A “thunderbolt” by Tasos Bakasetas led Panathinaikos to a 1-0 victory over Lamia at OAKA stadium! It was a very important victory for the Greens, who took the precious three points, came within… a breath’s distance of the top of the championship and can look to the future with greater optimism, since they essentially closed the gap on the title contenders.

Rui Vitoria’s team left behind the negative image and the defeat in Stockholm, securing their second consecutive victory in the championship for the first time since the start of the season without conceding a goal. The positive thing for the Portuguese coach is that the break for the national teams follows and he will have time to work intensively with his players in order to pass on his ideas and philosophy…

Panathinaikos’ start to the match was very sluggish. The Greens took a long time to find their rhythm, recording the first final – and at the same time, opportunity – in the 27th minute with a shot by Ounahi from outside the area that was blocked with difficulty to a corner by Raton. After the 35th minute, the Greens began to become more active and more pressing, touching the goal in the 42nd minute after a steal, nice individual energy and a fake shot by Pellistri, which, however, was cleared away with excessive intensity by Raton.

Panathinaikos’ image was clearly better at the start of the second half. The Greens entered with the intention of chasing the goal and in the 50th minute they created the conditions to score. Pellistri avoided Radonja by going one-on-one with Raton, but Lamia’s defender overturned him while he was in an obvious position to score. Referee Tsakalidis punished Radonja with a yellow card but after a VAR suggestion the mistake was corrected as the yellow card was converted into a red card.

The Shamrock took complete control, closing Lamia in its own box. They threatened with a free kick from Ounahi in the 50th minute and with another shot from the same player in the 52nd minute. Rui Vitoria brought on Tete and Bakasetas in the 59th minute instead of Schenkeveld and Mancini, moving Arao as a stopper.

The Greens continued their siege into Lamia’s area and finally found the goal they deserved. In the 73rd minute, Bakasetas unleashed a lightning bolt with a direct free kick and sent the ball into the net of Raton, who did not have time to react! It was Tasos’ first goal in this year’s championship and it was impressive!

Having now taken the lead, the Greens managed the rest of the game with greater calm. They played smartly and safely reached the victory and the three points. However, they could have reached a wider score as they threatened in the extra time with headers from Jeremejeff and Arao, which ended up just wide.

Panathinaikos: Dragowski, Vagiannidis, Mladenovic (78’ Max), Ingason, Schenkeveld (59’ Tete), Arao, Cerin, Ounahi (87’ Maksimovic), Pellistri, Mancini (59’ Bakasetas), Ioannidis (78’ Jeremejeff).

Lamia: Raton, Kornezos, Giannoutsos, Saramantas (76’ Mekic), Gotzamanidis, Radonja, Bykov, Doiranlis, Furtado, Vlachoditros (64’ Vitlis), Lake (53’ Sandberg).