Day 13, Group A – Olympiacos Piraeus (GRE) v Dinamo Tbilisi (GEO) 19-10
A year ago, Olympiacos went through some embarrassing moments at this stage – after losing their chance to make the F8, they were beaten in Tbilisi. This time it was a different story as the Greeks have secured their berth long ago and beat Dinamo with ease at home to set up a ‘minor final’ with Recco for the second place.
It was easy cruising for Olympiacos, three goals in the first three minutes could be considered a strong opener and even though Dinamo had some better spells after 5-1, the Greeks were expanding the gap as time went by. Dimitrios Dimou led the charge with five goals as the home side put the Georgian defence and the goalies under huge pressure as their shotmaking was really precise – they had 23 out of 27 attempts on target and Dinamo goalies could do little to save their team from a big defeat. Two saves apiece were just enough to keep the Greeks under 20 goals, a kind of achievement considering that they had conceded 21 in Tbilisi in the second round.
How they saw it
Igor Milanovic, coach, Olympiacos
“We have one big exam on Tuesday, the third game in the Greek championship final – we used this match as part of our preparations and I’m happy that we passed this game easily.
I could give more opportunities for players who don’t play regularly in the local championship, so the others could save energy – that was the point in today’s game.
As for the last round, we are not calculating whom we want to play, we are ready and motivated as we approach the Final Eight.”
Dejan Stanojevic, coach, Dinamo
“We are still in a phase where we make some good things and our team’s performance sometimes looks good but then we commit mistakes you see from beginners. What we try to achieve is that we should not go under a certain level, so I cannot be satisfied with today’s performance. We didn’t play how we agreed to play at the beginning of the game and even if we have many young players, this cannot be considered as an excuse, there is no old or young players when you face Olympiacos, you have to be on the top of the your game.”
