Olympiacos drains PAOK pipe dream

By: Peter Katsiris | March 5th, 2009

In what was a suspenseful match between two long-time rivals, Olympiacos grabbed two goals to overcome PAOK on Wednesday and book a place in the semi-finals of the Greek Cup with a 2-1 aggregate win. Trailing in the aggregate score after a 1-0 loss in Thessaloniki back in February, Olympiacos followed through with its plans to overcome their visitors and earn a tie with Asteras Tripolis in the next round of the Greek Cup.

Lacklustre play in the past few weeks allowed PAOK to believe they could topple Olympiacos at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium – a Greek fortress on all levels. While they managed to hold off the defending the Greek Cup Champions throughout the first-half, a landslide of self-destructive events plagued Fernando Santos’ men throughout the remainder.

Olympiacos looked set to take the initiative in the opening minutes as the hosts controlled the tempo, but they were surprised when PAOK’s Zlatan Muslimovic got the first look at goal. The Bosnia and Herzegovina international looked to put a swell finish to Sergio Conceicao’s centering pass, but his header caused little harm to Olympiacos ‘keeper Antonis Nikopolidis.

PAOK continued their strides towards what would be a goal of some magnitude, but Vladimir Ivic’s shot just past the ten minute mark lacked the appropriate accuracy.

Finally, on nineteen minutes, Olympiacos managed to create a worthwhile attempt. The end result didn’t trouble Greece international shot stopper Kostas Chalkias, but Predrag Djordjevic’s off-target effort showed content from the Olympiacos offense.

The margins from goal began to narrow for Olympiacos, as Chalkias was joined by Pablo Contreras as goal-savers when the Chilean denied Diogo a chance at goal with a reflex clearance out for a corner on twenty-five minutes.

As progress was achieved by the Piraeus, a non-synchronized part of the attack purged any positive build-up. After crafting a creative play on the sidelines, Luciano Galletti was likely left in disappointment when his pass was dispatched way off-target by team-mate Dudu just before the half-hour mark.

On thirty-five minutes, Olympiacos was nearly gifted with a goal ahead of the interval. Again, it was Galletti playing the role as producer but a pass bound for Fernando Belluschi ricocheted off PAOK defender Nikos Arabatzis, before forcing Chalkias into a reflex save to force a corner.

One more chance fell for Olympiacos, but a goal before halftime eluded the Greek giants when Christos Patsatzoglou failed to make the most of an odd-man rush as his pass bound for Galletti sailed out of bounds to signal the waste of an optimal chance, and the end of the first forty-five minutes.

With the first half completed, the evening appeared to be headed for a similar finale to the one that played out just days before at the same venue. When Olympiacos hosted Panathinaikos on Sunday, the hosts didn’t dominate the match from start to end, but Ernesto Valverde’s men were not at all efficient going forward. After failing to hit the target on so many occasions throughout the first-half, the home crowd likely grew restless as the ‘Erythrolefki’ desperately searched for a tally.

Prayers for a marker on the scoreboard, at least from the Olympiacos faithful, were answered instantaneously after the restart. With an attacking edge imposed on the game by Valverde, the introduction of Matt Derbyshire exposed the hunger Olympiacos had accumulated during the past few weeks. Their appetite was reduced by at least one goal when a pinpoint pass from Galletti found the head of Diogo, and the Brazilian thunderously scored his first goal for the club after a thirty-nine day wait from his last tally.

Seizing the lead, and more importantly tying the aggregate score, Olympiacos had swiftly erased PAOK’s edge and the intensity picked up during the ensuing minutes. Both sides now chased progress in the Cup, and PAOK was forced to crack its own defensive shell in search of a goal that was now a prerequisite if their Cup dreams were to continue.

Shell-shocked by the hosts’ opener, PAOK seemed paralyzed when Diogo came close to bagging a brace. Derbyshire combined with his strike partner inside the PAOK box, but the latter’s effort crept just over the crossbar as PAOK dodged yet another bullet from Diogo.

Team-mates at Portuguesa, and now Olympiacos, Diogo sprung compatriot Leonardo for Olympiacos’ next look at goal, but the Brazilian defender directed his effort wide of Chalkias’ goal.

Almost immediately Olympiacos returned with another opportunity, but Belluschi couldn’t put a triumphant finish to a play created by Djordjevic as the former River Plate star shot just wide of the PAOK net.

