Olympiacos and PAOK share spoils of derby draw
 

SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 12

Greece’s top two clubs of the moment, Olympiacos and PAOK, shared the honours in a pulsating 1-1 draw on Sunday night in what proved to be a titanic North vs. South derby clash at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium.

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After a frantic start dominated by Olympiacos, Sverrir Ingi Ingason opened the scoring from PAOK’s first clear chance, knocking home the rebound from his initial header after a superbly-delivered Josip Misic free-kick.

Matheu Valbuena levelled matters for Olympiacos in the 64th minute from the penalty spot after Dimitris Giannoulis had sent Daniel Podence tumbling, and at that point, the stage was set for an enthralling finish.

No further goals were added and the result was probably a fair reflection on play overall, although Olympiacos will feel they could have got three points after missing several good chances in the second half.

The outcome is that both teams are now locked on 28 points at the top of the table after 12 matches.

THE MATCH

With the teams locked on 27 points apiece heading into this much-anticipated clash, this derby was quite rightly billed as the match of the season in Greece thus far.

Olympiacos and PAOK have always been historic rivals, but in the last half decade they have been the preeminent forces in Greek football, fighting it out for titles on a yearly basis - with the exception of AEK’s title-winning season to years ago.

Ferreira’s men are the defending champions and arrived in Piraeus with a 46-match domestic unbeaten run stretching back to 2018. Olympiacos meanwhile were attempting to put a disappointing week behind them which included a draw at Panionios and a heavy 4-2 defeat by Tottenhan in the Champions League.

After smoke from flares set off by the home fans cleared, the match kicked off and it was Olympiacos who made the early running. Valbuena registered the first effort on goal after six minutes with an ambitious overhead kick which sailed wide of Zivko Zivkovic’s right post.

Six minutes later Olympiacos should have taken the lead when Kostas Tsimikas sent over a trademark curling cross from the left. Youssef El-Arabi met the ball, but he could only head straight at Zivkovic, who gathered it easily.

PAOK, clad in their all-black change kit, struggled to get hold of possession in the opening 20 minutes, but as the half wore on they began to get into dangerous positions, and only poor control by Karol Swiderski prevented the Polish striker from getting a clear shot on goal from inside the box after 25 minutes.

That chance proved ominous, as just four minutes later PAOK went in front with their first real clear chance and stunned the home crowd into silence.

Diego Biseswar was fouled in a dangerous position in the left channel, and Misic, who has been an influential figure in PAOK’s season so far, delivered an inch-perfect free-kick onto the head of Sverrir Ingi Ingason. The Iceland defender’s header was saved by Jose Sa, but the big center back tucked away the rebound and gleefully wheeled away in celebration to be mobbed by his team-mates.

All eyes were on Olympiacos to see how the hosts would respond, and they did so in positive fashion, trying to get behind the PAOK backline via their attacking full-backs, Tsimikas and Omar.

But PAOK had clearly done their homework, with Ferreira’s men able to deal comfortably with whatever the home side could throw at them and go in at half-time 1-0 up.

The onus was on Olympiacos to play a more aggressive attacking game in the second half, and the Thrylos did their best, pushing PAOK back. Three minutes after the restart, the hosts worked themselves a decent opening when Hillal Soudani teed up Guilherme, but the Brazilian fired wastefully wide.

Olympiacos had protests for a penalty waved away by Spanish referee Jose Maria Sanchez Martinez shortly after when Daniel Podence went down in the penalty box, and replays were inconclusive as to whether his decision was a correct one or not.

Mady Kamara replaced Andreas Bouchalakis in midfield for Olympiacos on the hour mark as Martins looked to assert dominance in the middle, and PAOK were pushed back into their own third time and again.

Olympiacos were then given a route back into the match when Dimitris Giannoulis fouled Podence in the box on 64 minutes, and Valbuena coolly slotted home from 12 yards to level the match.

Olympiacos then missed a glorious chance to make it 2-1 when Soudani headed Omar’s flicked header inches wide of Zivkovic’s right post with the Serbian goalkeeper beaten.

Valbuena made way for Miguel Angel Guerrero as the home side looked to go in search of a winner, and the match began to get more stretched as it entered the last 15 minutes. Guilherme was denied from close range in the 80th minute with a header from a corner, and it seemed that if a goal was going to come, it would come from the home side.

Dimitris Pelkas replaced Biseswar with nine minutes left, in a like-for-like change by Ferreira, and the Greek international midfielder was presented with a chance on 85 minutes, but he fired a tame effort goalwards which was easily saved by Sa.

Guerrero stung the palms of Zivkovic with a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area with two minutes of normal time remaining, and PAOK were looking increasingly ragged under pressure from the home side.

After four minutes of stoppages, the head official blew the final whistle to signal an end to the pulsating top of the table clash.

STARTING LINEUPS

Olympiacos: 1 Sa (GK), 21 Tsimikas, 34 Papadopoulos, 3 Semedo, 14 Elabdellaoui, 5 Bouhalakis, 8 Guilherme, 19 Masouras, 28 Valbuena, 10 Podence, 11 El-arabi

Paok: 88 Zivkovic (GK), 23 Giannoulis, 4 Ingason, 15 Crespo, 3 Matos, 27 Misic, 33 Douglas, 7 El Kaddouri, 21 Biseswar, 18 Limnios, 9 Swiderski

HIGHLIGHTS

by Graham Wood

Image Source: sportime.gr

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