Wins for league’s top three
There were no changes at the top end of the Super League’s standings over the weekend, with front-runner Olympiakos, AEK and Panathinaikos all registering victories yesterday. Defending champion Olympiakos, playing at home against Panionios, held on for a 1-0 win with an early goal from Nery Castillo in the third minute of play. The win took the Piraeus club to 43 points, six ahead of AEK and Panathinaikos, in second and third respectively. The gap separating the leading trio from fourth-placed PAOK grew further following the Thessaloniki club’s 1-0 loss, away, to city rival Iraklis. PAOK now lies 12 points behind AEK and Panathinaikos. From there on, the league’s standings are extremely tight. Two rounds into the second half of the season, a mere five points separate fifth-placed OFI from Apollon Kalamaria, second from last, in the 16-team Super League. The weekend’s action was mired by several incidents of fan violence. Olympiakos and Panathinaikos fan club offices in Athens were damaged late Saturday night following Molotov cocktail attacks. Some 15 nearby cars were also damaged in the attack at the Olympiakos fan club office, in the capital’s Ilioupolis district. Police did not report links between the two attacks. Yesterday, a provincial bus carrying a group of Olympiakos fans into the city for the club’s game against Panionios was attacked with petrol bombs and rocks in western Athens. One Olympiakos fan was slightly injured were reported. Returning to competition, AEK came back from behind for the fifth time this season to defeat Cretan team OFI 3-1 in Athens. Following a series of subdued performances, Panathinaikos, playing away, trampled Ionikos 4-0 with striker Thanassis Tsigas putting away the first two goals in the 13th and 49th minutes. The Athens club increased its lead with an own goal in the 65th minute, while Argentinean Sebastian Romero added the visitor’s fourth goal six minutes from time. In the round’s other games, it was: Ergotelis – Xanthi, 3-1; Aegaleo – Apollon Kalamaria, 2-0; Atromitos – Larissa, 2-2; Kerkyra – Aris, 1-1.
