Olympiacos blooper gives PAOK derby honors
Olympiacos blooper gives PAOK derby honors
GREEK SUPERLEAGUE - MATCHDAY 5
PAOK claimed first blood against Olympiacos in the SuperLeague title race as the Salonica club came away from the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium with a narrow 1-0 win in Sunday’s derby duel.
A Jagos Vukovic own goal early in the second half from a Vierhinha cross proved the difference between the two teams in an evenly-matched contest in which PAOK goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis was in inspired form.
PAOK’s win means that Razvan Lucescu’s team top the table with 13 points after recording five straight wins (having began the season with -2 points), while Olympiacos remain in fourth spot, level on 12 points with AEK and Atromitos ahead of them.
The North v South rivalry between Olympiacos and PAOK is always packed with passion, and there was much anticipation for what was the most anticipated derby duel of the fledgling 2018/2019 Super League so far.
Billowing smoke from flares and firecrackers as the players came out of to the pitch for the kick-off meant that the actual start of the match was delayed by 10 minutes.
When the smoke cleared and the match got underway, the hosts made an energetic start and could have been ahead inside two minutes if not for the quick reflexes of goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis, who instinctively pushed away a point-blank header from Mady Camara.
Both teams then spent large periods of the first half tentatively probing and feeling each other out, without creating much of a dangerous attacking threat.
Olympiacos had more of the possession and continued to look the most likely to break the deadlock, and Paschalakis again came to the rescue to deny the hosts a goal after 32 minutes, beating away a powerful effort from Ahmed Hassan.
Four minutes into the second half and PAOK got the breakthrough. Vierinha was left with time and space to cross from the left, and when Olympiacos goalkeeper Andreas Gianniotis failed to deal with it, defender Jagos Vukovic turned the ball into his own net as he attempted to clear.
Olympiacos were quit to respond, gathering their composure and trying to play their way through the PAOK backline in search on an equaliser. Their first big chance came after nine minutes later when Paschalakis again made a superb low save from Kostas Fortounis’ first time shot after a great run from Daniel Podence down the right.
The hosts pressed PAOK’s goal in the closing minutes in a desperate effort to get a late equaliser, and the home side were unlucky not to level matters.
A half-chance after 83 minutes which Hassan squandered was followed by a double serving of chances in the last minute.
Hassan was again denied by a fine Paschalakis save, and Miguel Angelo Guerrero somehow contrived to fire the rebound wide as PAOK, who did not register a single effort on goal in the second 45 minutes, clung on to celebrate taking first blood in the title race.
by Graham Wood
Image Source: sportfm.gr
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