Olympiacos trips up in Thessaloniki

By: Peter Katsiris | October 28th, 2008

A bad week got a whole lot worse for Olympiacos, as Thursday’s UEFA Cup loss to Galatasaray was compounded by a 1-0 loss to Aris FC at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium in Thessaloniki. A lone first half tally from Javito was enough to give the “God of War” a surprise win, at the expense of more misery for Olympiacos.

With plenty of pressure on the visitors to purge the pain from the loss to Galatsaray, Olympiacos was tipped to return to form; but the long trip North to Thessaloniki is never a friendly visit. Looking to silence their critics, Olympiacos started brightly as a wave of chances could have given the Greek Champions an early; however, a stubborn Michalis Sifakis kept his former team at bay. First, Sebastian Leto’s attempt was pushed aside for a corner; and n the ensuing set piece, Vassilios Torosidis had his sharp header saved by an in-form Sifakis.

Looking to take advantage of their opponents’ misery in front of goal, Aris went on the counterattack and took control of the game on eighteen minutes. Naho Garcia constructed the play, as the 27 year-old worked his way down flank only to cross a superb aerial pass to a wide open Javito. From there, Javito made no mistake as he headed the cross into the Olympiacos goal; giving Aris a surprising 1-0 lead, and send the loyal supporters of the home side into pandemonium.

Olympiacos looked to equalize shortly after the breakthrough, but Diogo was added to the list of frustrated finishers as Sifakis rose to the occasion and blocked the Brazilian’s header. While Olympiacos struggled to score, Toni Calvo almost made it look like routine work for Aris as Calvo’s shot just curled wide of the goal; keeping the score at 1-0, but nearly steepening the hill for Olympiacos.

If Olympiacos has aspirations of winning this match, or at the least earning a point, they would have to look to a result from the same fixture two years ago. On that day, Olympiacos trailed 2-0 after the first half but eventually gave a stuning second half performance to ultimately win the match 3-2. However, confidence seemed to be limited in the ranks of the Greek Champions, while Aris possessed vibrant momentum in their style of play.

Luciano Galletti was introduced as a half time substitute, with Anastasios Pantos making way for the Argentine. Despite Galletti being tipped to change the match and produce the result for Olympiacos, Aris nearly doubled its tally through Sergio Koke. A well crafted move between Garcia and Calvo eventually found Koke; but the Aris captain failed to produce the desired result as his shot whistled just wide of Antonis Nikopolidis’ goal.

Olympiacos nearly grabbed a goal at the other end, but Sifakis was relieved his unguarded net eluded Fernando Belluschi’s strike as the Argentine fired wide.

After dodging one bullet, Aris looked to inflict one of their own. It was Javito who had the chance to end Olympiacos’ hopes. The road to success didn’t prove to be that easy for Aris, with Javito failing to put the result beyond all doubts.

Olympiacos had one more chance to grab an equalizer, but Fernando Belluschi wasted Darko Kovacevic’s assist as the Argentine struck a hard shot high over the crossbar.

With their fate sealed by this time, the final whistle only confirmed the result. With the loss Olympiacos sees its undefeated domestic run snapped after just six weeks. Despite the loss, Olympiacos still remains atop the Greek Super League standings; however, PAOK inches closer to the Greek summit thanks to a 3-1 win over Levadiakos. Main rivals AEK and Panathinaikos failed to make the most of Olympiacos slip-up as both Athenian giants failed to collect wins against lower opposition. For Aris the win surely acts as a boost, as Enrique Hernandez’s side slowly returns to form on its way to a top-half return.

The next step for Olympiacos comes as early as midweek with many Super League clubs having their first taste of Greek Cup action this season. A familiar trip to Rhodes to face Diagoras is on tap for Wednesday; a fixture Olympiacos emerged from last year.

Aris, meanwhile, waits for the weekend for its next competitive fixture as Larissa travels to the Kleanthis Vikeadlidis Stadium.

Aris FC 1-0 Olympiacos
Javito 18′

Yellow Cards:
Aris – Calvo 57′, Nacho Garcia 76′.
Olympiacos – Leto 45′, Belluschi 65′, Torosidis 69′.
Aris FC (Enrique Hernandez): Sifakis, Neto, Ronaldo, Lembo, Roberge, Vitolo, Nebegleras (60′ Siston), Nacho Garcia (86′ Karabelas), Javito, Koke, Calvo (60′ Regueiro).

Olympiacos (Ernesto Valverde): Nikopolidis, Domi, Zewlakow, A. Papadopoulos, Pantos (46′ Galletti), Dudu, Torosidis, Oscar (68′ Leonardo), Leto (53′ Kovacevic), Belluschi, Diogo.

Referee: Vassilis Paboridis.

Venue: Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, Harilaou, Thessloniki, Greece.