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Another stumble Home loss ends Panathinaikos' chance to advance
Updated: Wednesday February 21, 2001 4:33 AM
ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Markus Schupp and Mario Haas scored a goal each Tuesday to give Sturm Graz a 2-1 victory over Panathinaikos Athens in Group A of the Champions League. The win boosted the Austrians' chances to advance to the quarterfinals of the competition and virtually eliminated Panathinaikos. With two victories in four games, Sturm moved to third place on six points, trailing last season's Champions League finalist Valencia on goal difference. Manchester United is top of the table with eight points while Panathinaikos is fourth place with only one point. Sturm held the upper hand throughout the game, keeping a tight defense, applying midfield pressing and launching dangerous counterattacks. The visitors took the lead on a shot by Schupp off a pass from Iranian midfielder Mehrad Minavand in the 25th minute. Panathinaikos kept charging forward after the goal, but Sturm's Polish goalkeeper Kazimierz Sidorczuk was rock solid. In the 29th, striker Mario Haas missed a clear scoring opportunity when, one-on-one with Antonis Nikopolidis, he only fired into the goalie. Hass scored Strum's second goal four minutes before the break after dribbling past one defender and the goalie and firing scoring. With his team trailing by two goals, Panathinaikos' coach Angelos Anastassiadis took a risk by sending in a third striker, Ghanaian Derek Boateng, after the interval. But the gamble did not help. In the 63rd, the Greeks claimed a penalty when Sidorczuk floored Giorgos Nassiopoulos in front of his goal. Sidorczuk saved a 71st-minute shot by Boateng with his foot, but couldn't stop a header by Yiannis Goumas one minute later.
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