Just desserts leave a sweet taste for Olympiacos in Thessaloniki

By: Peter Katsiris | November 23rd, 2008

Olympiacos ended its poor away form in grand style with a 3-0 win over Iraklis at the Kaftanzogleio Stadium in Thessaloniki. A clinical display in the first half, and a much tighter performance in the second assured the Super League leaders of three more point to add to their tally. Iraklis looked lost against Olympiacos rampant attack, and despite holding an advantage in men couldn’t solve a solid Olympiacos backline.

Without a tally in the last 309′ minutes away from home, Olympiacos’ potent attack was hungry for goals; however, it was Iraklis who had the first decent chance to break the deadlock. Panagiotis Kone fired a shot towards Antonis Nikopolidis’ goal, and with the former Greece international there to block Kone’s kick he was thankful for the upright just seconds later, as former teammate Michalis Konstantinou directed his awkward angled effort off the woodwork.

The Greek’s counterpart at the other end, Wojciech Kowalewski, was also thankful for the iron frame when Predrag Djordjevic’s corner was smashed against the post by a stretched Dudu. The Polish keeper was called to duty on the rebound, as Kowalewski was forced into a clutching save off Avraam Papadopoulos’ right-winged effort.

Olympiacos came closer to scraping ahead in the match, but Diogo failed to make the most of a pinpoint cross from Fernando Belluschi, as he sent his rising header over the crossbar.

The visitors began to camp out in the Iraklis for long periods of time, and with the pressure inflicted on this hosts it was just a matter of time for the match’s first goal to come. Sure enough, the breakthrough came just after the half hour mark, with Djordjevic volleying the visitors ahead. Belluschi reproduced an accurate cross from earlier, and the Olympiacos captain put his side ahead with a volleyed effort to the far corner.

Five minutes later Olympiacos tallied once again, with another volley-like goal extending Olympiacos’ advantage. A well crafted play in the midfield between Christos Patsatzoglou and Diogo resulted in the latter producing a cross towards Belluschi, who mirrored Djordjevic’s strike from moments before to give Olympiacos a 2-0 lead.

It was Konstantinou who led the Iraklis fightback at the other end, but Nikopolidis was superior to the Cypriot’s diving header as frustration began to settle in for the former Olympiacos striker.

With the lion’s share in possession – and rightly so in momentum – the early dismissal of Patsatzoglou, brought a high-flying Olympiacos back to earth. A 2-0 lead after forty-five minutes, however, would be a stiff barrier to crack for Iraklis. The injury to their captain, Anastasios Katsambis, Rodolfo Borel needed to shift his second-half lineup in order to revive a dominated Iraklis.

Like he did in the first half, Kone grabbed the first chance of what was supposed to be an energetic second frame. The youngster elevated to meet a free-kick from Fernando Marques, but there was little conviction in his aerial effort as an alert Nikopolidis produced a fine save.

The second half surprisingly didn’t live up to expectations, as few opportunities were created throughout the final forty-five minutes. Olympiacos continued to hold the larger share in possession, and Dudu made sure to stamp his mark on the match with a goal of his own on eighty-one minutes. The former CSKA Moscow midfielder controlled an aerial back pass from Anastasios Pantos, and with plenty of room fired a stunning strike into the top right corner of the goal.

A dynamic three-goal performance by Olympiacos left ‘O Gireos’ fittingly crippled, after the home side failed to keep pace with the Piraeus giants. The win snapped many streaks on this night, as Olympiacos returned to the win column away from home for the first time in three trips away from Karaiskaki. Meanwhile, the failure to secure three points on the home side’s part ended an winning spell that commenced Borel’s tenure as Iraklis manager.

Olympiacos can now set their sights to a midweek meeting with Portuguese side Benfica, as the Greek Champions lock horns with the Lisbon-based side at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium on Thursday. Iraklis will take the next seven days to regroup and find their form before travelling to the Alkazar Stadium to face Larissa next Sunday.

Iraklis 0-3 Olympiacos
Djordjevic 34′, Belluschi 39, Dudu 81′

Yellow Cards:
Iraklis – Bourbos 24′, Die 44′.
Olympiacos – Patsatzoglou 4′ (44′), A. Papadopoulos 63′.

Red Cards:
Iraklis – none.
Olympiacos – Patsatzoglou 44′ (sent off after double booking).

Iraklis (Rodolfo Borel): Kowalewski, Bourbos, Perperidis, Katsambis (46′ Martos), Papazacharias, Foufoulas, Die, Kone (58′ Epstein), Marques, Papasterianos (80′ Giantsis), Konstantinou.

Olympiacos (Ernesto Valverde): Nikopolidis, Domi, Pantos, A. Papadopoulos, Antzas, Dudu, Patsatzoglou, Galletti (84′ Oscar), Djordjevic, Belluschi (69′ Mendrinos), Diogo (80′ Kovacevic).

Referee: Kyros Vassaras

Venue: Kaftanzogleio Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece.