Panathinaikos Earn Crucial Victory
The win eases the mounting pressure on manager Henk Ten Cate, whose side had gone on a three-match winless streak leading up to the clash at the Nea Smyrni, held to consecutive 2-2 draws at home to Werder Bremen and Iraklis, before being handed an embarrassing defeat by Ergotelis on Wednesday.
Eight changes were made to the side that collapsed to that 3-2 defeat at the OAKA Spiros Louis Stadium in mid-week, with the Dutchman handing a starting place to teenager Sotiris Ninis whilst benching star striker Dimitris Salpiggidis.
Joining the young prodigy on the pitch were the likes of Fabian Estoyanoff and Alvaro Recoba, both of whom started their third consecutive match for Panionios after inspiring their new side to recent victories over Aris and Ergotelis.
But it was Panathinaikos veteran Giannis Goumas who stole the limelight from the South American duo, coming off the bench as a second-half substitute to head home a superb winner for his side with six minutes of normal time remaining.
Tags: alvaro recoba, aris, clash, dimitris, dutchman, ergotelis, fabian estoyanoff, iraklis, limelight, nea, oaka, panionios, prodigy, six minutes, star striker, werder bremen, winless streak