos stealing possession away from Lamia’s Ghanian midfielder Mark Asigba. The 27-year-old Greek international playmaker then crossed for Ponce to score with a clinical first-time finish.
There were a couple of half-chances for AEK to make it 2-0 before the break, but Lamia’s creaking defence managed to hold on and prevent further damage until the teams disappeared into the dressing rooms.
But AEK did not have to wait long for the second goal to come as just two minutes into the second half the home side doubled their advantage.
Again Mantalos played a key role, intercepting possession after a poor clearance from Lamia goalkeeper Bojan Šaranov. The AEK man crossed into the danger zone and the unfortunate Athanasiadis saw the ball go in via a deflection of his knee.
The game was over as a contest at that point and although there were further chances for AEK, Ouzounidis’ men twice hit the woodwork through Ponce and Christos Almpanis has the visitors managed to avoid being routed.
STARTING LINEUPS
AEK: 16 Tsintonas, 23 Hult, 4 Oikonomou, 19 Chygrinsky, 12 Galo, 25 Galanopoulos, 95 Alef, 31 Boye, 20 Mantalos, 17 Klonaridis, 22 Ponce
Lamia: 1 Sranov, 50 Asigba, 4 Adejo, 8 Pliatsikas, 2 Vasiliantopoulos, 32 Blazic, 23 Skondras, 26 Epstein, 10 Bertolio, 11 Karamanos, 9 Barrales
