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Panathinaikos Trip-Up At Home To Asteras

Asteras midfielder Adrian Bastia was sent-off for tripping up a crowd member who entered the field of play, as Panathinaikos' European heroes stumbled to a league draw at home...

Nov 29, 2008 7:05:41 PM

Greek Super League: Panathinaikos v Asteras Tripolis / Salpingidis (INTIME)

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Greek Super League: Panathinaikos v Asteras Tripolis / Salpingidis (INTIME)

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Following their stunning UEFA Champions League victory away against Inter Milan, Henk Ten Cate’s Panathinaikos were held to a frustrating draw at home against Nikos Kostenoglou’s Asteras Tripolis.

The Athenians lacked any consistent attacking spark and despite going ahead on the stroke of half-time through Antonis Petropoulos, gave up their lead during an insipid second-half display.

First Half

A frustrating first-half for the hosts saw a determined and organised Tripolis side reduce them to long-range efforts and half-chances at best during the early stages of the match, before Antonis Petropoulos managed to convert one of two glorious chances created for him.

The 22-year-old striker was handed a starting place up-front, with Henk Ten Cate leaving the likes of Giorgios Karagounis, Gabriel, Alexandros Tziolis and Vaggelis Mantzios on the bench after they played their respective roles in the mid-week Champions League win over Inter Milan.

His first opportunity arrived on 26 minutes following a superb early ball into the box by Greece left-back Nikos Spyropoulos.

From point-blank range and unmarked, Petropoulos could only manage to flash his header wide of the far-post with Asteras ‘keeper Abaris stranded.

He made no mistake on the stroke of half-time however, heading powerfully past the stranded custodian after Austria captain Andreas Ivanschitz had skipped past Israel Damonte before producing an inch-perfect cross from the left flank.

Second Half

Clearly carrying the momentum of their well-timed opener, Panathinaikos should have doubled their lead through Loukas Vyntra after just three minutes of second-half football.

A fairly weak Andreas Ivanschitz free-kick was only parried into the path of Loukas Vyntra by Abaris and from the corner of the six-yard box the defender chested the ball before volleying wildly over the crossbar.

However, Nikos Kostenoglou’s side were rewarded for their increased sense of adventure in the second-half and after stringing together some cohesive attacking moves that had little end product, they grabbed a sudden equalizer on 71 minutes through Adrian Bastia, the Argentine half-volleying home Zairi’s cross from the right of the area.

The home side came closest to retaking the lead through another Ivanschitz free-kick with five minutes remaining, the Austrian curling his low effort over the wall and just past Abaris’ left upright with the ‘keeper fully stretched.

It was a reflection of the lack of invention and drive of the Athenian side that their best chance to win the match had arrived from a set-piece, with their Arcadian visitors defending comfortably during the second-half to deservedly earn themselves their fourth point in two matches under new manager Kostenoglou.

The match had a rather comical end to it however, with goal-scorer Bastia bizarrely sent off for tripping up a crowd member who had evaded security and ran onto the pitch.

The result itself perhaps carries with it a slightly embarrassing tinge for Ten Cate’s side, who only a few days ago earned a historic 1-0 win at the San Siro – though their minds might already be on a December 9 Champions League meeting with Anorthosis Famagusta.

Panathinaikos 1 (Petropoulos 44’)
Asteras Tripolis (Bastia 71’)

Line-ups:

Panathinaikos: Galinovic, Sarriegi, Mattos (73’ Karagounis), Goumas, Salpiggidis, Silva (64’ Tziolis), Vyntra, Ivanschitz, Petropoulos, Nilsson (53’ Gabriel), Spyropoulos

Asteras Tripolis: Abaris, Kanakoudis, Cardozo, Cesarec (93’ Fabeta), Bastia, Flavio, Zairi (74’ Esteves), Lazaridis, Damonte, Filomeno (86’ Stratakis), Fytanidis

Chris Paraskevas, Goal.com

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