Apollon and Lawrie Sanchez steal Super League show

By George Georgakopoulos

With Olympiakos crowned champion, the Champions League play-off lineup confirmed and Aris already relegated, interest in the Super League has focused on the other team that will go down and the one to contest a relegation playoff with a second-division team. This is why the victory that Apollon Smyrnis scored over Panthrakikos on Sunday grabbed the headlines in the soccer weekend in Greece.

Olympiakos predictably downed Aris 1-0 in Piraeus through a late Nelson Valdez goal to stay 17 points ahead of PAOK, that came from behind to down visiting Kalloni Lesvou 2-1 thanks to strikes by Zvonimir Vukic and Efthymis Koulouris.

Atromitos and Panathinaikos stayed tied in third after their goalless draw at Peristeri on Saturday, while Asteras Tripolis suffered a 3-0 loss at Panionios.

Therefore Apollon’s 3-2 win at Panthrakikos was the most impressive result as it lifted the Athens team out of the drop zone, where Platanias is temporarily keeping company to Aris ahead of the Hania team’s game at Xanthi on Monday.

However Apollon’s victory will also be remembered for the sudden outburst of the club’s coach, Lawrie Sanchez, 30 minutes into the game, when he grabbed a TV reporter’s microphone live on air to protest about an Apollon goal that he thought should not have been disallowed.

Veria snatched a point at Panetolikos through a 0-0 draw to rise a point above Platanias but drop one behind Apollon, as the battle to avoid relegation will go down to the wire in the two remaining rounds of games.

In other weekend games host Ergotelis beat PAS Giannina 1-0 and Levadiakos mathematically preserved its Super League status for one more year defeating OFI Crete 2-1 at home.