SL2 25/26: Athens Kallithea 1-0 Ellas Syrou

AKFC grabbed all three points in the league home opener, defeating islanders Ellas Syrou, 1-0, at El Paso on Sunday afternoon.

The breakthrough came from a corner in the 18th minute. After the corner was played short, Emanuel Insúa crossed to the back post for Antonis Dentakis, who headed back across goal for Dimitris Metaxas to volley past the ‘keeper. Upon review, it appeared that Juan Cantillo redirected Metaxas’ shot into the back of the net, but as of the filing of this report, the goal remained credited to Metaxas.

AKFC kept tight control of the match until half-time. In the second half, as Syrou were compelled to press forward, AKFC posed a regular threat in open spaces, especially through Cantillo. In the 61st minute, Cantillo clipped the crossbar on a spectacular bicycle kick. In the 77th minute, substitute Dimitris Mavrias’ strong shot was picked out of the top corner by Syrou ‘keeper Panagiotis Gkinis. But AKFC wouldn’t need an insurance goal on the day, suffocating the visitors over the final stretch and closing out the clean sheet.

Athens Kallithea (3-5-2): Crespi, Gkezos, Pasalidis, Insúa, Dentakis, Metaxas (88’ Vasilogiannis), Matilla (46’ Panagou), Satariano, Frosynis (65’ Mavrias), Sardelis (65’ Paixão), Cantillo (70’ Gerolemou)