Panathinaikos - Atromitos 1-0

Φασούλι το Φασούλι, γεμίζει το σακούλι! I remember this from second grade class in Greece. "Bean by bean, the sack will fill". Point by point this title is getting closer.

Panathinaikos - Atromitos Video





Seeing that the stress is beginning to creep in the team, I hope Ferreira finds a way to keep the players focused and the team's gaze at the title that is closer now than ever. Most importantly, I hope the fans don't let their own agony for the title translate into unreasonable requests, jeers, and more stress for the players.

Not to forget the "paragontes", I hope they stay the hell away from the team and the point advantage that the players and coaching staff built through hard work over the past six months.

 I say that because I have watched Panathinaikos implode in the past because they were unable to manage the stress that first place imposes on players, paragontes, and fans. I remember vividly the Peseiro year when we were so close to winning the title only to see the team implode in the last month through off the field distractions that should have been avoided.

Gontikas has done a good job so far letting the team do it's job, while he has matched the childish behavior of the Olympiakos paid agitators with nicely timed and well crafted responses.

I start my game analysis with this prologue because I see some signs that make me worried.

Fist the fans booed Totse last game against Doxa when he came off the field.

I know for a fact that the majority of Panathinaikos fans don't condone this kind of behavior, but it seems like there is a large population of idiots in the stands who have no clue how to help the team, or worst, they care less about the team as long as they get to "be heard" for once in their lives. I hope those who booed Totse find another team to destroy and leave Panathinaikos players alone.

I still remember the game with Peseira against Panionios that fans booed Tziolis for entering the game at a time when the coach wanted to secure the winning score. These fans weren't the only responsible for losing that title, but creating a toxic atmosphere with unreasonable expectations did not help then, and it will never help.

Second worrisome sign is the re-appearance of some lost ghosts and agitators from the past. Sure we do want to know what will happen with the shareholders and the club ownership, and we definitely want to know that some of them will step up to help, but I get an uneasy feeling when the team has a critical game to play today,  and the media reports are dominated by business persons who send some sort of letter to Gontika. I know it's not constructive when everyone jumps to take sides, to polarize the fans, and to talk about anything but what really matters: the player and coach's efforts on the pitch.

Now that the team is winning and solidifying first place, I suspect there will be plenty of "comets" who will attempt to show themselves as "PAO-loving", "saviors", and general "team bouncers". By my book, unless someone wants to write the club a check, they will do well to stay the hell away this season. We can live without self-serving letters, ideas, and patronage.

Now for the game.

This win was not just a small step toward the title. It was a giant leap ahead for the competition who lost ground through their own ineptitude (even though Theodoridis and Marinakis will have everyone convinced that Gontikas has set up a "paranga").

With the three points collected today Panathinaikos is in first place, two points ahead of Olympiakos. That's two points ahead having played a game less than them. This means that if Panathinaikos wins the pending game against Levadiakos (at home) this Wednesday, they will be FIVE points ahead in the league table. That's a huge handicap in Greek football and it would literarily take an implosion by PAO to lose this title - hence my huge introduction about distractions.

If you read my previous blog about the games ahead, you 'll see the beauty of Panathinaikos' position. They have a chance to make the upcoming Panathinaikos - Olympiakos game completely meaningless.

Olympiakos agitators have already mentioned that they expect to make up the difference by winning in OAKA (I am not sure if Theodoridis had inside knowledge when he said this with so much certainty last week - perhaps a slip of the tongue for an attempt to fix that game? I don't know. He'd have to explain himself), and being already five points ahead would make that game an attempt at a long-shot to get back in the race than an actual title-winner. Suffice to say that Olympiakos will have a few more chances to lose points, especially since they suck, and still have to play in Touba among other tough games.

This Panathinaikos - Atromitos game was another typical contest where the little team can go home and brag about "ball possession" (not) or "didn't get killed at OAKA", and Panthianikos players can go home to enjoy the view from above.

Overall, it wasn't an easy game, Atromitos being a disciplined and well drilled team, but in the end Panathinaikos verified that they have solutions to overcome these kinds of games no matter how much the other team "wants" to do well.

Today's solution had a Quincy stamp on it. It was getting into the last twenty minutes of the game and despite Panathinaikos picking up their game, it looked like we would need a hero again. Quincy had flirted with the goal a couple of times before, but he didn't let his third chance to score go astray. You bring the ball in the box enough time, and it's bound that one of this times it will bounce your way.

Atromitos had one decent chance early in the game but beyond that, and despite their good ball movement in midfield, they never really became dangerous. On the other hand, Panathinaikos wasted the first half again with only one long-range shot to show for, but they did adjust both tactics and intensity in the second half, enough to bring a winning goal and several other good chances to score again.

