Efthymis Koulouris fought a lot and wasted the opportunity to score for a second consecutive game. The young forward spoke in the mixed zone about his condition and how happy he is for his captain:

“I have waited for my opportunity for a long time. The coach is supporting me and my self-confidence is increasing through my participation. I am in top shape, I hope to help more”, was his initial statement.

“I am very happy for our captain, Stelios Malezas. We expected an easier game, but it wasn’t. We hold on to these three points and we look ahead”.

Dimitris Pelkas focused on the three points won and on the importance of this victory. He also remembered that Malezas still had his hair the last time he scored:

There are no easy games. We saw that, AEK saw it as well, as they failed to win today. We hold on to these three points, it was a very important victory for us and we did it. We were not out of focus at the start of the game, but knew beforehand that Platanias would defend in numbers. They wouldn’t play as Xanthi or Panathinaikos would. We had to come up with another way of doing damage to them. We had some good patches in the game and finally won the three points.

I remember very well Malezas’s goal against Iraklis, he had hair back then. He must have scored one more”.

Stelios Malezas, who ended up deciding the game, said:

“It was important to win. Those who criticized us were right, because we weren’t winning. We saw what we were doing wrong, corrected our mistakes and won a second consecutive away game in the league.

As the season was unfolding, we were crushed by the pressure of not winning away. It was imperative to prevail over ourselves. We wanted a ‘professional’ victory, to believe in ourselves again. We were good in other games, but failed to win.

That happens only in Greece. Everyone saw that we have good players and they wanted us to start winning everything from day one. The team needs time to find chemistry, not only the players between them but also with the coach. Those outside the team think that it’s easy to win, but that is not the case. Even huge clubs abroad have chemistry problems in the beginning of the season.

I was lucky to be part of an awesome team during Santos’s spell. Santos needed one year to turn us into a team. This season, I am also in a very good side under a very good coach. It’s no point to look towards May, but look ahead to our next game, either it’s for the league or the Greek Cup. We are ready for the remainder of the season.

I am very lucky to be in the starting line-up during a fine spell of the team. It’s not just about about being a good player – the attitude of the whole team is important. The team helped me, not the inverse. My team-mates and our discipline have led to the team’s latest improvement and that makes me look good.

When a team fights to win all matches, regardless of opponent, then they can claim being a league contender. This is the way to boost their confidence for the remainder of the season. It’s not important if it’s a high-profile game or encounters against lowly sides.

Hopefully we can achieve a distance in the standings, but that is not likely. I want a competitive league and just speak about football, but for years now we have been dealing with everything except football. However, I believe that the league will unfold like this and many teams will be close to the top fighting for the league”.