Olympiacos Quartet topples Hertha to leave Berliners in shambles

By: Peter Katsiris | December 19th, 2008

In front of a sold out Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium, Olympiacos booked its ticket into the first knockout round of the UEFA Cup with a 4-0 defeat of Hertha Berlin this evening. In what was expected to be a competitive encounter to decide which side would take Group B bronze, Olympiacos gave a strict first half performance before producing a clinical final frame to score four goals after the interval.

With the advantage of having their fate in their own hands, Olympiacos assured the advantage didn’t go to waste as strikes from Dudu Cearanse, Luciano Galletti, Vassilis Torosidis, and Diogo propelled the Piraeus giants to the next round.

The Germans, meanwhile, failed to take advantage of their own benefits which included several opportunities for much talked about talisman Marko Pantelic. The Serbian’s poor performance in front of goal, compounded with Olympiacos’ dominance in both offense and defense, opened the exit door for the Germans who join Benfica as the two sides eliminated from Group B.

The Germans surprisingly tackled the game with plenty of confidence, despite playing in front of the hostile crowd packing Karaiskaki. With most of the physical pressure on the Bundesliga club, it looked obvious that Lucien Favre’s men were prepared to take matters into their own hands. The capital club could have done so as early as the second minute of the match, but Fabian Lustenberger drove his shot wide of Antonis Nikopolidis’ goal.

One minute later, however, Hertha came much closer to grabbing an early breakthrough. In an isolated run by Pal Dardai, the Hungarian forced Nikopolidis to produce the first save of the match with a strong shot towards the former Greece international.

Appearing to be nervy thanks to the offensive pressure enforced by Hertha, Olympiacos reversed the rush on five minutes to acquire their first chance on goal. The ball nearly made its way into the Hertha goal, but Hertha captain Arne Friedrich assured his side would stay level with a goal line save.

Much talked about striker Marko Pantelic attempted to live up to expectations at the other end for Hertha, but he missed an optimal opportunity to edge his side ahead after just ten minutes. With Nikopolidis at the mercy of the Serbian, who pounced on the rebound of Cicero’s effort, Pantelic failed to slot home his finish and edge Hertha ahead.

Olympiacos then began to dominate in Hertha’s end of the pitch, as the Greek Champions looked to add insurance to match they need to at least draw in order to reach the first knockout round. The ‘Erythrolefki’ dominated the next twenty minutes, with several chances threatening Hertha ‘keeper Jaroslav Drobny.

Much of the play in the attacking third was initiated by an energetic Fernando Belluschi, and the Argentine commenced the series of opportunities but was unable to find the back of the net with his thirteenth minute try.

If it wasn’t placement, power was utilized by Olympiacos surge in offense. Christos Patsatzoglou had plenty in his strike just before the quarter-hour mark, but Drobny was alert to produce a punching save to reject the Greece international from finding a breakthrough.

Pantelic had an opportunity to redeem himself on thirty-eight minutes, but the result, although accurate, failed to make an impact on the scoreboard as Nikopolidis produced another fine save.

As Hertha struggled to find any success through the frontline, it was nearly the Olympiacos backline that rewarded the German club for its efforts. Raffael released a curling strike from the right wing, but as the ball appeared to curl around the goal and harmlessly wide, Michal Zewlakow sent Olympiacos supporters into a frantic state as his attempt to clear the ball nearly ended up in the Olympiacos goal.

Aware they had to chase the game, Hertha was not afraid to attack and seek what would be a crucial goal in one of Greece’s most passionate football communities.

The hosts, meanwhile, had opportunities of their own, and showed great skill in their link-up play. The final result was lacking, as the Super League leaders like their opponents failed to capitalize on opportunities to break the deadlock.

Olympiacos exploded in offense shortly after the restart, and as Belluschi provided a sleek back heel to find Patsatzoglou at the edge of the box. The Greece international drilled his effort, but there was too much velocity on the ball, which swerved unhandsomely over the bar.

