The Belated Reaction (Again)
By: Chris Paraskevas | February 3rd, 2009Here it is, with that familiar sinking feeling (though not quite so nauseating) after another loss to our rivals from the port city.
There was an inevitability once Galletti’s 5th minute strike actually hit the back of the net during AEK’s 1-0 loss to Olympiakos but I would be lying if I said I didn’t genuinely believe we had a chance at winning this one.
That optimism was confirmed by an opening 45 minutes that we largely dominated, with Ismael Blanco particularly wasteful despite his endeavour and the midfield pairing of Nsaliwa and Kafes suffocating their opposite numbers surprisingly well.
Of course, quality and depth are so often determining factors in a league such as that in Greece and they ultimately gave Ernesto Valverde’s three points after yet another unspectacular derby-day performance by his side.
Truth be told, they were quite organized during the second-half and never really looked like being broken down at any particular point, half-hearted penalty appeals the closest we came to what would have been a deserved equalizer on the balance of play – though Diogo and co. should have punished us on the break on countless occasions as a refreshingly open game drew to a close.
What does the loss tell us? Not a lot really, other than the fact that Bajevic has managed to fashion an extremely competitive team despite not having brought in a single player at any point during the season.
It serves as a testament to his managerial abilities and bodes well for next summer, when the club’s administration will hopefully be in order to allow for him to build something in Athens – without him, the future looks slightly more bleak.
Category: AEK Athens Team News
Tags: AEK Athens, AEK Athens Team News, Dusan Bajevic, Ernesto Valverde, Ismael Blanco, Luciano Galletti, OlympiakosSubscribe
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