Sunday, January 9, 2011

Super League: Olympiakos get easy win at Kerkyra - PAOK and AEK also notch up victories

Olympiakos have restored their five-point lead at the top of the Super League after a comfortable 2-0 win over Kerkyra on Corfu, as PAOK and AEK kept up the race for third place. Despite dominating the game on Sunday, the Reds had to wait until the second half to open the scoring and rather than one of their own players, it was a Kerkyra man that had the ball in the net.
Thanassis Tsigas beat Marko Pantelic to an Ariel Ibagaza free-kick in the 56th minute but also sent the ball past his own keeper.
Pantelic then laid on a ball during a counter attack for Kevin Mirallas to score in the 70th minute and wrap up the three points.
The win means that Olympiakos have 42 points from 17 games. Panathinaikos have 37.
Kerkyra remain on 20 points, still four points above the relegation zone.
PAOK are in third on 27 points after a 1-0 win over Asteras Tripolis. Dimitris Salpigidis scored the winning goal in the 33rd minute.
AEK are in fourth but on the same number of points after an impressive 3-1 victory at Panserraikos. Ismael Blanco opened the score on nine minutes and Nikos Liberopoulos made it 2-0 half an hour later.
Struggling Panserraikos revived hopes of taking something from the game when youngster Giorgos Georgiadis, a possible transfer target for AEK, made it 2-1 just before the half-time whistle.
However, Liberopoulos secured the three points when he tucked away an 83rd minute penalty.
Xanthi have joined Kavala in joint-fifth place after a 2-0 win at Panionios. Both goals came in the first half hour of the game. Christopher Katongo and former Coventry and Aston Villa midfielder George Boateng were on target to keep Xanthi's remarkable recovery going.
Iraklis have moved up to eighth on 22 points after a vital 1-0 home win over Atromitos that means the Athenians have replaced the Thessaloniki side in the spot just above the relegation zone.
Fiery Romanian Victoras Iacob got the only goal of the game as he headed home in first-half injury time.
Atromitos felt they should have had a penalty in the second half, when they also hit the bar. Manager Giorgos Donis knows his team have to start picking up results before they are dragged into the relegation battle.
There are no such worries at the moment for Ergotelis and Olympiakos Volou, who remain in mid-table after a 0-0 draw on Crete.




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