Aris on top, Reds held at home

Aris shot to the top of the Super League table after the Macedonian side defeated PAS Ioannina 1-0 at home. Olympiakos was held to a 0-0 draw by Kavala while Larissa let a two goal lead slip against Atromitos at home, with the match finishing 2-2.

Olympiakos 0 - Kavala 0

After Olympiakos suffered an embarrassing 5-0 friendly match thumping against Crete side Ergotelis, the pressure was on Timour Ketsbaia and his side against newly promoted Kavala.

Olympiakos is at home to Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday in the Champions League, and the match against Kavala represented an opportunity for the reds to get some form ahead of the crucial European tie.

But things did not go according to plan for Ketsbaia’s side.

In the 42nd minute, Olympiakos’ Leonardo had a goal disallowed for offside, despite the Brazilian finding the back of the net with a shot from outside the box.His team-mate Diogo, in an offside position and in front of the Kavala custodian was adjudged to have interfered with the play.

In fact Olympiakos was lucky not to go down a goal in the 85th minute, after Kavala pounced on the home side’s loss of possession effortlessly opened up the red’s defence.

Nikos Soultanidis missed his one-on-one with Antonis Nikopolidis in the Olympiakos goal, who saved the ball with his feet. It was the most clear cut opportunity of the match.

In the 94th minute, Olympiakos might have been spared the blushes of a 0-0 home draw with a promoted side, but Dudu sprayed his free header, not even testing Kavala’s custodian.

Aris 1 - PAS Ioannina 0

Tuniasian right midfielder Nafti scored the only goal of the game as Aris held off PAS Ioannina’s challenge at the Kleanthis Bikelidis stadium.

The goal arrived as early as the 3rd minute of the match after a blunder by a PAS defender outside the box. Nafti pounced on the loose ball, firing a long hard shot along the ground beyond the reach of Dimitris Eleftheropoulos in the Ioannina goals.

Minutes later with three Aris attackers goal bound on a counter attack, Koke’s poor control thwarts what looked like a second goal scoring chance for the home side.

The first half petered out with few chances, save for one either side with Aris’ Fernades going close, and then Michalis Sifakis keeping Aris’ clean sheet intact when he saved a Dimbala shot.

In the second half, Koke and Calvo had good chances for Aris, with Sifakis keeping out Bakaioko and Satiotis’ attempts for Ioannina.

Save for a Havito effort minutes from time, neither side managed to trouble one another’s defence and Aris held on for a deserved 1-0 win in an ultimately lacklustre match.

Seitaridis back at PAO

A statement on the club’s official website indicates that Greece giants Panathinaikos have secured the services of highly-rated defender Georgios Seitaridis on a free transfer.

The right-back has been a free agent ever since being released on a free transfer by Spanish outfit Atletico Madrid earlier this summer. Seitaridis has signed a four-year deal at his new club.

The 28-year-old previously enjoyed a spell at Panathinaikos from 2001-2004, but eventually left the club for an adventure at Portuguese powerhouse Porto. He also played for Dynamo Moscow before joining Atletico in the summer of 2006.

Seitaridis had also attracted the interest of Bundesliga outfit Koeln. However, the Greece international turned down an offer from the Geissbocke, making it clear that he preferred a return to his native country.