By: Peter Katsiris
Greek Champions Olympiacos CFP were left frustrated in their home opener against FC Kavala at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium on Saturday, the visitors hanging on for a 0-0 tie in Piraeus.
After last weekend's horrid friendly loss to Ergotelis FC, Olympiacos were expected to prepare for their midweek UEFA Champions League clash with AZ Alkmaar with a comfortable Super League introduction to their fans in the port city; this, however, was not the case as Kavala earned a memorable result inside one of the fortresses of Greek football.
The hosts set out on the right path early in the match, midfielder Cristian Raul Ledesma and Jaoud Zairi both earning early looks at goal, but neither managed to direct their efforts on target.
Kavala also had an early chance to grab a goal, but Nigerian striker Benjamin Onwauachi's cross for Ilias Ioannou was wasted as it sailed way wide of Antonis Nikopolidis' goal.
With two men in attack, Olympiacos was banking on the strike partnership of Konstantionos Mitroglou and Diogo for goals, and the former looked set to come through until his shot curled wide of the Kavala goal on twenty-four minutes.
On-loan Liverpool 'keeper Charles Itandje got the start in Piraeus, ahead of Zeljko Kalac and Fanis Katergiannakis, and the Frenchman displayed his talent as he continued to stand tall in the Kavala net.
He was beaten, however, on forty-two minutes as driven shot from Leonardo found the back of the net, but a slight tip from Diogo, who was adjudged to be in an offside position when the shot was taken, called off the goal to keep the match scoreless through the first forty-five minutes.
Not the type of performance they were expecting, the crowd on hand at Karaiskaki were not very warm to Olympiacos, and the club's manager Temuri Ketsbaia. Cheers for the Georgian's predecessor Ernesto Valverde were heard round the stadium, an echo sure to be heard by club president Sokratis Kokkalis.
The action in the second half saw Kavala notch the first opportunity of the half, Frederic Mendy failing to make the most of his fiftieth minute effort as Nikopolidis easily denied the Senegalese midfielder.
Pierre Ducrocq was the next to have a crack for Kavala, the Frenchman releasing a well-taken effort just past the hour mark, which crept just over the Olympiacos goal.
As the visitors continued to inch closer and closer to a breakthrough, Olympiacos, baffled by jeers from the stands, looked to create some sort of magic their fans so longed for.
Luciano Galletti looked to have ignited the spark on sixty-four minutes with a slick move to work his way into the box, and as he shuffled off a pass for Dudu, the stadium looked set to erupt, but it was to no avail as the Brazilian rocketed his one-time effort just wide of Itandje's goal.
Olympiacos continued to press, but all efforts from this point looked optimistic, the Piraeus giants degraded to a desperate state to snag a goal.
Substitute Matt Derbyshire looked to add to his impressive list of goals for the club, but hisswerving effort on eighty-four minutes lacked the proper recipe to beat Itandje.
At the other end though, Kavala finally broke free of a stiff Olympaicos defense, but were robbed of a goal by a sharp save from Nikopolidis; the former Greece international denying Nikos Soultanidis of a late winner with a quick kick-save.
Olympiacos had one last chance to sneak a win, a stoppage time free-kick from Galletti though was sent just wide by the Argentine, leaving the Erythrolefki to scratch their heads ahead of their UEFA Champions League group stage curtain raiser against AZ Alkmaar on Saturday.
With European obligations on tap for Olympiacos during midweek, they'll look to breathe life in their domestic campaign when they visit PAOK FC next week in Thessaloniki, before travelling to Athens to face AEK four days later.
Meanwhile, Kavala, who now have four points after three matches, face Atromitos Athens at home next weekend.
Olympiacos CFP 0-0 FC Kavala
Yellow Cards:
Olympiacos CFP - Diogo 43', Zewlakow 54'.
FC Kavala - Dobrasinovic 27', Onwuachi 47', Economou 54'.
Olympiacos CFP (Temuri Ketsbaia): Nikopolidis, Zewlakow, A. Papadopoulos, Mellberg, Domi, Ledesma, Dudu, Zairi (55' Derbyshire), Leonardo (45' Galletti), Diogo, Mitroglou (68' Torosidis).
FC Kavala (Giannis Papakostas): Itandje, Pavicevic, Psomas (28' Theodorellis), Economou, Douglao, Ducrocq, Oruma, Dobrasinovic, Mendy (82' Popovic), Onwuachi, Ioannou (61' Soultanidis).
Referee: Mario Lambropoulos
Venue: Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece.
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