Payback in Piraeus: Olympiacos beats up on Aris

By: Peter Katsiris | February 17th, 2009

They might’ve lost to Aris the first time around, but Olympiacos managed to edge their Thessaloniki visitors on Saturday night in Piraeus. Predrag Djordjevic and Luciano Galletti put the Greek Champions ahead by striking on either side of the interval, while an own goal from Vasilis Torosidis set up for a tense finale before the home side claimed a tight 2-1 victory at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium.

Prepping for a big European night against Saint-Etienne on Wednesday, Ernesto Valverde’s Olympiacos grabbed a much needed confidence boost ahead of their opening leg to a crucial Round of 32 UEFA Cup tie with the French side.

After commemorating the tragic anniversary of the ‘Gate 7′ tragedy with a win a 2-0 win against Panthrakikos in Thrace, Olympiacos set its sights back on Piraeus for a two-game home stand after a short international break.

With the Super League leaders under little pressure domestically, a grudge match against one of Olympiacos’ Northern Greek rivals was a match of momentum-boosting proportions.

Like many common starts to matches at Karaiskakis, Olympiacos pressured the Aris defense throughout the opening minutes of the match. With Aris’ entire starting eleven restricted to the domain of their own half of the field, the ‘Erythrloefki’ offense began to impose itself on Aris’ backline.

Fernando Belluschi managed to produce the Piraeus side’s first effort of the match, but the Argentine couldn’t make his introductory memorable; shooting wide of Michalis Sifakis’ goal.

Two minutes later, Sifakis was called into action as another Argentine tested the former Olympiacos shot stopper. After a flagrant foul had allowed Olympiacos to achieve a free-kick near the Aris box, Luciano Galletti struck a curling effort around the three-man wall, but Sifakis acted swiftly to deny the Super League’s leading scorer with a leaping save.

As Olympiacos pressed on, Aris’ began to retreat more and more into their defensive shell, despite few meaningless excursions into Olympiacos’ end.

Although Iomar Mazinho’s defense looked sturdy enough to withstand Olympiacos’ heaps of pressure, a fatal error by Alejandro Lembo exposed a crack in the defense, and Predrag Djordjevic was not at all shy in taking the effort. Pouncing on the lapse by the Uruguayan, the Olympiacos captain raced towards the Aris net, flicked the bouncing ball past a stranded Sifakis, before depositing the ball into the gaping goal.

With a slim lead now in check, the hosts continued their pursuit of another goal, after Aris attempted to restore the deadlock through Piotr Wlodarczyk’s header, but the Polish strike flashed his header just wide.

Olympiacos resumed its surge in attack with another planned raid featuring Belluschi and Djordjevic combining to find team-mate Christos Patsatzoglou. The Greece international controlled the pass from the Serbian midfielder with ease, but was unable to translate composure into his effort by firing wide of the goal.

Galletti then tried to put Olympiacos ahead by two-goal before the break, as he forced Sifakis into a crucial save ten minutes before the interval.

Dominated thoroughly by their opponents for much of the half, Aris’ meaningless effort just before the halftime mark would’ve been a devastating blow for Ernesto Valverde’s men. Javito, who was injured earlier in the half, attempted to deliver a precious equalizer just before stoppage time. The Spaniard didn’t tempt Olympiacos ‘keeper Antonis Nikopolidis; instead, firing disappointingly wide.

The Thessaloniki-based side had another opportunity just moments later, but this surge towards the much desired Olympiacos goal was a little more impactful. A clever combinative play between Sergio Koke and Javito resulted in the latter splitting the defense to latch onto a pass from the Aris captain, but Nikopolidis stood tall to block Javito’s crafted effort before giving up a corner via the bouncing ball.

Denied heading into the break, Aris hoped the second half came with better fortunes for ‘O Theos tou Polemou’, but the crowd at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium was a bit unsettling.

With their playoff push requiring a constant flow of points from each game, Aris looked to start the second frame on a positive note. Nikolaos Karambelas looked to be his side’s saviour when releasing an effort goalwards on fifty-one minutes, but Nikopolidis calmly caught the weak shot.

