Greens see off Asteras at the OAKA
SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 12
Panathinaikos picked up three valuable points on Sunday courtesy off a hard-earned 1-0 home win over struggling Asteras Tripolis at the Olympic Stadium, a result which propelled the Greens up to eighth spot.
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Tasos Chatzigiovanis scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot after eight minutes, after Dani Suarez had fouled PAO forward Juan Jose Perea.
Asteras made life difficult for Giorgos Donis’ side in the second half, but the Greens’ defence held firm to clinch the three points.
While Panathinaikos returned to winning ways and moved closer to the top six, Asteras’ situation gets more desperate by the week. The Arcadians are now third from bottom with just 11 points from 12 matches.
THE MATCH
The search for consistency has been Panathinaikos’ constant mission since the start of the season, with the Greens coming into this match on the back of another case of Jekyll and Hyde. Having beaten AEK 3-2 in the derby a couple of weeks ago, last weekend PAO again failed to follow up and could only muster a goalless draw at Super League basement boys Panetolikos.
But this time Donis’ players came out of the blocks at a sprint and caused the visitors plenty of problems in the opening exchanges through a combination of quick and click passing, and direct running.
So it came as little surprise when Suarez was forced to stop Pera illegally in the fifth minute, resulting in a spot-kick award. There was an anxious wait for the VAR review, but the penalty was given and Chatziogiovanis stepped up to slot the penalty home, a good three minutes after the decision had originally been given.
Panathinaikos could have had the game wrapped up by the half-hour mark, but despite Chatzigiovanis serving up two assists for Perea, the 19-year-old Colombian was twice thwarted by Nikos Papadopoulos in the Tripolis goal.
In the second half, as the match wore on the home side became more anxious about holding on to their lead and this invited Asteras to attack. The Arcadians grew in confidence and produced a much-improved performance, but they simply could not find a way past Panathinaikos goalkeeper Sokratis Dioudis.
STARTING LINEUPS
Panathinaikos: 1 Dioudis (GK), 12 Chatzitheodoridis, 44 Pougouras, 5 Schenkeveld, 2 Johansson, 11 Chatzigiovanis, 21 Kourbelis, 8 Donis, 18 Bouzoukis, 19 Perea, 9 Macheda
Asteras Tripolis: 1 Papadopoulos (GK), 27 Kotsiras, 33 Martinez, 15 Suarez, 6 Valiente, 34 Matricardi, 5 Capilla, 8 Fernandez, 10 Fernandez, 19 Jauregi, 30 Barrales
HIGHLIGHTS
