Olympiakos retains its lead with 1-0 win over Atromitos
Ieroklis Stoltidis scored in the second half Saturday to give Olympiakos a 1-0 win over Atromitos in Greece’s first division. With 24 points from 10 games, Olympiakos tops the standings, four points ahead of Xanthi, Panathinaikos and crosstown AEK. AEK will reduce the gap to a point if it beats visiting Akratitos today. Also Saturday, Xanthi played to a 1-1 draw against Ionikos, while Panathinaikos defeated visiting Apollon Thessaloniki 3-0 on goals from Vangelis Mantzios, Yiannis Goumas and Anthony Seric. Although it played without playmakers Predrag Djordjevic and Yaya Toure, Olympiakos enjoyed most of the possession. It almost took the lead in the 12th minute when Atromitos defender Markos Dimos almost scored an own goal when his shot bounced off the post. In the 58th, Spanish forward Daniel Garcia fed Rivaldo’s cross into the path of Stoltidis, who headed it in. Atromitos pressed for an equalizer but Olympiakos’s defense resisted. Mantzios put Panathinaikos ahead in the 27th at Athens’s Olympic Stadium with a header off a cross by Brazilian midfielder Flavio Conceicao. It was Mantzios’s fourth goal of the season. Dimitris Papadopoulos almost added another in 38th when his header was saved by goalkeeper Pavel Kovacs. The visitors squandered their best opportunity to level in the 68th when Alexander Cleyton’s shot was cleared off the line by Philippos Darlas. Goumas made it 2-0 in the 83rd and Seric closed the scoring it two minutes later. Mid-placed Aegaleo kept in touch with the league’s upper half following a 1-0 win over Levadiakos. The home side’s winner came in the 29th minute from striker Nikos Nikolopoulos. Panionios and OFI, both struggling just above the relegation zone, shared points with a 1-1 draw. Panionios, playing at home, went ahead in the 52nd minute with a goal from Slovak Mario Breska, who had joined the action from the bench. The Cretan club equalized in the 77th minute with a goal from midfielder Stelios Sfiakanakis. The home club could have regained the lead in the last minute of regular time but striker Dimitris Nalitzis’s shot was denied by the horizontal crossbar. Later last night, Iraklis defeated Larissa 2-1 in Thessaloniki and Kallithea drew 1-1 with PAOK in Athens. (AP, Kathimerini)