Quickly breaking in the opposite direction, Olympiacos took control of possession with another rapid surge into Aris’ zone. Galleti forced Sifakis into a sharp foot save, before Belluschi blew a prime opportunity to make it 2-0 with a weak shot allowing Sifakis to act in order to deny the looming rebound.

By this time Aris began to show some life in its attack, and the defelated Lembo attempted to restore his reputation within the Aris ranks as he looked to level the score just before the hour mark. Credited with allowing Djordjevic the early breakthrough, Lembo looked to cancel the Serb’s first half tally, the Uruguayan defender received a centering pass from Neto, before cutting past Patsatzoglou to fire a not-to-be-desired shot.

Desperation, meanwhile, had settled in the Olympiacos ranks, as the Greek Champions looked to close out the game with a second goal. Again it was Galletti who provided the spark in offense as he displayed some of his tremendous talent by first controlling a pass from compatriot Belluschi, and then firing towards Sifakis; the Greek goalkeeper ultimately parried to keep the score at 1-0.

As the seventy-minute mark approached, Aris’ deterioration followed suit. First, Spanish defender Vitolo was shown a second yellow and subsequently sent off for taking down Anastasios Pantos. Down to ten men, Mario Regueiro extended his side’s misery when he was rightly accused of taking down Dudu in the box. Awarded a penalty, Galletti stepped up to convert the spot-kick; however, Sifakis was equal to the task, but unavoidably gave up a large rebound.

Olympiacos center-back Avraam Papadopoulos, a former member of Aris FC, pursued the rebound quickly but his effort was denied sharply by Sifakis. While saving the first two efforts of a quick series of efforts, Sifakis was unable to complete a third denial as Galletti deposited yet another goal, as manager Valverde breathed a sigh of relief over at the Olympiacos bench.

With the match ideally sealed by this time, it was up to Olympiacos to countdown to yet another win in the Super League. Sebastian Leto, a second-half replacement for Djordjevic, had a perfect opportunity to make the score-line even more impressive. Galletti zoomed down the left flank before cheekily eluding two defenders to allow a square ball for a trailing Leto. The on-loan Liverpool winger should’ve done better with his effort, but instead he allowed Sifakis to collect the curling effort with some ease as he fired disappointingly into the Greek’s reach.

At the other end, Aris looked to etch their name on the scoreboard and restore some pride before leaving Piraeus. They had some help from Greece international Vasilis Torosidis, who mistakenly headed Toni Calvo’s free-kick past a stunned Nikopolidis.

Handed a gift-like goal, Aris tried to impose another attack on Olympiacos’ offense, but Javier Campora’s cross was headed wide by Koke.

Securing yet another home win, and stepping closer to another domestic triumph, Olympiacos continued its reputation as pace-setters in the Super League. Aris, however, failed to improve on their thirty-one point total, allowing Larissa the option to streak ahead of the Thessaloniki giants.

Olympiacos will know turn its focus to Europe as Saint-Etienne visits the port city of Piraeus on Wednesday, ahead of Olympiacos’ domestic meeting with Ergotelis in Crete on Sunday. Already out of European competition for this season, Aris’ next match features a crucial meeting with fifth-placed Larissa at the Alkazar Stadium – only three points separate the two Northern Greek clubs.

Olympiacos CFP 2-1 Aris FC
Djordjevic 23′, Galletti (pen.) 75′ – Torosidis (o.g.) 90′

Yellow Cards:
Olympiacos CFP – Antzas 36′, Pantos 41′, Domi 85′.
Aris FC – Vitolo 9′ (69′), Jahic 13′, Sifakis 73′.

Red Cards:
Olympiacos CFP – none.
Aris FC – Vitolo 69′ (sent off after second yellow).

Olympiacos CFP (Ernesto Valverde): Nikopolidis, Pantos (77′ Torosidis), A. Papadopoulos, Antzas, Domi, Patsatzoglou, Dudu, Galletti, Belluschi, Djordjevic (63′ Leto), Diogo (80′ Derbyshire).

Aris FC (Iomar Mazinho): Sifakis, Neto, Lembo, Garcia, Jahic, Regueiro (84′ Campora), Vitolo, Karambelas, Javito (58′ Calvo), Wlodarczyk (71′ Battion), Koke.

Referee: Nathaniel Charalambidis (Kavala)

Venue: Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece.