Gilberto misses 2 chances in Athens derby
January 4, 2009
AEK Frustrate Panathinaikos In Derby Stalemate
It was another derby stalemate for Panathinaikos, this time held by Dusan Bajevic’s organized AEK outfit in the Greek capital…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.
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.
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.