The team completed its obligations for this season´s Super League Greece play offs with a draw and despite the great effort that the players, the result was 1-1 against PAOK in Touba, for the sixth match day of this competition.
By this result, Andrea Stramaccioni´s team finished its assignments in the second place of the scoreboard, “paying” for the unfavorable start in this “mini – championship”. This means that, for the next season, the team is going to participate in the preliminary stage of Europa League and precisely in the third round…
Finally, it should be noted that, with his whistles, referee Alexander Aretopoulos showed why he should not arbitrate matches of this level. This referee from Trikala made his intentions clear from the very beginning…
He turned a blind eye in a clear overturning to Klonarides very close to the box. The referee took more erroneous decisions – especially concerning disciplinary controls – cheesing continuously the “Greens”!
The cold shower and… the answer
PAOK played with psychology, at home and had the scoreboard… in his favor. Inevitably, they entered the game with strength. They controlled the rhythm of the game and tried to score the goal which should transform them as the “boss” of the game… They did it rather early! Rodriguez trespassed with the ball the goalposts of the “Shamrock”, as he did at the victorious match of his team in the championship.
However, Panathinaikos hanged tough after this situation and was able to “respond” almost immediately with Lod, who scored his second goal in this play offs competition. Additionally, the team, took the reins of the match and stressed his opponent by forcing him to retreat, after “visiting” in several occasions the goalposts of Glykos!
Glykos a “Hero”!
In the beginning of the second half, both teams were more “cautious”. Andrea Stramaccioni changed the formation of his team into 4-3-3, shortly after the completion of an hour of game. Then Boumal entered the pitch. Panathinaikos became even more aggressive with the appearance of Vlachodimos, in the last 15 minutes, as the team was looking to score its second goal, making it 1-2.
Precisely, in the last ten minutes of the match, the “Shamrock” had the opportunity to achieve a second goal in two “clear” occasions, though … in the first one Glykos did the intervention of … his career by stopping the “rocket” shoot of Petrich, while in the second one – in the second minute of the extra time – the head of Steele, who run towards the rival box as a … striker, passed just some centimeters off the goalposts of his counterpart…
SCORERS: 17′ Rodriguez / 26′ Lod
PAOK: Glykos, Kitsiou, Malezas, Vitor, Leovats (68′ Skondras), Tziolis, Harisis, Tsimirot, Pelkas (60′ Korovesis) Athanasiadis (80′ Berbatov), Rodriguez.
PANATHINAIKOS: Steele, Mesto, Koutroumpis, Moledo, Nano, Zeka, Abed (75′ Vlachodimos P.), Lod, Evangelista (63′ Boumale) Leto, Klonaridis (80′ Petric).