As Olympiacos continued to dictate the early moments of the second frame, the home side was finally rewarded for its efforts on fifty four minutes through Brazilian Dudu. The Brazilian connected to Predrag Djordjevic’s free kick with a swirling header that had enough power to elude the outstretched arm of Drobny – despite the former Panionios getting a piece of Dudu’s aerial effort.

Olympiacos continued to attack and limited Hertha’s progress in creating offensive opportunities. With the Greeks asserting more and more pressure on a now hurting Hertha Berlin, the match was bound for more goals at the hands of the hosts.

Becoming more and more of a busy shot-stopper, Drobny was forced to produce a reflex save to block Diogo’s effort on a Luciano Galletti cross.

With Olympiacos simply camping out in Hertha’s half of the pitch, each attacking wave imposed by the Greeks cause more frustration for the Olympiastadion side. Misery sank in the hearts of Hertha shortly after the hour mark, as Steve Von Bergen’s foul on Dudu resulted in a trip to the penalty spot for Galletti. The Argentine made no mistake with the spot-kick, smashing his shot into the top half of center of the goal while Drobny foolishly leaped for the right corner.

Hertha enjoyed a rare second-half excursion into Olympiacos territory, but substitute Valeri Domovchiyski let it all go to waste when he sent his seventy-second minute effort wide of the Olympiacos goal.

Avraam Papadopoulos nearly found his scoring touch as he snuck in near the back post to release a powerful shot towards the Hertha goal. Luck was not on the Greek’s side, who narrowly missed on scoring his first ever goal in European competition.

As the Greeks dazzled in the offensive end, it was clear Hertha had a thing or two to learn from their opponents. Sebastian Leto provided a deflected cross for a streaking Vasilis Torosidis, who with great care deposited Olympiacos’ third goal of the match.

Less than sixty seconds later, and Olympiacos struck for the fourth time on the night. Didier Domi provided a grounded centering pass which found an unmarked Diogo. With one touch, the Brazilian easily beat Drobny to compile more pain for Favre’s side.

Diogo’s clean finish was the final marker on a night decided by the opening of the flood gates in the second half. Hertha dug its own hole by wasteful displays in front of Nikopolidis, while the likes of Dudu and Diogo buried the Berlin-based club with their clinical finishes.

The Greek Champions will now set their sights to Nyon, Switzerland where UEFA will conduct the draw for the first knockout round on Friday. One more task lies the balance for ‘O Thrylos’ before the Super Leaguue goes on a two-week winter break. A weekend encounter with Thrasyvoulos on Sunday will mark the midpoint mark for the Super League season.

For Hertha Berlin, their Bundesliga form was not replicated in the UEFA Cup as the capital club crashed out of the tournament with a winless record in the group stage. The Berliners now find themselves in the middle of a lengthy break in German football, but with a third place rank heading into the New Year, Berlin will be optimistic for more domestic success in 2009.

Olympiacos CFP 4-0 Hertha Berlin
Dudu 55′, Galletti 68′(pen), Torosidis 87′, Diogo 88′

Yellow Cards:
Olympiacos CFP -Djordjevic 55′, Diogo 58′, Pantos 79′.
Hertha Berlin – Kaka 59′.

Olympiacos CFP (Ernesto Valverde): Nikopolidis, Domi, Zewlakow, Papadopoulos, Torosidis, Dudu, Patsatzoglou, Galletti (75′ Pantos), Djordjevic (60′ Leto), Belluschi (84′ Kovacevic), Diogo.

Hertha Berlin (Lucien Favre): Drobny, Von Bergen (68′ Domovchiyski), Friedrich, Kaka, Stein, Nicu, Dardai, Lustenberger, Cicero, Pantelic (75′ Chermiti), Raffael

Referee: Martin Hansson (Sweden)
Assistant referees: Fredrik Nilsson (Sweden), Joakim Flink (Sweden)
Fourth official: Martin Ingvarsson (Sweden)

Venue: Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece.