Panathinaikos beats Aris 1-0 in Greek league

Posted Sunday, January 09, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

ATHENS, Greece (AP)—Defending champion Panathinaikos kept the pressure on Greek league leader Olympiakos by beating Aris Thessaloniki 1-0 in its empty stadium on Saturday.

The match was played before empty stands in the 74,000-seat Olympic Stadium as Panathinaikos served a one-match fan ban due to violent fan behavior.

Panathinaikos has 37 points from 17 matches, two behind Olympiakos, which plays at Kerkyra on Sunday.

Also on Saturday, Kavala beat last-place Larissa 1-0.

Panathinaikos scored in its first major attack, in the 19th minute, when Sotiris Ninis volleyed home a Djibril Cisse cross from the right despite the effort of Aris goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis.

Aris had its first serious scoring chance in the 49th when a powerful shot by Darcy Neto, off a cross by Carlos Ruiz, forced Alexandros Tzorvas to leap high and send the ball over his bar.

In the 66th, Aris had a goal disallowed when Ruiz fouled Vyntra before Michel headed into the net.

This served as a wake-up call for Panathinaikos, which upped the pace and, in the space of three minutes, missed three major chances to double the score: In the 73rd, Vyntra crossed from the right and Cisse beat Sifakis in the air but his header went just wide. A minute later, Cisse again found himself alone with Sifakis from a deep Leto pass, but Aris’ goalie saved the French striker’s close-range shot with an extended leg. In the 75th, Ninis chested down a deep cross, evaded a defender, and dribbled past another but his shot went just over the crossbar.

Aris’ best chance to equalize came in injury time, but Tzorvas made a flying save to Javito’s long-range shot that had been deflected by a defender’s leg.

On Sunday, it’s Ergotelis vs. Volos, Iraklis vs. Atromitos, Panionios vs. Xanthi, PAOK vs. Asteras and Panserraikos vs. AEK.