It wasn’t until just past the hour mark that PAOK began to show promise in attack, but as Conceicao appeared to be a threat to Nikopolidis’ clean sheet, the Portuguese midfielder was denied a goal by a sharp save from the former Greece international.

At the other end, Chalkias’ under-fire temperament resumed when Djordjevic forced a corner, and nearly continued when Diogo lashed a header just wide.

Observing that his side was simply non-existent in attack, Santos opted to introduce the ever efficient Ibrahima Bakayoko to the match on seventy-two minutes; little did the former Benfic and AEK Athens manager know that his side would go down to nine men in a matter of six minutes.

First Contreras was shown his second caution of the night for his stiff challenge on Diogo. Shortly after it was Ivic who faced an early dismissal with his second yellow of the night, after a rampant tackle on Derbyshire sent the Serbian midfielder to the locker rooms.

With nine men now forced to avoid the wrath of Olympiacos’ non-stop attack, PAOK’s hopes of a semi-final had quickly vanished. Still, there was room for heroics, as Olympiacos’ defense had the potential to be vulnerable as the back-line pushed forward to impose pressure.

Rightly, however, it was Olympiacos who used the advantage in order to answer the cries for a second goal. A second marker would be the decisive tally for the Piraeus giants, but their late surge to bag a goal was unsuccessful despite their urgency.

One of the two attempts before the end of regulation time fell for Michal Zewlakow, but the Poland international’s header was routine work for Chalkias. On the ninety-minute mark Diogo’s aerial effort could have been the late goal Olympiacos was desperate for, but the Brazilian directed his header over the crossbar after a brilliant pass from Leonardo.

PAOK’s resistance allowed for an extra thirty-minute period at Karaiskaki, but now Santos’ men faced another half-hour of heavy-duty defense; not to mention the need for an unthinkable goal, if PAOK’s Greek Cup hopes were to carry them into the next round.

Not surprisingly, Olympiacos’ offense came out blazing in the first half of extra time; however, PAOK kept their hosts at bay. Valverde’s late addition of Oscar Gonzalez added a definitive spark to the Olympiacos attack as PAOK’s backline came under heavy fire from the Olympiacos front.

In fact it was the substituted Spaniard who had the best chance of the first fifteen minutes of extra time when he nearly rounded Chalkias before drilling a shot off the upright. Just inches separated the former Real Zaragoza man from his second goal in three games.

PAOK’s gameplay had now begun its revolution around the idea of clearing the ball. A depleted side through the late second-half sending offs had been stranded without a proper look at goal.

It was now a matter of time before Olympiacos managed to grab the elusive goal they had so desperately been searching since Diogo’ aforementioned breakthrough. It came not too long after the extra time interval. A cross from Zewlakow made its way to the feet of an unmarked Galletti, who offered a volleyed effort that bounced fiercely towards the PAOK goal. Derbyshire managed to create enough space to slip past his marker and pip both his defender and Chalkias with an upward header into the PAOK net.

There was no reponse from PAOK as the Thessaloniki based club was unable to form an answer with a goal of their own.

The pair will meet again on Sunday, but the venue will shift to northern Greece and the Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki as number one in the Super League visits number two.

Olympiacos CFP 2-0 PAOK FC
Diogo 46′, Derbyshire 109′

Yellow Cards:
Olympiacos CFP – Dudu 69′, Pantos 71′, Mitroglou 90′ + 1′.
PAOK FC – Muslimovic 43′, Contreras 59′ (74′), Veron 74′, Ivic 76′ (80′), Sorlin 112′.

Red Cards:
Olympiacos CFP – none.
PAOK FC – Contreras 74′ (sent off after double booking), Ivic 80′ (sent off after double booking).

Olympiacos CFP (Ernesto Valverde): Nikopolidis, Pantos, A. Papadopoulos, Zewlakow, Leonardo (98′ Oscar), Patsatzoglou (46′ Derbyshire), Dudu, Galletti, Djordjevic (87′ Mitroglou), Belluschi, Diogo.

PAOK FC (Fernando Santos): Chalkias, Arambatzis, Malezas, Contreras, Sznaucer (70′ Bakayoko), Veron (77′Bizera), Ivic, Sorlin, Conceicao, Lino, Muslimovic (83′ Konstantinidis).

Referee: Michalis Koukoulakis (Heraklion).

Venue: Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece.