Teenager stuns the Reds
Iraklis put an end to Olympiakos’s winning streak, allowing Panathinaikos to open a two-point gap at the top of the soccer Super League. Enzo Maresca had given the Reds the lead in Piraeus but 17-year-old Apostolos Vellios stunned goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis to draw Iraklis level in injury time with the game ending 1-1 on Saturday. Olympiakos manager Zico said after the game that it was the first time in his career he had been forced to field a team missing nine of his top-pick players. Therefore, Panathinaikos is now again alone at the top after defeating Levadiakos 2-0 away last night via goals by Loukas Vintra and Djibril Cisse. Croatian Striker Danijel Cesarec scored a hat-trick for Asteras Tripolis to give the Peloponnesian side a 3-0 win over visiting PAS Yiannina and move to the top of the scorers’ chart with eight goals in 10 games. Cisse, in second, has seven. PAOK beat bottom side Panthrakikos 2-1 away, while Aris drew 0-0 at home with high-flying Kavala, which ended the game with just eight men. Former Aston Villa striker Bosko Balaban netted a brace and Panionios returned from Xanthi with a 2-1 win, while Atromitos and Ergotelis ended in a stalemate at Peristeri, with home fans calling for manager Giorgos Donis to go. AEK and Larissa face off today (4.45 p.m.) at the Olympic Stadium for the round’s last game. Panathinaikos leads the table with 28 points, just above Olympiakos with 26, PAOK with 18, Aris and Kavala with 15. Ergotelis and Asteras Tripolis share the sixth spot with 14 points.
