A touch of ‘Tango’ sees Olympiacos through

By: Peter Katsiris | January 22nd, 2009

On a windy night in Crete, a touch of tango helped Olympiacos book a spot in the quarterfinals of the Greek Cup with a 2-0 win over OFI Crete at the Pankritio Stadium. Second half goals from substitute Fernando Belluschi and Luciano Galletti allowed Olympiacos to parachute into the next round, while OFI crashed out of the competition after failing to equal their run into the quarterfinals from a year ago.

After a rather nervy opening five minutes, Olympiacos secured the first chance of the match and it could have nearly been a breakthrough for the visitors. Diogo made a break for the OFI goal and after beating ‘keeper Arkadiusz Malarz, the Brazilian was tackled hard and not allowed to release a shot into the gaping goal.

It wasn’t until the twenty-five minute mark that they had another chance to break the deadlock, instead this time it was Vasilis Torosidis who spurred an effort goal wards. The Greece international rose to the occasion to inflict a header toward the OFI net, but unfortunately for Olympiacos the aerial effort was wide of the goal.

Quickly turning the action the other way, a former Olympiacos player threatened Olympiacos clean sheet as Ioannis Taralidis released a shot from the right flank. Fiercely advancing towards the Olympiacos net, there was just too much height on the effort to trouble ‘keeper Antonis Nikopolidis.

As both teams struggled to get ahead in the game, it was internal mistakes that held both clubs back in their bid to stamp their authority. Few combinations between players from either side were successful, but Olympiacos managed to remain the dominant half despite limited efforts inflicted on OFI’s Polish ‘keeper.

A chance just before the halftime whistle should’ve been turned in by one of the many involved Olympiacos’ players. A corner kick caught the Cretan club off guard, but while its defenders struggled to position themselves, Olympiacos failed to take advantage of their opponents’ blunder as several whacks of the ball were desperately denied by scrambling defenders.

Held to a 0-0 score-line after forty-five minutes, Olympiacos was hungry for the breakthrough shortly after the interval. On fifty-three minutes Predrag Djordjevic had a chance to put Olympiacos ahead, but while the stage was set for the former Olympiaos captain, the Serbian’s effort was just to weak to beat Malarz and a sprawling Cosmin Barcauan.

Six minutes later, Djordjeic had an even better opportunity to score the much desired goal. Sprung on a breakaway, Djordjeic looked to be in the clear as Malarz charged towards the Serb; however, unlike many plays where Djordjevic would round sprawling ‘keepers, Malarz got the best of Djordjevic as his right foot poke the ball away from a clear cut Djordjevic.

With the injection of Fernando Belluschi in place of a retreated Oscar Gonzalez on the hour mark, Olympiacos looked a reenergized side with the newly substitutes Argentine leading the charge.

Within a minute after Belluschi’s introduction, Olympiacos had the best chance of the match thus far. A cross from Galletti found the head of Diogo who smashed his header off the crossbar, before Belluschi tried an overhead effort which ended up sailing just over the goal.

It wasn’t long after that Olympiacos finally found the breakthrough. The regular receiver of crosses, Diogo, displayed his passing game as he sent an aerial pass towards Belluschi. With a perfect header, the former River Plate star put his side ahead after sixty-nine minutes.

Galletti tried to test Malarz’s positioning from long distance as the Argentine fired a hard shot towards the OFI goal, but the spectacular strike was just off target, while Malarz breathed a sigh of relief before slamming his frame into the upright.

While the hunt for a second goal wasn’t as pursued, Olympiacos got a boost when Sebastian Leto was taken down in the box in exchange for a trip to the penalty spot for the defending Greek Cup Champions.

While Galletti had mixed success from the spot throughout the season, he made no mistake on this occasion as he sealed Olympiacos’ spot in the next round by beating Malarz to the right side of the goal.

As reality became clear for OFI, their bid to reach the quarterfinals was left in the dark. A visit from the Super League leaders was not as successful for the hosts as it was back in the early weeks of the domestic season, and OFI’s failure to challenge Olympiacos’ grip on the game.

The two sides will meet again this Saturday, but the stakes will be three points as both sides shift their attention to the Greek Super League.

OFI Crete 0-2 Olympiacos CFP
Belluschi 69′, Galletti 85′

Yellow Cards:
OFI Crete – Roubakis 24′, Barcauan 79′.
Olympiacos CFP – Diogo 14, Dudu 21, Pantos 72′.

OFI Crete (Ioannis Matzourakis): Malarz, Bertin, Barcauan, Roubakis, Taralidis (46′ Kostovski), Pesic (65′ Pineiro), Bezares, Suleap, Cornea, Simic, Popovic.

Olympiacos CFP (Ernesto Valverde): Nikopolidis, Torosidis, Pantos, A. Papadopoulos, Zewlakow, Dudu, Galletti, Mendrinos, Diogo (83′ Mitroglou), Oscar (60′ Belluschi), Djordjevic (65′ Leto).

Referee: Anastasios Kakos

Venue: Pankritio Stadium, Heraklion, Greece.