Ionikos took all three points away from Kilkis on Saturday with a 29-24 victory in the Greek A1 championship. The result keeps both sides in the lower half of the table, though the margin of victory tells a different story to the narrow standings gap. By then, the visitors had already shown they could compete against the league's bigger names.
Kilkis started brightly enough, keeping level through the opening exchanges before Ionikos pulled ahead in the middle period. The home side refused to go away, grinding out goals to stay within striking distance until the final minutes when the visitors pulled clear. To be fair, Kilkis created enough chances to win this one, but the finishing wasn't quite there when it mattered most.
And here's the thing about this result — it confirms what we called before kick-off. We had Ionikos to win with 58 per cent confidence, and the visitors delivered when it counted. The away side has kept their heads better in tight games this season, and that composure showed through in the closing stages.
Ionikos move up to seventh with four points from three matches, while Kilkis remain ninth with three points from four games. The visitors have yet to taste defeat, a record the home side can only envy after their loss to Olympiacos last week. The table goes out of the window in these games, though — one result rarely defines a campaign.
Kilkis have seen this pattern before. Their recent record shows wins against Athinaikos and Zafeirakis, but heavy defeats to Olympiacos and Diomidis Argus suggest inconsistency. They drew with Aris on their last outing, a result that should have given them more confidence going into this fixture.
Ionikos arrive in better shape, having won three of their previous four matches. Their 42-24 thrashing of Olympiacos on October third showed they can score freely against the league's strongest sides. If they keep this form, seventh place might not be the ceiling after all.
