SL2 23/24: Athens Kallithea 2-1 Ionikos

After a frustrating first half — conceding a goal from a surprise counter, and having a would-be equalizer wrongly disallowed — AKFC regrouped and hit two late goals to win the derby with local rivals and promotion hopefuls Ionikos, 2-1, sparking wild celebrations at El Paso.

AKFC had their rhythm broken when Georgios Moustakopoulos was forced off the pitch with an injury in the 17th minute, but still had the better of the play and were growing into the match, until a corner kick gone wrong.

In the 33rd minute, an AKFC corner was cleared up field and immediately turned into a breakaway in the other direction, with Paraguayan attacker Richard Salinas chipping the ball over the head of Konstantinos Kotsaris and into an empty net to put the visitors in front.

AKFC did produce a quick response, but when Giannis Loukinas stuffed the ball in through a crowd, neither the referee nor the linesman would make the call that the ball was over the line, though images later showed that it had, and Ionikos escaped with the advantage going into the break.

Alekos Vosniadis would bring on attackers Thierry Moutinho and Panagiotis Kynigopoulos, and AKFC shifted into another gear in the second half. It felt like a goal was inevitable, and Javier Matilla would finally level the match in the 70th minute, unleashing a gorgeous strike from the top of the box that completely froze the ‘keeper and curled into the side netting.

As the pitch tilted further, Moutinho went off on a solo run and hit the post in the 78th minute, but the winner would come just five minutes later, when captain Giannis Loukinas fought through a scrum in front of goal and bundled the ball into the net, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Gonzalo Torres went close to adding an insurance goal, attacking from the left flank and volleying just wide of the far post, but the focus would soon shift to defending the lead.

In the final moments, defender Josua Mejías suffered a broken forearm after making a tackle, and would bravely stay in the match to help AKFC close out an important result.

AKFC are now unbeaten in their last nine matches, and maintain a six-point lead at the top of the league.

Athens Kallithea (4-3-3): Kotsaris, Manthatis, Mejías, Tsivelekidis, Kainourgios, Matilla, Silva, Moustakopoulos (17’ Tsintonis, 46’ Moutinho), Necul (46’ Kynigopoulos), Loukinas (90’ Marotta), Demethryus (77’ Torres)