Early goal rush paves the way for Olympiacos

By: Peter Katsiris | January 12th, 2009

It was closer than expected as Skoda Xanthi kept Olympiacos in check in a 2-1 win for the latter at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium. The visitors didn’t allow the league leaders to run away with the game despite Ernesto Valverde’s men taking a 2-0 lead after just nineteen minutes.

Giorgos Paraschos’ side, meanwhile, gave a valiant effort to withstand Olympiacos’ offensive wrath without the likes of defensive duo, Sypros Vallas and Giannis Papadimitriou, who sat out the Karaiskaki encounter through suspension.

After a rather dismal offensive performance against Asteras Tripolis last weekend, Olympiacos was on the rebound early. Dictating the tempo of the match, Olympiacos had the golden touch in the opening minutes and were rewarded on sixteen minutes. It was not the prettiest of finishes, but Olympiacos etched its way onto the scoreboard when Sebastian Leto’s free kick swerved into the box before ricocheting off Skoda Xanthi Stavros Stathakis.

The wait for a second didn’t stretch too long, as Olympiacos supporters erupted in celebration just three minutes later thanks to the brilliance of Luciano Galletti. The Argentine brilliantly rounded his markers with ease, before beating his final victim, Michael Gspurning, to give Olympiacos a commanding 2-0 lead after nineteen minutes.

Registering his eighth tally of the season, Galletti’s goal put him atop the scorer’s chart and his side in the driver’s position.

Diogo then could have made it an even bigger lead for the hosts, but the Brazilian failed to properly connect with a pass from Galletti and the ball sailed harmlessly over Gspurning’s goal.

One minute later Xanthi closed the gap to just one with Francisco Zuela beating Olympiacos ‘keeper Antonis Nikopolidis just before the half hour mark. A cornerfor Xanthi eventually bounced to Stathakis, who with an acrobatic effort sent a bicycle-kick shot towards the net but it required a tip from the Angolan to cross the goal line.

An early raid by Olympiacos had put Xanthi against the fence, but corner-kick heroics gave Xanthi a lifeline once again.

The Greek Champions worked to steal back the lifeline and restore their two goal lead with Christos Patsatzoglou feeding French full back Didier Domi with a through pass in the box. Domi then played a crease-cutting pass towards Diogo, who looked certain to score until a sowaing Gspurning robbed the Brazilian of a goal. The Austrian custodian acted quickly to deny the Brazilian of a fine finish to a creative play initiated by Greece international Patsatzoglou.

Still clinging on to their lead and looking comfortable in its defense, Olympiacos continued to lead the match heading into the second half. Though Xanthi’s ability to pull a goal back loosened Olympiacos’ grip on the game, the ‘Erythrolefki’ still held a strong stance after the interval.

The restart didn’t see a fast start similar to the early commence of the match, but once proceedings got underway Olympiacos again assumed control. With possession growing in Olympiacos’ favour, it was surprising to see the league leaders couldn’t expose Xanthi’s ailing defense with another tally.

Struggling to convert asserted pressure in to goals, a penalty call against Zuela set up an optimum opportunity for Olympiacos to restore their two-goal advantage. The Angolan was sent off for a tackle on Diogo, and the end result allowed Galletti to take a trip to the spot. The Argentine, however, was not as celebratory after the effort as the entire Olympiacos squad was ahead of the kick. Galletti’s release was easily blocked by a quick Gspurning, who stopped his third penalty of the year, while Galletti was denied a penalty goal for the second time this season.

Shorthanded now, Xanthi rolled into a state of damage control while Olympiacos turned up the pressure to seal the match prematurely. Despite being in a disadvantage, Xanthi continued to give a valiant effort to fend of Olympiacos’ potent offense.

A blazing effort from Galletti on seventy-seven minutes was one of Olympiacos’ few chances to grab a third goal, and as many before this was ultimately stopped by Gspurning to keep Olympiacos in check.

Hoping to grab a late goal, Xanthi turned the tables on Olympiacos’ offense; the frontline was on the defensive by the eighty-third minute mark. Looking to equalize in the dying minutes, Xanthi pushed forward to leave everyone on hand at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium on edge. The threat posed by the Thracians was never converted in to results by the visitors, whose plans were foiled by an alert Nikopolidis to assure Olympiacos’ perfect home streak continued.

Olympiacos 2-1 Skoda Xanthi
Stathakis (o.g.) 16′, Galletti 19′ – Zuela 27′

Yellow Cards:
Olympiacos - Belluschi 52′, G. Papadopoulos 89′.
Skoda Xanthi – Tziortziopoulos 15′, Quintana 22′, Rizogiannis 41′, Stathakis 48′.

Red Cards:
Olympiacos – none.
Skoda Xanthi – Zuela 69′.

Olympiacos (Ernesto Valverde): Nikopolidis, Domi, Torosidis (58′ Pantos), A. Papadopoulos, Antzas, Patsatzogou, Dudu, Leto (65′ Djordjevic), Galletti, Belluschi (87′ G. Papadopoulos), Diogo.

Skoda Xanthi (Giorgos Paraschos): Gspurning, Fliskas, Tziortziopoulos, Stathakis (61′ Taider), Zuela, Rizogiannis, Kostoulas, Dorival, Quintana (79′ Souanis), Grzelak (71′ Ferrier), Poy.

Referee: Michalis Germanakos

Venue: Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece.