Aris, Xanthi and Veria suffer Cup upsets
More top-flight teams suffered upsets in the Greek Cup on Thursday as Aris, Xanthi and Veria dropped out of the competition to second-division clubs Olympiakos Volou, Iraklis Thessalonikis and Iraklis Psahnon respectively.
Olympiakos Volou had beaten Super League struggler Aris 1-0 at home and on Thursday it snatched a goalless draw at Thessaloniki to become the second Football League team from Volos, after local rival Niki on Wednesday, to make it to the last 16 of the Cup.
Iraklis defended its 1-0 lead over Xanthi from the first leg at Thessaloniki as the 105-year-old club drew 2-2 away to remind its fans of past glories, when it played in the top flight.
Its namesake from Psahna, in the central Greek prefecture of Evia, lost 2-1 at Veria, but advanced to the next round courtesy of its 3-1 home win. The result also brought about the dismissal of Stefan Stoica, the Romanian coach who becomes the third to get sacked in the two-month-old season at Veria.
OFI was jeered by its fans when it drew 1-1 at home with Kallithea, but advanced thanks to its 1-0 away win in the first leg.
Pierikos gave Kalloni Lesvou a scare when it came from 2-0 down to 2-2, but could not get the third goal that would have seen the second-division team from Katerini upset the Super League club at Lesvos.
Last season’s finalist Asteras Tripolis beat Hania 1-0 away, after a goalless draw at Tripoli, while Atromitos dismantled hapless Fostiras with a 7-0 score at Peristeri, and Panetolikos beat Kerkyra 1-0 for a second time.
