A Tight Start, Then a Straight Red Changes Everything
Even contest early on at Levadia, both sides still finding their feet in their first official game of the new season. Levadiakos had the better of the first sight of goal, Christos Papadopoulos dragging a shot just wide in the 18th minute, and a minute later Emmanouilidis got in behind only for Asteras keeper Nikos Papadopoulos to block with his legs and force a corner.
Then, in the 34th minute, the whole game flipped. Jordan Silva brought down a Levadiakos player breaking clean through, and with no VAR available at this stage of the Greek Cup, referee Tsetsilas had no real choice — straight red card, no argument. Asteras were down to ten men with more than an hour still to play, and it was going to be a long night from there.
Ursi Punishes Asteras Twice
Levadiakos made the extra man count. New signing Agustín Ursi, a 26-year-old Argentine midfielder-forward making his official debut for the club, broke the deadlock in the 43rd minute — pouncing on a mistake from Eder to slot home for 1-0 right before the break. He wasn’t finished either. In the 62nd minute, Ursi found Vichos with a pass, Vichos’ shot was saved by Papadopoulos, but Ursi followed up the rebound himself to make it 2-0 — two goals from two shots on target, about as perfect a first outing as a new signing could hope for.
Asteras, already down a man and now two goals behind, never really found an answer. Papakanellos and Ketou tried to spark something for the visitors, but without the quality of chances to match their intent, and Levadiakos managed the rest of the game comfortably, even going close to a third through Papadopoulos late on.
What It Means Next
It’s a smooth passage into the League Phase of the Superbet Greek Cup for Levadiakos, and a strong first outing too for new head coach Ilias Charalambous, who replaced Nikos Papadopoulos after last season’s impressive run and now has a perfect start of his own to build on. Reflecting the balance of the whole tie, Levadiakos could arguably have scored more given their control after the red card, but the result was a fair one on the balance of play. For Asteras Tripolis, it’s an early exit from the competition and a tough way to begin the new campaign.
Match Summary
Levadiakos 2-0 Asteras Tripolis Greek Cup, Second Qualifying Round — Levadia, Greece Tuesday, 18 August 2026 Referee: Tsetsilas
Goals: 43′ Agustín Ursi (Levadiakos) 1-0 62′ Agustín Ursi (Levadiakos) 2-0 (assist: Vichos)
Red card: Jordan Silva (Asteras Tripolis), 34′ — straight red
Result: Levadiakos beat Asteras Tripolis 2-0 to progress to the League Phase of the Greek Cup, with new signing Agustín Ursi scoring both goals on his debut.
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