Panachaiki pull away in third place
 

GREEK FOOTBALL LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 25

Panachaiki pulled away in third place after defeating Panegialios 1:2 on Thursday. Apollon Larissas and Kissamikos sit tied for fourth after wins over Kallithea and Doxa Dramas while Panserraikos earned an important win over Sparti in their fight to avoid the drop. 

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After two consecutive defeats, Panachaiki returned to winning ways by defeating Panegialios 1:2 on the road. The side from Patra took a two goal lead into halftime thanks to an early goal from Eleftheriadis (6) and Argyropoulos’ half volley strike five minute before the break. The visitors comfortably held their lead until the 89th minute when Stamatis pulled one back for the hosts. However, Panachaiki would hold onto the victory to move up to 50 points in the league standings, a distant 10 points behind second placed Aris. 

The result gives Panachaiki a 7 point cushion ahead of fourth placed Apollon Larissas. Although third place does not secure promotion to next year’s SuperLeague, a third place finish could prove important in the end, if a SuperLeague side is relegated due to financial reasons. In this case, the third placed team from the Football League will be granted a place in next year’s top flight.

Apollon Larissas came from 1:3 down to defeat Kallithea 4:3 in the week’s most entertaining matchup. Relegation bound Kallithea found the breakthrough in the 18th minute through Mako before Mavrias equalized in the 39h minute. Kallithea would go on to score two goals in the final five minutes of the first half through Zygeridis (40) and Mako (45) for a surprising 1:3 lead at the break. However, the hosts would turn things around in the second half as Karakatsanis pulled one back in the 57th minute before Kanoulas equalized seven minutes later. Apollon Larissas would complete the comeback two minutes from time with Mavrias’ second of the match, giving his side the three points. 

With the result, Apollon Larisas move into fourth place (tied with Kissamikos and Doxa Dramas) just seven points behind third placed Panachaiki while Kallithea continue to slip further in the relegation zone. Although the match proved to be a real thriller in the end, a post game announcement from Kallithea mentioned that Apollon Larissas allowed Kallithea to take a 1:3 lead into the break. Apollon responded with a sarcastic statement denying these claim. According to sport24.gr, there was extensive play on online sportsbooks favoring a comeback from Apollon Larissas, which paid out with hefty odds. More investigating and developments will likely take place with this match and if the suspicion of match fixing is confirmed, extensive consequences will be handed out to those involved.  

AOX Kissamikos ended Doxa Dramas hopes for a third place finish by defeating the Black Eagles 2:1 in Chania. The result sees Kissamikos move into fourth with Apollon Larissas and Doxa Dramas on 43 points, however Doxa will likely be deducted three points for fielding six foreign players at once in last weekend’s match against Aris.

In other action, Panserraikos earned a salvaging 3:1 win over Sparti to move out of the drop zone. Ergotelis now occupy the final relegation spot after drawing 1:1 away to Apollon Pontou. Trikala and Karaiskakis played to a goalless draw.

Aiginiakos and Anagennisi Karditsas were awarded all three points against Acharnaikos and Veria, who have withdrawn from the league.

by Sarantos Kaperonis

Image Source: to10.gr

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