In-form Greens sink 10-man Atromitos
SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 20
Panathinaikos made it three wins in a row on Wednesday and tightened its grip on fourth spot courtesy of an impressive 3-0 home win over Atromitos in a one-sided Matchday 20 clash at the Olympic Stadium in Athens.
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Captain Dimitris Kourbelis opened the scoring with his first goal of the season after just four minutes with a powerful shot, and after the visitors had Kyriakos Kivrakidis sent off after 32 minutes, Bart Schenkeveld made it 2-0 from a Ghayas Zahid set-piece, and Juan Perea added the third with 14 minutes left.
Giorgos Donis’ Greens are now gathering some serious momentum since the turn of the year, and are now firmly on course for a place in the Play Offs. Panathinaikos are fourth, and they are five points clear of fifth-placed OFI, who lost 1-0 to leaders Olympiacos.
THE MATCH
Panathinaikos came into this match on the back of a 1-0 win at Xanthi which had followed an emotionally draining Greek Cup victory last week over PAS Giannina, and Donis’ men now look like a completely different side than the inconsistent team of the first half of the season.
Atromitos were not expected to be a pushover as they too still have it all to play for. One of a number of sides trying to claim fifth or sixth place, the Peristeri side only managed a draw at home to Volos on Sunday and were in need of a boost.
But it was the Greens who started strongly, with urgency and appetite, and that brought the first goal after just four minutes - and what a goal it was from Kourbelis. The Greek international defender let fly with an unstoppable shot from just outside the penalty area which left Balazs Megyeri no chance.
The Hungarian did make somewhat of amends with two solid saves from Tasos Chatzigiovanis and Federico Macheda in the seventh and right minutes as the home side threatened to run riot.
In the 32nd minute came the crucial moment when Kivrakidis received his marching orders with a straight red card, that seemed rather harsh, for a foul on Christos Donis following a VAR review.
Atromitos’ psychology from that moment on hit rock bottom and the match became an exercise in damage limitation for the Peristeri outfit.
Fortunately for the visitors, Panathinaikos were not able to sustain the same tempo - until Schenkeveld made it 2-0 after 66 minutes with a header from Zahid’s free-kick. From then on the hosts continued to create opportunities and pin Atromitos back in their own half.
The third goal came after 76 minutes, with Italian strike Macheda teeing up Perea to score from close range to wrap up another three-point haul for the Greens.
HIGHLIGHTS
