Loss – Message for the red and white awakening in difficult January

When a team wins most of its games by one goal difference, there comes a time when that goal doesn’t come and it leaves points. It’s the same in football. The Olympiacos draw against Apollon was not part of the program for the Piraeus team. It was clearly a great gel.

And not because the first (Olympiacos) played with the last in the league. But why did the red and whites meet a team that had 15 waste players who had to play for a month in the Super League Interwetten and with their absent coach (Gianluca Festa). Yes, Olympiacos were also absent (12 players missing), but the depth of the Piraeus squad was different from that of the Light Brigade, which had all five players on the bench.

The Apollon players did what they could in the game and they did well. They were well organized defensively, Verhulst had double-digit (11) saves and the result against the Greek champions is definitely important. But Olympiacos did not do justice to the circumstances.

Martins doesn’t look for excuses, he’s not used to it and didn’t do it yesterday either. After all, the Portuguese coach was available and deployed El Arabi and Tikinios as well as Masoura and Broussai and Valbouena. The fact that Olympiacos didn’t score against this Apollon is something that should be cause for concern.

The moment that didn’t come

Someone will say that the Red-Whites had 15 final tries, 12 of them at home and 75% possession, so they were unlucky not to win, but the overall picture was this: the Olympiacos players did not have a good game performance, they showed no passion, energy and intensity in their game, they did not drive high, they did not find a rhythm, they did not take advantage of the static phases (they had 9 corners that remained unused), they were ineffective and there was a lack of concentration and determination.

The players of the Piraeus team may have believed that with a shot from El Arabi or Ticino, with a good foul from Valbouena, with an individual energy from Masoura or Vrousai, even with a good long-range shot from M. Kamaras, Bouhalakis or Embilas found the coveted goal at some point in the game, but it never came. It happened in some previous games that weren’t good either, that is, they scored and took the win, but there are also nights when it doesn’t work out and the turn comes.

Olympiakos remain undefeated in the league with 13 wins and 3 draws, all remaining 0-0 (with Panathinaikos, Atromitos and Apollon) but the Rizoupoli draw was a bell ringing in Pedro Martins ‘and fans’ ears.

As long as there are rights

Well, in the game Olympiacos against Asteras Tripolis on Sunday (9.1.) In Karaiskakis, it remains to be seen whether the Portuguese coach and the players have received the news. The red-whites reacted best after a draw or unfortunate results and know how to absorb the vibrations.

In addition, Olympiakos is at the top of the overall standings with +9 and in all of its goals. But it is time to wake up and react for the player and his coach as the trouble lies ahead. No league ended in December, especially since the red and whites continue to grant rights with their performance. There are 20 more games in the Super League Interwetten, half of them for the play-offs of the tournament.

We must not forget that in January Martins will still not count the five players that Olympiacos have in the finals of the African Nations Cup (A. Kamara, Cisse, Kunde, Rodrεςguez, Oniekourou), while no one can know how many die Covid-19 pandemic and the Omicron mutation will hit the red-whites and the other teams in the Greek League. On the eve of the game with Apollo, the Piraeus team announced that they had four positive cases. And all while Olympiakos has to go to the avenue and Toumba in January.

Martins and the whip

The red-whites will play 16 games in the next two months, in the championship, in the cup and in the Europa League, the program is quite difficult, so Martins will have to pull the strings in Renti and also have to find a way to play the game improve performance of the Piraeus team. .

The Rizoupoli draw sent everyone a message showing that victory is not easy to achieve without focus, seriousness, intensity, energy, clear mind, determination and efficiency. The Olympiakos players were competitive and mentally unprepared in their match with the Light Brigade. They gave rights and paid for them.

Whether the players and Martins have received the message of the game with Apollon, whether they have taken the lesson, will be shown in the next games from the game against Asteras Tripoli. Sunday short celebration.