Galletti propels Olympiacos over Panthrakikos

By: Peter Katsiris | October 21st, 2008

Two goals from Luciano Galletti saw Olympiacos continue its domestic dominance as the Piraeus club put on a second half performance to overcome Panthrakikos at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium on Sunday. The win helps Olympiacos maintain its spot at the Greek summit, but the gap was extended even further thanks to the misfortunes of Olympiacos’ closest rivals.

It was Olympiacos’ first call to action after the international break, and the home side looked a bit shaky in the opening frame. Several chances were well wasted in the first half, as Olympiacos looked to find its rhythm once again. Olympiacos’ leading scorer, Diogo, failed to open the scoring after just three minutes when he flashed a header wide. Unlike most scenarios at Karaiskaki, Panthrakikos were blessed with a rare offensive surge of their own but Ludovic Clement failed to take advantage of the opportunity. A few minutes later, Olympiacos was back on the offensive; but the end result mirrored
Diogo’s first attempt.

With the first half hour just expiring, Olympiacos looked to take the lead on thirty-one minutes with Georgios Galitsios testing the Panthrakikos keeper who mustered to force a corner. A series of opportunities were part of the story line just before the close of the first half, but it was Panthrakikos who enjoyed the better hand. First, Sito Riera’s effort was blocked by an alert Michal Zewlakow who forced a corner. Not to be out done, Sebastian Leto offered Olympiacos one more chance to score before the half-time whistle but the Argentine’s free kick as well as the follow up from Diogo. Panthrakikos looked to deflate the home side a few moments later but Abdull Diallo was denied by goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis.

The second half saw an energized Olympiacos side take to the pitch, as the ‘Eruthroeluki’ looked to erase their first half blunders. Unfortunately, early chances were not converted by a potent Olympiacos attack which left the crowd on hand restless. However, fortunes changed for Olympiacos just after the sixty-minute mark. Fan favourite Luciano Galletti began to take measures into his own hands, as he tested the Panthrakikos defense and keeper with trickery. With two crosses nearly falling perfectly for Galletti, the third opportunity for the Argentine looked more promising as Olympiacos was awarded a penalty. Looking confident in his run-up to the spot, the end result proved Galletti was too confident as Panthraikos keeper, Spyros Vrontaras, forced a corner.

Fortunately, Galletti made up for his mistakes on the ensuing corner as he thrashed home the ball with ease. The visitors were plunged with more misery just after the goal as Nikos Zampropoulos was sent off with a second yellow. The game was decided on the ensuing free kick, when Galletti slotted home a superb strike from just outside the Panthrakikos box.

With the win, Olympiacos continues its winning streak ahead of the much anticipated UEFA Cup meeting with Galatasaray on Thursday. For Panthrakikos, a strong first half performance was defeated by an unfortunate series of events in the second half.

Olympiacos 2-0 Panthrakikos
Galletti 66’, 73’

Yellow Cards:
Olympiacos – G. Papadopoulos 35’, Pantos 41’, Galletti 66’, Leto 85’.
Panthrakikos – Roka 38’, Clement 32’, Konstantindis 34’, Velasco 41’, Kanotidis 56’, Zampropoulos 65’, 71’.

Red Cards:
Olympiacos – none.
Panthrakikos – Zampropoulos 71’ (sent off with double booking).

Olympiacos (Ernesto Valverde): Nikopolidis, Galitsios, Zewlakow, Antzas, Raul Bravo, Stoltidis, Giannis Papadopoulos, Galletti, Leto, Kovacevic, Diogo.

Panthrakikos (Emilio Ferrera): Roka, Velasco, Clement, Aggelopoulos, Zampropoulos, Kanotidis, Oliseh, Konstantinidis, Riera, Diallo, Henriquez.

Referee: Kostas Papastamatis

Venue: Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Athens, Greece.