AEK Frustrate Panathinaikos In Derby Stalemate

Panathinaikos and AEK Athens played out a typical scoreless derby draw at the OAKA Spiros Louis Stadium on Sunday evening, as both sides allowed rivals Olympiakos to skip further away from them on the Greek Super League table.

Henk Ten Cate’s team were the driving force behind what was a predominantly tense affair in the nation’s capital, where former Arsenal midfielder Gilberto Silva was guilty of two glaring misses in either half of the match.

For the visitors, Sotiris Kyrgiakos hit the post with a first-half header as Dusan Bajevic’s men frustrated their opponents, continuing the manager’s unbeaten run since taking over earlier in the season.

First Half

It was a relatively open first half of football at the OAKA Spiros Louis Stadium, Dimitris Salpiggidis drawing a sharp save from Sebastian Saja with a half-volley after just ten minutes of play.

A tame header from Sotiris Kyrgiakos was the only response AEK could muster just nine minutes later, though Dusan Bajevic’s side were gradually beginning to work their way into the contest in an attacking capacity.

With midfield trio of Tamandani Nsaliwa, Vasilis Pliatsikas and Pantelis Kafes stifling Henk Ten Cate’s men, it was AEK who came closest to opening the scoring on 31’ minutes, Greece centre-back Sotiris Kyrgiakos climbing to head Angelos Basinas’ corner onto the right post with goalkeeper Mario Galinovic.

Barely a minute after the two ex-Panathinaikos players combined to almost give their new club the lead, it was former Arsenal captain Gilberto Silva who missed a wonderful chance to score only his second competitive goal for his new club.

Salpiggidis initially combined well with Vaggelis Mantzios, hitting the by-line before cutting the ball back for the unmarked Silva in the box, who from barely six yards out contrived to somehow slide the ball wide of a virtually empty net.

Apart from that chance to the Brazilian, the home team were largely shackled by their Athenian rivals, who themselves weren’t hesitating to commit bodies forward and maintain a constant threat from set pieces.

Second Half

As if to emphasise the point, it was Kyrgiakos who had the first sight on goal of the second half, flicking Angelos Basinas’ deep free kick onto the roof of the net after just three minutes.

The hosts were largely frustrated by their more defence-minded opponents for the majority of a tense second half of football, though their best chance finally arrived on 63 minutes.

It was the pace of Greece international Dimitris Salpiggidis that again unlocked AEK’s back-line, the winger cutting the ball back for Gilberto Silva in a carbon-copy of the Brazilian’s chance in the first half.

Again though the veteran midfielder’s finish was lacking, the 32 year-old firing well over the crossbar after arriving late into the penalty area.

It was a move that galvanized a strong crowd at the Olympic Stadium though, Panathinaikos beginning to apply concerted pressure on their deep-lying opponents.

Captain Giorgios Karagounis was next to test Sebastian Saja – who in truth, enjoyed an otherwise quiet evening in the nation’s capital – shooting straight at the Argentine following some sharp footwork outside the box on 68 minutes, before the enigmatic midfielder sent a dipping strike over the crossbar a couple of minutes later.

For all of their attacking endeavour though, Henk Ten Cate’s side were unable to regularly break down their resolute opponents, for whom the likes of Daniel Majstorovic and Angelos Basinas were superb in defence.

As was the case against Olympiakos earlier in the season, too often the final killer pass or shot was missing from Panathinaikos’ play, the Greens suffering from poor decision-making in the final third of the pitch.

Panathinaikos 0
AEK Athens 0

Line-ups:

Panathinaikos: Galinovic, Sarriegi, Goumas (25’ Melissis), Salpiggidis, Gilberto Silva, Gabriel (57’ Rukavina), Karagounis, Simao, Vyntra, Mantzios (81’ Petropoulos), Spyropoulos

AEK Athens: Saja, Kyrgiakos, Majstorovic, Basinas, Juanfran, Nsawila (75’ Manduca), Kafes, Pliatsikas (81’ Georgeas), Scocco, Blanco, Djebbour (Edinho 89’)

Chris Paraskevas, Goal.com