Panathinaikos - Kerkyra 1-0

With the final whistle, the announcer said "stressful win for Panathinaikos" and that summarizes everything about the game.

Panathinaikos had one goal and at least three excellent chances to score again to go along with another couple half-chances. But the whole story of the game was that Kerkyra managed to finish the game dominating possession 54% to 46%.

I know very well that possession doesn't mean much in football unless you win, and the reality of it was that Kerkyra's possession was as impotent as it was noteworthy. For hoarding the ball so much, Kerkyra never really managed to become dangerous for Karnezi. In fact, Karnezis had one really good block from a difficult shot from within the box that ended up coming his way, but other than that Kerkyra had no real chances to show for.

So why was the game so stressful, even for me who caught myself looking at the game clock as soon as 75'?

It was a combination of PAO's inability to hold the ball with any authority, and a general panic that ensued on our defense every time the ball came close to our box. There were so many times the ball bounced in our box without someone being able to clear it, that gave the general impression that with enough of these fracas plays one will end up going in.

Panathinaikos' defense is not the strength this year, so I wasn't surprised to see that kind of panic by all our defenders now that the whole line has been decimated by injuries. Panathinaikos' identity this year has been ball possession and crisp passing that keeps opponents on their toes and unlocks defenses with ease.

I saw the latter on a few plays in the first half, but it's becoming a trend in the last few games that Panathinaikos players can't perform at the same level as they did earlier in the season. There were more errant balls in midfield than successful passes, and for that, we can blame a few error-prone players but also the lack of hustle off the ball to get into position.

I don't know if all the accolades have gone to the players heads so they don't feel like they have to out-hassle the opposition, or if they are really as badly conditioned as some reporters have implied earlier in the season. But the reality is that with few exceptions, Panathinaikos' players have gone through a stretch of three or four games where they play a more static football with many players unable to run with the same intensity for the game's entirety (Cleyton, Zeka, Leto, for sure).

The three points were the objective though, and it was achieved even if once again the "small" team can go home to spread some bragging rights about how well "they played Panathinaikos" in OAKA.

The Players

Karnezis 6
I don't know the reasons why Karnezis was chosen today instead of the very good Kapino. I hope it's not one of the boneheaded decisions by management to put pressure on the kid (perhaps contract negotiations, like it happened so many times in the past?), or if Ferreira wants to keep the youngster on his toes, but admittedly, I have no confidence in Karnezis after seeing him give away two games to oppositions single-handedly. He wasn't pressed at all today so all is well, and for the first time in 9 games Panathinaikos didn't concede a goal. Even though I think this had to do more with Kerkyra's inability, it does go down as a check on the positive column for Karnezi.

Vintra 5
Vintra did manage some critical stoppages on defense, but overall he was sloppy with the ball and looked nervous. He had his usual passion but this and his powerful runs are not conducive to Panathinaikos' new possession football game so he looks a little out of sorts.

Spyropoulos 5
I could just copy and past the Vintra rating here. He didn't find himself as much out of position as Vitnra did, but he didn't help as much offensively either.

Bjarsmyr 5
A very quiet first game, and an error-free one from Bjasrsmyr. I hope this begins building his confidence because we'll be seeing a lot of Bjarsmyr in the next couple of months with three other Central defenders unable to help (Boumsong and Sariegi injured, and Kante playing in Copa Africa).

Kante 5
He had many good last-minute stoppages but looked weak on high balls and very panicky. I was amazed at how many jumps for headers a player can mis-time in game seeing Kante's headers hitting the crown of his head and sailing sideways or backwards.

Simao 7
Those who made their internet "fan" reputation making fun of Simao's ball handling skills are probably revising their stance after the kid showed incredible improvement in ball possession and distribution to go along with his tenacity as a DM.

Vitolo 6
Vitolo looked good in midfield both defensively and offensively in the first half, but in the second half he didn't help as much. He trailed the play way too many times, and failed to organize the game or to distribute the ball forward in the way his position requires. His contribution was overall positive though.
Added Monday: After looking at the highlights, I realized that Vitolo gave the forward pass to Cleyton, a pass that allowed Cleyton to come face to face with the goal before he passed to Leto who scored. So Vitolo did contribute considerably on offense and I increased his rating to 6.

Cleyton 7
With Kerkrya playing their defensive line very high, Cleyton had ample room to run and pass in open space. For sixty minutes that his legs could carry him, he helped both defensively and offensively, and it wasn't by accident that ball possession was lost for good when he got tired. He missed a couple of chances but his  effort and assist to Leto were exemplary.

Mavrias 6
For a 17-year old in his second start for PAO, Mavrias was very good. He played as a LM with power, speed and skill. He managed some good plays even though he helped Spyropoulo on defense more than Spyropoulos helped him on offense.

Zeka 5
Defensively he was good in midfield but he had more errors than positive plays overall.

Leto 7
He is a force to reckoned with, and he was a real pain in the behind for Kerkyra all game long. He missed a couple good chances to score a second goal, but he was creative up front and scored the winning goal and finished the game without being booked. Noteworthy is the fact that he wore the captains armband today, a well deserved honor.

Marinos 6
He replaced Cleyton early in the second half and did well to hep Vintra defensively. He did a lot of running and actually missed two really excellent chances to score.

Roudolf
He came in the game for the last fifteen minutes and didn't really help either with maintaining possesion or being dangerous on the counter at a time when Kerkyra was playing the ball almost exclusively in our half. He had way too many errant passes to go along with his good defensive contribution in midfield

Karagounis
In the last ten minutes the Ferreira was desperate for his players to hold on to the ball and Karagounis helped quite a bit in that respect. He calmed the whole team and won a lot of meters on the field, holding on to the ball and distributing correctly to teammates.

The bottom line
We won this one, but if we keep playing like we played today (and the last couple of games) it's a matter of time before we'll pay for it (again).

The team needs to go back to playing fundamental football with short passes and constant movement off the ball. Today, everyone looked static and Kerkyra midfielders managed to get to the end of every loose ball and errant pass.

The team also needs to work on pressing the opponent in critical spurts. So far this season with only a few exceptions, Panathinaikos doesn't seem capable of putting another gear in to press and win the ball in the opposing half.

It's going to be a tough couple of months with all the injuries and frequent games, but let's hope we keep winning until some of injured players begin playing again. Players like Ninis, Lazaros, Quincy, Boumsnong, and even Sariegi can make a huge difference in our game.