Sigurdsson Wins It in Stoppage Time as Kalamata Beat OFI 4-3

By Taki Panos

Some games are tidy. Some games just grab you by the collar for 94 minutes and refuse to let go. Kalamata beat OFI 4-3 on Sunday afternoon, October 18, in the seventh round of the Stoiximan Super League, with Icelandic substitute Arnor Sigurdsson scoring the winner in the fourth minute of stoppage time, as Gazzetta and in.gr reported. Kalamata led 2-0 and 3-1, OFI clawed back to 3-3, and then the home side had the very last word.

For anyone new to this story, Kalamata are the newly promoted side from Messinia, and a week ago they pulled off their first ever win at PAOK's Toumba. Sunday made it two league wins in a row, per in.gr. The game was played at the Neapoli ground in Nikaia, near Piraeus, because works are underway at the club's Paralia stadium and Kalamata are not playing in their natural home, in.gr explained. That is a long way from the seaside city itself, known for its olives and its excellent tavernas.

OFI actually had the first big look of the afternoon, when Argentine forward Thiago Nuss got his head to an early cross and forced Kalamata's goalkeeper into a difficult stop, per Gazzetta and iEidiseis. Then Kalamata struck twice in four minutes. In the 14th, Kaloutsikidis slid a superb pass behind the OFI defense and Polish striker Dawid Kurminowski finished calmly for 1-0. In the 18th, Kaloutsikidis set him up again for 2-0, as Gazzetta and in.gr both described. OFI had made six changes from their midweek European game, in.gr noted, and it showed.

The visitors had a bad first half in more ways than one. Their Greek goalkeeper Nikos Christogeorgos took a heavy knock in a collision with Kalamata's Moreira and felt pain in his neck, and was replaced at halftime by Klidman Lilo, Novasports and Sport24 reported. He went to hospital for tests, and the good news is that they showed no fracture, per Sport24, Novasports and Gazzetta. Just before the break, referee Katopis gave Kalamata a penalty for a challenge by Karachalios on Hamza, but reversed it after a VAR review, as Gazzetta and in.gr reported.

OFI coach Christos Kontis made three changes at the interval, bringing on Lilo, Pougkouras and Androutsos, per Gazzetta, and the picture changed straight away. In the 58th minute, Borja Gonzalez swung in a lovely cross and Nuss rose to head it home for 2-1. The comeback lasted about a minute. In the 59th, Kalamata found another cross into the box and Kurminowski met it with a diving header for 3-1 and his hat-trick, as Gazzetta and in.gr both reported. Fair play to the man.

Most teams would have folded there. OFI did not. In the 75th minute, Nuss flicked on a corner and Kenan Kodro headed it in for 3-2, per in.gr and Gazzetta. Then, in the 84th, Nuss climbed above everyone again and headed in a cross for 3-3, his second goal of the day, as in.gr, iEidiseis and Gazzetta all described. Two goals and an assist for Nuss, every one of them with his head, Gazzetta pointed out. At that moment, OFI looked like the team that would go home happy.

Football had one more twist ready. With the clock deep into stoppage time, the ball broke through to Sigurdsson, who had come on in the 63rd minute, and he got in behind the OFI defense to beat Lilo for 4-3, Gazzetta and in.gr reported. It was the last real action of the game. Both coaches said afterwards that Kalamata were down to ten men by the end, per Novasports and iefimerida. Gazzetta called it the most spectacular match of the Super League season so far. I am not going to argue.

Kalamata coach Panagiotis Christofileas was in a playful mood. "I had said last time that they call us crazy. We are crazy, that is football," he said (translated from Greek), per Gazzetta, Sport24 and Novasports. He admitted his side should have killed the game earlier by being more ruthless, but praised their character. "For Greek football Kalamata are a surprise, but for us it is a joy, we know how we work," he added (translated from Greek), according to the same outlets. He also said the return of Vargas, Kurminowski and Sigurdsson showed how much the team had missed them.

Kontis was far less cheerful. "In the first half we were tragic, gifts, gifts, gifts," he said (translated from Greek), per Vradini, he called the winning goal ridiculous, per Vradini and Newsit. He told reporters that his defense conceded goals at an under-17 level, as iefimerida and Sport24 reported, but he refused to hide behind his players. "When the team loses, I am responsible, I make the choices," he said (translated from Greek), per iefimerida. He also called it a heavy defeat against a newly promoted team that came to play and deserved to win, according to iefimerida.

The table tells you how big this was for both clubs. Kalamata went into the round on 7 points and now sit on 10, level with OFI, according to Gazzetta and Sport24. For OFI, it is a third straight game without a win, including the late 2-1 defeat at Rennes in the Europa League, in.gr noted. Sport24 pointed out the cruel echo: OFI lost in France with a 90th-minute goal and lost again in Nikaia to a goal on the final whistle.

My take: this was a glorious mess, and I mean that as a compliment. Kalamata play with no fear, and Christofileas clearly wants his team chasing goals rather than wasting time, which makes them great fun to watch. Their defending will need work, because three headed goals is a lot to give up. OFI have a real problem with the fixture pile-up, but Kontis is right that a club with European ambitions cannot hand out gifts like that. Both teams showed heart. Only one showed it in the 94th minute.

There is no time to rest. OFI host Bayer Leverkusen at the Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion on Thursday, October 22, in the Europa League, with Christogeorgos's fitness still to be checked, per Gazzetta and Sport24. On Sunday, October 25, Kalamata visit Olympiacos at Karaiskakis and OFI host PAOK, as Sport24 and in.gr listed. Keep an eye on our Greek Sports section for more from the Super League and beyond. Seven goals, one crazy finish, and a lot of very tired hearts.

Sources: Gazzetta, in.gr, Sport24, Novasports, iefimerida, Vradini, Newsit, iEidiseis.

Image: Kalamata FC crest, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).