Copenhagen upsets Panathinaikos in Greece

By foxsports
Published

Dame N'Doye and Martin Vingaard scored first-half goals as FC Copenhagen beat Panathinaikos 2-0 Wednesday for its second straight upset in the Champions League.

N'Doye scored the opener against his former club in the 28th minute, after drawing goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas too far off his line.

Vingaard added the second with a free kick nine minutes later, with the ball defelecting off Panathinaikos' defensive wall.

Panathinaikos' Gilberto Silva was sent off after a second yellow card from Scottish referee William Collum four minutes into the second half.

"This was a very difficult away game ... We got the goals and the red card made it much easier for us in the second half. We're very happy with the result," Copenhagen defender Mikael Antonsson said. "We're very organized and fight for each other. When we play a compact game, it's hard to score against us."

Copenhagen now has two wins from two matches in Group D, while the Greeks suffered their second loss after a 5-1 thrashing by Barcelona on Sept. 14.

"We were looking good for the first 25 minutes, but the first goal turned the game ... There was a string of mistakes leading up to that goal and you pay for mistakes like that at this level," Panathinaikos Nikos Nioplias said. "We could have come back in the second half, but the sending off totally killed the game. They had 11 players and of course they played to keep the result.

Panathinaikos squandered a number of early chances, with Djibrill Cisse forcing a fine save from Copenhagen goalkeeper Johan Wiland in the first minute.

But the Danes, cheered on by just 350 traveling fans, gained confidence after the goal and controlled the game throughout the second half.

Substitute Hjalte Norregaard nearly made it 3-0 in the 70th minute, but his shot bounced off the crossbar.

"Things just got worse and worse and worse ... we conceded the goal, then another and then we had a man sent off," Cisse said. "We need to rest and think about the mistakes we made ... We still have a chance but it's difficult."