Olympiacos ease past Kalamata as Fortounis returns  

GREEK FOOTBALL CUP - LAST 16 (LEG 2)

With Kostas Fortounis returning from injury, Olympiacos breezed past Kalamata in the second leg of the Greek Cup Last 16 tie, earning a comfortable 4-1 victory in Piraeus.

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Boasting a commanding 2-0 advantage from the first leg in Kalamata, Olympiacos were always going to secure qualification to the next phase of the competition against their Football League opponents, and they duly earned a routine 4-1 triumph at the Karaiskakis Stadium.

The game will remembered for the return of star midfielder Kostas Fortounis, who made his long-awaited comeback for Olympiacos after spending the first half of the current season on the sidelines with an anterior cruciate ligament injury. Fortounis replaced Lazar Randjelovic in the 52nd minute.

Maxi Lovera and Miguel Angel Guerrero both scored twice to seal the 6-1 aggregate victory. El Idrissi grabbed the Kalamata consolation.

THE MATCH

Olympiacos opened the scoring on the night within three minutes.

Cutting to the penalty area from the left wing, Lovera pulled to a shooting position, whipping a pinpoint drive beyond the opposing goalkeeper.

That lead was soon doubled.

14 minutes later, Guerrero connected with Leonardo Koutris’ low cross, clinically turning the ball into the left corner.

As the game progressed, Kalamata began to create chances of their own, and Bobby Allain was forced into a couple of tricky stops.

Olympiacos had to wait until shortly after the half-time break to tally their third.

Once again, Guerrero was the hero, cooly slotting Lazaros Christodoulopoulos’ accurate pass past the goalkeeper.

There was then a standing ovation as Fortounis replaced Randjelovic to finally make his return to competitive football. 

Kalamata got on the board in impressive fashion. Displaying neat skill, El Idrissi found space in the box to lash a strong, powerful effort under the despairing arm of Allain.

Nevertheless, Olympiacos would eventually have the final say, as Lovera scored his second with a piledriver from distance.

THE TEAMS

Olympiacos: Allain, Koutris, Meriah, Cisse, Elabdellaoui, Markovic (Guilherme 58’), Xenitidis, Lovera, Christodoulopoulos (Liatsos 68’), Randjelovic (Fortounis 52’), Guerrero.

Kalamata: Kasotakis, Galoupis, Triantafyllakos, Zacharopoulos, Nassr, Bousbiba (Alexopoulos 63’), Peev (Osmangic 65’), Panagou, Nasser, El Idrissi, Pesitis (Iliopoulos 55’). 

HIGHLIGHTS

by Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: sportfm.gr

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