Emenike’s double gives Olympiacos narrow victory
GREEK CUP - MATCHDAY 1
| Olympiacos | 2 - 1 | Asteras Tripolis |
|---|---|---|
| Emenike (P) 71', 78' | Tsoukalas 84' |
Emmanuel Emenike scored twice for Olympiacos helping the Erythrolefki to a narrow 2-1 win over Asteras Tripolis in their opening match for the 2017/18 Greek Cup.
Olympiacos and Asteras Tripolis met for the second time in four days after the two teams played to a 1-1 draw in the Superleague on Saturday. After a poor run of form for the Erythrolefki, the defending Superleague champions were hoping to put together a convincing performance before Sunday’s big derby fixture against Superleague leaders, AEK.
However, the hosts did manage to draw up a good display against the Arkades, despite holding on for a 2-1 victory. After 70 minutes of goalless action, a clumsy penalty by Zouma on Ben allowed Emenike to score his first domestic goal of the season from the spot to put Olympiacos ahead in the 71st minute. The Nigerian forward struck again five minutes later, taking a great through pass from Fourtounis on the counterattack, and made no mistake one-on-one with the goalkeeper, finding the top corner of the net for his second goal of the night.
The result seemed to be in the bag, but Tsoukalas scuffed up a goal in the 84th minute for the visitors to bring Asteras back in the game. However, the hosts held on for the 2-1 win as they claimed all three points in their Group E opener.
Despite the win, Besnik Hasi will need to make drastic changes before Sunday’s derby against an in-form AEK side as his position at the club could very well be terminated if things do not go Olympiacos’ way on Sunday night.
