Mitroglou puts Reds on top
A Costas Mitroglou brace and an emphatic performance by Olympiakos in the second half of the derby with Panathinaikos brought the Reds a 2-0 triumph in Piraeus last night and took them to the top spot of the soccer Super League table for the first time this season. The hosts were second-best in the first half, with the Greens missing chance after chance in the first 45 minutes, but a lapse in the visitors’ concentration in the first-half injury time allowed Olympiakos to volley the ball in the box and feed Mitroglou within the six-yard area. The Greek international striker put the Reds ahead with his first goal of the night against the run of play. The goal came as a shock for Panathinaikos and a huge boost for Olympiakos who entered the second half with all guns blazing and made it 2-0 in the ninth minute after the break with a spectacular right-foot volley by Mitroglou from 15 meters. Olympiakos could have stretched its advantage further had it not been for its players’ wasteful finishing, although the result is enough to restore the champion’s supremacy in the league. In the weekend’s other highly anticipated game, AEK managed to beat third-place side PAOK 1-0 in Athens on Saturday thanks to a second-half strike by Gustavo Manduca, a boost the Athens side needed badly. Levadiakos has all but condemned Panthrakikos to relegation with its 2-0 away win, Atromitos defeated visiting PAS Yiannina 2-1, Panionios needed a controversial injury time equalizer to draw 1-1 at Aris and Larissa beat high-flying Kavala 1-0, yesterday. On Saturday, Ergotelis dismissed host Iraklis 2-0 in Thessaloniki, while Asteras Tripolis and Xanthi shared a goalless draw. Olympiakos leads the table with 30 points, one more than Panathinaikos, after 12 rounds of games. PAOK is third with 21 and the fourth spot is shared by Kavala, AEK and Panionios, who have 18. Ergotelis follows with 17 points but has a game in hand. It will face Larissa on Wednesday in Crete.
