Panathinaikos held to scoreless draw by Aegaleo

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Mali goalkeeper Mahamadou Sidibe made a series of key saves in the dying minutes Saturday to help Aegaleo pulled off a surprise 0-0 draw against Greek league leader Panathinaikos.

Second-place Olympiakos Piraeus beat last-place Ergotelis 2-0 to move within one point of the defending champions at the top of the standings. Giorgos Georgiadis and Giorgos Anatolakis scored a goal each.

After four rounds, Panathinaikos has 10 points, Olympiakos nine and AEK Athens -- which plays Iraklis in Thessaloniki on Sunday -- seven.

Also Saturday, OFI beat Panionios Athens 2-0 in Crete for its first victory of the season with goals from Tassos Triantafyllou in the 41st and former Ajax striker Nikos Machlas in the 60th.

On Sunday, it's: Aris vs. Halkidona; Kallithea vs. PAOK; Apollon vs. Xanthi; and Ionikos vs. Kerkyra.

Panathinaikos, playing without injured playmaker Angelos Basinas and striker Dimitris Papadopoulos, had its first major scoring opportunity in the 18th minute. Michalis Constantinou's clever back heel released Niren Demba inside the penalty area but his shot was deflected for a corner.

Ten minutes later, Panathinaikos' Argentine midfielder Ezequiel Gonzalez made a powerful run from midfield, reaching Aegaleo's goalmouth but sending his shot narrowly wide.

Panathinaikos took the initiative after the interval but it was Aegaleo which came close in the 62nd when Tassos Agritis beat one defender only to see his lob sail over the bar.

Panathinaikos responded three minutes later when Constantinou broke free behind Aegaleo's defense but his shot was saved by a diving Sidibe.

Aegaleo almost silenced 10,000 Panathinaikos supporters when Daniel Edusei's free kick hit the crossbar in the 76th.

Poland striker Emmanuel Olisadebe imitated Edusei when a shot from only four meters (yards) hit Aegaleo's crossbar. Constantinou, Gonzalez and Romanian midfielder Dumitru Mitu all came close in injury time but Sidibe made spectacular saves to give his team a valuable point.

Olympiakos, playing before a sold-out crowd at its newly built Karaiskaki stadium, came close to opening the scoring against Ergotelis when a lob from the edge of the box by Brazilian star Rivaldo went narrowly over the bar.

Olympiakos strengthened its hold as the match wore on. In the 35th, Ergotelis goalkeeper Costas Haniotakis made a fingertip save to keep out a long-range low drive from Giovanni, another Brazilian.

Five minutes later, Haniotakis was unable to hold a shot from Rivaldo, and Georgiadis was there to slide the ball home for a 1-0 lead. It was Georgiadis' second league goal of the season.

Olympiakos extended its lead in the 68th after stopper Anatolakis headed in a cross by Argentine defender Gabriel Shurrer.

Kleopas Giannou, the Olympiakos 'keeper standing in for suspended Antonis Nikopolidis, was rarely threatened during the match.