SLGR Matchday 13 Recap: PAOK Win Again, Increase Lead At Top; Atromitos Beat Aris; Oly Held At Xanthi
AGONAsport’s George Tsitsonis brings you a full recap of matchday 13 action in the Greek SuperLeague.
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Leaders PAOK increased their lead atop the standings after Matchday 13 action in the 2018/19 Greek Super League. The Thessaloniki giants came from behind to defeat Larisa 2-1 at home and take advantage of Olympiacos dropping points at Xanthi in a 1-1 draw. Atromitos went back into second place with an emphatic win against Aris. Elsewhere, there were wins for AEK, Asteras Tripolis, OFI, and Panetolikos.
Below is a match-by-match breakdown of the weekend matches:
Chuba Akpom scored 20 minutes from time to give PAOK a 2-1 comeback victory over 10-man Larisa on Sunday. Visiting Larisa took a shock lead in the first half when Marko Nunic scored in the 37th minute. PAOK struck back just before the break as Aleksandar Prijovic scored his eighth goal of the season, this one from the penalty spot, following a red card to Larisa’s Nikos Karanikas. The away side held on for a long stretch in the second half, but Akpom’s toe-poked breakthrough was the difference as PAOK won their twelfth match of the season.
Efthimios Koulouris’ brace led Atromitos to a 4-2 win over Aris. It had been a difficult previous two weeks for the Peristeri club, but they roared back with a vengeance against Aris on Sunday at home. Emanuel Sakic scored after a quarter of an hour to give Damir Canadi’s men the lead. League leading scorer Koulouris struck in the 59th minute for his tenth goal of the season as Atromitos went two up before a crazy last few minutes. Dimitris Konstantidis struck back a minute from time to pull Aris back to within one. Koulouris scored again to restore the two-goal cushion before Dimitris Diamantopoulos replied for Aris in injury-time. There was enough time for Clarck N’Sikulu to score his side’s fourth at the death to put the stamp on a wild finish.
Atromitos moved into second place with that victory as Olympiacos fell to third after a 1-1 draw in Xanthi. It was another good attacking display by Olympiacos, but despite a plethora of chances, Pedro Martins’ team could not score the goals they needed to win the game. Jeffrey Sarpong gave the hosts the lead in the 54th minute, but Olympiacos fought back to equalize through Jagos Vuckovic with fifteen minutes remaining. The lights went out in the stadium for a short while and the visitors were reduced to ten men when Daniel Podence was sent off for a second bookable offense.
AEK took care of business at home with a straightforward 2-0 against Lamia. Ezequiel Ponce continued his fine goalscoring form with the opener after 13 minutes. An own goal by Anestis Anastasiadis made it 2-0 just after halftime and that was more than enough for AEK as their recent recovery continues.
OFI strode to a 3-1 win over Panathinaikos on Sunday. Panagiotis Deligiannidis gave the Crete side a quick start with his fifth minute goal. Ergys Kace tied up the match for the Prasini in the 36th minute, but OFI responded through Vangelis Platellas just four minutes later. Nikos Korovesis’ goal on the hour sealed the points for OFI.
Elsewhere, Asteras Tripolis won their third match in a row, beating PAS Giannina 1-0 on Saturday. The Akrites left it late, but Marc Fernandez Gracia’s injury-time strike gave the club another big victory. On Monday, an injury-time goal by Roland Alberg saved a point for Panionios against Levadiakos in a 1-1 draw in Nea Smyrni. Panetolikos came away with a 2-1 home victory over still winless Apollon Smirnis. The Agrinio side raced out a 2-0 lead with goals from Willyan (3’) and Vlad Morar (25’). Apollon pulled a goal back just after halftime through Thomas, but were unable once again to come away with anything to show for their efforts.
Matchday MVP - Efthimios Koulouris (Atromitos)
The on-loan striker from PAOK was at it again for Atromitos this weekend. Koulouris showed he is in the form of his career with another two goals and an assist in the 4-2 victory Aris. The brace puts Koulouris atop the scorer charts with eleven goals now this season.
Goal of the Matchday - Clarck N’Sikulu (Atromitos)
N’Sikulu put the finishing touches on a fantastic goal, Atromitos’ fourth and final tally against Aris deep into injury-time. The Congolese striker played a double give-and-go with Koulouris and fired past Julian Cuesta to round off a sumptuous move.
Save of the Matchday - Balasz Megyeri (Atromitos)
It had to be the Hungarian goalkeeper taking this week’s honors. The 28-year-old helped put his team on the road with a second half penalty stop on Aris’ Hamza Younes.
Team Performance of the Matchday - Atromitos
After a defeat to Olympiacos and disappointing draw away to Apollon, Atromitos responded in a big way against Aris this weekend. It was not only the four goals the team scored and the late drama with a flurry of them at the end. It was more the manner in which this team attacked and the quality of the goals scored. Canadi has put together a special bunch, who have made it nearly to midseason placed second in the league.
Surprise of the Matchday - OFI
OFI’s return to the top-flight has been a difficult one with the club winning only one of their first twelve matches. A 3-1 victory on Sunday against Panathinaikos was the team’s biggest win of the campaign and perhaps a signal that this is a side that could very well find midtable safety soon enough if they can take advantage of their games at home.
Disappointment of the Matchday - Olympiacos
The good news for Olympiacos fans is that chances are being created by the bucket load and displays in the last month or two have been of a good standard. The bad news of course is that their team has had an extremely difficult converting their opportunities this season. This was in evidence again away to Xanthi. Over fifteen chances were spurned on Sunday as the team dropped more points in the title race.
