RECAP: ERGOTELIS 2 - 2 APOLLON KALAMARIAS Chad Winger - Sunday, February 10, 2008
Ergotelis FC
Mathis scores in home debut
Clint Mathis made his Ergotelis home debut one to remember, coming on in the 76th minute and firing home a last-gasp equalizer to salvage a point in a comeback draw with fellow relegation-battlers Apollon Kalamarias
The draw was enough to pull Kalamaria out of the relegation zone, but keeps Mathis' Ergotelis rooted at the bottom of the Greek Super League table with 10 matches left in the season.
The two clubs played cat-and-mouse for up until the 35th minute, when Kalamaria's Brazilian winger Brito took a Perparim Hetemaj pass and opened the scoring.
Ergotelis came out of the break with a more aggressive approach, but Paschalis Melissas and Panagiotis Kordonouris wasted chances, and the visitors punished them for it in the 55th, when Giorgos Barkoglou finished off a counterattacking move and gave Kalamaria a two-goal lead.
Ergotelis head coach Nikos Karageorgiou went to his bench and threw on Croatian striker Mario Budimir, followed by youngster Michalis Frangoulakis and then Mathis over the next 20 minutes, but Kalamaria defense held firm - that is, until the final 10 minutes.
In the 82nd minute, new signing Giorgos Vakouftsis pulled back a goal and restored belief for the Cretans.
That set the stage for match-hero Mathis, who fired a shot past Kalamaria 'keeper Pavol Kovac in the 92nd minute to cap an improbable comeback and earn an invaluable point for Ergotelis' Super League survival hopes.