Honours even in Athens derby
SUPER LEAGUE PLAYOFFS - MATCHDAY 6
Panathinaikos and Olympiacos shared the spoils of a goalless draw in what turned out to be an instantly forgettable derby of the eternal enemies on Sunday evening at the Olympic Stadium
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Only one shot on target for each side told its own story of an uninspired Super League Play Offs Matchday 6 clash with few highlights to report as Pedro Martins’ champions preserved their unbeaten league record comfortably.
The only other incident of note was a missed penalty for Olympiacos, with Frenchman Mathieu Valbuena failing to beat Greens goalkeeper Socratis Dioudis in first-half added time.
For Giorgos Donis’ Panathinaikos, the focus will be on producing the same kind of energy and desire that they did in this match as they head into the final four games of the season.
THE MATCH
The fierce Athens rivals came into this Greek football classico with contrasting fortunes. Olympiacos have been crowned champions for the 45th time and came into this match looking to remain unbeaten, while Panathinaikos have shown a frustrating inconsistency over the course of the playoffs.
In the last two weeks the Greems produced below-par displays against Olympiacos (a 3-0 defeat) and OFI (a 0-0 draw in Crete) before bouncing back to beat Aris 2-0 on Wednesday.
The outcome of the match it seemed then, would depend on how up for the game the hosts were, and how focused the visitors would be on preserving that precious undefeated tag.
The first half was a pretty cagey affair, with neither side taking many risks, although Panathinaikos were slightly in the ascendancy and full of pressing and energy all over the pitch as they sought to stage an upset.
Chances were at a premium in the first 45 minutes but there was plenty of action and drama to boot in the final minutes of the half to make up for the slow start.
In the second minute of added time, Valbuena went down under a challenge from Anuar Tuhami, and the incident was sent for a VAR review. Panathinaikos coach Donis was left fuming after the referee pointed to the spot, and he was booked for his troubles.
Valbuena stepped up to take the spot-kick himself, but the veteran Frenchman’s effort was saved brilliantly low down by Dioudis, who second-guessed where the Olympiacos midfielder intended to place his effort.
The tempo of the game remained unchanged in the second half, with the Greens keeping up their pressing game against an Olympiacos team that were in no hurry to create scoring chances.
That made for a not-so-entertaining spectacle for the neutral, and a lack of clear scoring chances.
Panathinaikos defender Chatzitheodoridis tried his luck on the hour mark with a long-range strike but his effort flashed narrowly wide, while at the other end four minutes later Yousseff El Arabi prodded a close-range shot inches wide of the post.
A wave of substitutions and a cooling break further interrupted the rhythm of the game in the seconc half, and it seemed that this one was destined to be a goalless draw. And so it came to pass as a largely uneventful second period came to close with the score locked at 0-0.
STARTING LINEUPS
Panathinaikos: 1 Dioudis (GK), 12 Chatzitheodoridis, 4 Kolovetsios, 5 Schenkeveld, 23 Theocharis, 21 Kourbelis, 26 Tuhami, 18 Bouzoukis, 11 Chatzigiovanis, 9 Macheda, 55 Alexandropoulos
Olympiacos: 1 Sa (Gk), 3 Semedo, 4 Camara, 5 Bouhalakis, 7 Fortounis, 8 Guilherme, 11 El-arabi, 14 Elabdellaoui, 24 Ba, 28 Valbuena, 76 Gaspar
