Greece round-up: Champions keep it tight

Olympiakos Piraeus FC ended 2002 top of the Hellenic National League and unbeaten after a 2-0 victory at Egaleo FC.

Impressive defence
The champions, seeking their seventh straight title, had not conceded a goal since 9 November and that run stretched to five games while Christos Patsatzoglou and substitute Lambros Houtos scored late in each half to give Olympiakos victory, with just four goals against them in the 12 league matches so far.

Four-goal win
FC PAOK Thessaloniki remain two points behind in second after securing a 4-0 win against bottom-placed Panahaiki FC. Nikos Froussos put the home team ahead with a ninth-minute penalty after Dimitris Salpingidis was brought down and Giannakis Okkas scored either side of half-time to give PAOK a three-goal lead, Nikos Froussos completing the scoring with a header four minutes from the end.

Warzycha late show

Tatsis double
Aris Thessaloniki FC dropped from the top three to fifth with a 3-1 defeat at Proodeftiki FC, Alekos Tatsis scoring either side of a Giorgos Poulopoulos goal for the home team, all within a nine-minute second-half period. Nasif Morris scored a consolation for Aris ten minutes from the end.

Ten men beaten
AEK Athens FC also took advantage of Aris's slip to enter the top four, beating ten-man Ionikos FC 3-0. The game was still scoreless when Sylvain Floteau received his second yellow card five minutes after half-time, and within nine minutes Sotiris Konstantinidis's fine individual goal gave AEK the lead. Grigoris Georgatos made it 2-0 on 67 minutes and Demis Nikolaidis completed the scoring 60 seconds later.

Iraklis defeated
Xanthi FC moved ahead of Iraklis FC into seventh place with a 1-0 victory courtesy of Dimitris Zografakis's 78th-minute headed goal. Iraklis are now ninth after their third straight defeat, also overtaken by Panionios FC, who won 3-0 at Akratitos FC, now themselves second bottom after slipping behind PAS Giannina FC, that side drawing 0-0 at home with OFI Crete FC.