Giorgos Doskas enjoyed the perfect start to life on the Olympiacos bench as his side eased past arch-rivals Panathinaikos 14–8 at the Papastrateio Swimming Pool on Matchday 7 of the second phase of the A1 league.
In front of a home crowd in Piraeus, the “red and whites” were in control from the start, racing into a 6–2 lead and never looking back. The standout performer was 20-year-old Vangelis Pouros, who netted a hat-trick and led by example in both attack and defence. Zalanki also chipped in with two goals, including the final strike on the counterattack.
This latest triumph marks Olympiacos’ 57th consecutive win over their “green” rivals in all competitions—a remarkable streak dating back to February 2001, now spanning 24 years.
The hosts led 3–1 after the first quarter and 6–4 at halftime, before pulling away in the third period with five goals to Panathinaikos’ three. Doskas’ side sealed the win in the final quarter, capped by a late goal from Zalanki.
After the game, Pouros shared his thoughts:
“We made a restart. We had said that with the new coach, we wanted to make a new start. We are satisfied. The three penalty kicks, of course, are a lot—I don’t usually have that many. We put in a relatively good performance and now we look to the future.”
Olympiacos will look to build on this result as they continue their campaign for the domestic crown under their new head coach.
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