With a lot of desire but with very few chances, Panathinaikos had a nil-nil draw, for the first time during the season in an away match, playing against Apollon Smyrnis at “G. Kamaras” football ground, for the 19th match day of Super League Greece championship.
Contrarily to what usually happens, this duel had a very strong start in comparison to what was going to come. The hosting team in the 9th minute and the “Greens” in the 11th lost a great chance each, showing that things would be much more interesting comparing to what finally occurred. Elbaz had a head after a foul shot by Kouros, but Vlachodimos stopped the ball before it hurt the left post and two minutes later the goalie Covic won Altman in their confrontation, after a header-pass by Donis, keeping his goalposts intact. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that these two minutes were the … highlight of the match from an “emotional” point of view! The rest of the first period flew without any chances and even without plays in front of the two goalposts, with the exception of a cross by Johansson in the 21st minute that was high and passed over Apollon’s crossbar, although its goalkeeper was vigilant and correctly positioned.
The second half rolled just the same way as the first one. Till the 70th minute nothing special happened concerning either threats or any creation of chances. Kourbelis’ initiative to shoot a free kick while in the box and Elbaz who shot from almost the same point just after were finally ineffective, showing that the game would be without any … suspense. This way the duel came to an end without goals (0-0). This was an expected result as nothing special has happened into the pitch. Thus, Panathinaikos that lined up without two of the players that have played against Kerkyra (Villafañez and Hiljemark), remained once more without an away victory. Nevertheless, the “Shamrock” could keep its goalposts intact for the first time in 15 away matches played for all competitions in the current season.
The lineups :
Apollon Smyrnis:Covic, Stathis, Zissopoulos, Bartolini, Kouros (39′ Juarez), Papazoglou, Kone, Tsoukalas (62′ Mendrinos), Albanis, Elbaz, Devesa (75′ Añete).
Panathinaikos:Vlachodimos, Johansson, Economou, Kolovetsios, Insua, Tzandaris (90′ Pispas), Kourbelis, Lod, Chatziyiovannis (80′ Kountouriotis), Altman (75′ Staikos), Donis.
