SPORTS

Olympiakos red-faced after Dnipro’s ricochet goals

Two goals at the start of the second half in Kiev condemned Olympiakos to a 2-0 loss to host Dnipro in the first leg of their encounter for the round of 32 of the Europa League on Thursday.

The Greek champion contained its host in Ukraine in the first half, that was largely balanced, but its performance in the first quarter of the second half dipped to allow Dnipro to claim a significant advantage ahead of the return leg in Piraeus a week later.

A sinister ricochet off Olympiakos central defender Felipe Santana meant keeper Roberto was unable to get a hand on the shot by Georgian Jaba Kankava that gave the host the lead five minutes into the second half.

Four minutes later Olympikakos conceded the softest of goals, as a long-distance free-kick from the right by Dnipro captain Ruslan Rotan bounced twice in the Reds’ box and went in off Dimitris Siovas for 2-0.

The Ukrainians missed more chances in the second half, such as the shot by Yehven Konoplyanka that went just wide 14 minutes from the end, as the Reds appeared unable to close down on the Dnipro players who attempted shots.

Olympiakos tried to get something out of the game by putting pressure in the Dnipro goal towards the end, but it never really threatened its host with an away goal, until the time added on.

In the last minute of injury time the Reds had a penalty appeal rejected and Costas Mitroglou had a goal disallowed for committing a foul before heading the ball goalwards.

Subscribe to our Newsletters

Enter your information below to receive our weekly newsletters with the latest insights, opinion pieces and current events straight to your inbox.

By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.