It's noteworthy that Panathinaikos has kept a clean sheet for the last five games despite the major injuries and forced rotations in both defense and midfield. They have stopped scoring two and three goals per game, but they do score enough to win, and they stopped conceding silly goals on defense. I am not sure what has caused the major change, but it works for now, and if we can keep winning for the next month, I am convinced we will see good football again if the difference from second place increases some more, and when the injured players return.


Ferreira once again showed that he is a very astute and flexible tactician. He fielded a good and disciplined squad, and made the right moves during the game to win it.

I am sure mainstream media reports will mention how Atromitos held the ball in midfield and how Panathianikos looked unable to win possession. But if you watched the game, and like to analyze tactics, you would probably agree with my observation:

Atromitos had a very sly strategy. They got the ball in midfield and passed it around their defenders and two DMs, trying to bait the other team's zone to run up to get it.

Most teams fall for this. They sit back in two defensive zones and eventually players from the first defensive line will strart peeling off to attack the ball. Inevitably when this happens individually, without the rest of their teammates following, it leaves big holes behind that can be exploited to force the defenders on one-on-one match-ups without support. Defending midfielders do it is because they too get as impatient as the fans to win the ball and to attack.

Panathinaikos players didn't fall for it, and they never attempted to attack the ball behind center field, unless it was a movement by the whole team. For me that's a good sign of the excellent work that Ferreira's coaching team has done this season. It's not something that can be taught in one week, and in the end, this kind of discipline is what wins titles.

Also, I am impressed with the way Ferreira trusts and manages his players, and they seem to respond well to him. I don't know if he had something to do with the playesr increasing their intensity in the second half, but he definitely has a huge part in bringing this team on top of the table with a game to go.



The Players

Karnezis 6
He had one excellent save early in the game on a close-range Mitroglou shot, but I thought he looked shaky and spilled a couple other shots that I thought he could have smothered, and he had a couple of bad exits in corners.

Vintra 8
Good game by Vintra who covered the entire wing on the right and sent in the excellent cross that resulted in the winning goal.

Spyropoulos 7
Spyropoulos had an excellent game with critical stoppages on defense and meaningful plays down the wing.

Bjarsmyr 7
He was not pressed, but he had a solid game with excellent positioning and solid plays on the ball outside the box. The only weakness, and it's not only his own responsibility, was the fact that most high balls in our box ended with an Atromitos head meeting them.

Sariegi 7
He had the dificult task of marking a very dificult forward in Mitroglou, and looked a little nervous at times, but overall he managed to keep most dangers away from our goal.

Simao 8
Solid contribution in midfield with dominating play on man-marking plays, perfect positioning in zone defense, and excellent distribution to advance the play.

Katsouranis
He got injured and substituted in the first half, but he looked good in the minutes he played.

Vitolo 8
He replaced the injured Katsourani and he too left the game injured in the dying moments. But in between he had an excellent game, plugging holes in midfield, stealing balls, and distributing well.

Zeka 7
He looked energetic and at times dangerous with good forward runs. , but his final passes weren't always successful.

Cleyton 3
Cleyton had an off game, with slow distribution, unnecessary dribbles, and generally he looked sluggish.

Quincy 8
It was his turn to carry the torch for the team's offence today, and he did well to keep defenders on their toes, and of course, to score the golden goal that secured the win today.

Leto 5
He ran around in every offensive position, but most of the time he found two and three defenders around him. The moments when he found space, he chose the least desirable play - dribbling and shooting when it's time to pass, and generally looking all stressed out. I think he really wants to score every game, and he gets all aggravated when he can't. I suspect he'll bounce back soon, especially when the distance from second place increases. He just needs to relax and accept that he doesn't have to be the savior in every game, especially now that others have proven that they can step up and win a game even when he doesn't play well. His best conrtibutino was that awkward header that ended up as an assist to Quincy.

Totse 6
He replaced Cleyton around 60' and from my point of view, his entry in the game was catalytic in this win. With Totse present in the box, the center backs had him to worry about, leaving Leto and Quincy a lot more space around the box. He didn't do anything amazing, and managed to miss an excellent chance again (as a reminder, even the great Warzycha and Cisse went through long dry-spells), but he fought hard, and won the fans' cheers when he run about 80 meters to defend the forward run of an Atromitos defender. He looks like a conciencious player who cares about the team and I hope the fans give him the support he deserves.

Marinos
He came in the game after we scored to solidify the game in midfield and he helped in this respect without doing anything else noteworthy.