Panathinaikos was superior to Asteras and was qualified for the Semi-finals of the Greek Cup by winning 1-0 in an away match by a goal of Nikos Marinakis during the additional time. The match was held at “Th. Kolokotronis” ground for the second leg of the fourth match day for the Greek Cup.
There was an open game, to a great extend, since its beginning, as the score of the first leg did not give much doubt on who was to be qualified, both teams were playing in an open way. An indication to that was the fact that the players were shooting from far away, without threatening the two goalies, though. The most dangerous moment was a set piece executed by Leto, on the edge of the box, in the 22nd minute, obliging Athanassiadis to a spectacular save into a corner. In other respects, during the first half, no special moments were in store for the fans.
The second period started in a same rhythm, though Panathinaikos was speeding and was controlling the game trying to threaten the home team’s goalposts. In this effort the “Greens” lost spectacular chances, especially at a “thunderstorm” by Mpoku, in the 62nd minute, which Athanassiadis punched into a corner and a header by Moledo, one minute later, as the ball passed just slightly out. We must add the debut of Guillermo Molins, who substituted Leto in the 61st minute – entering as the main striker, in the highlights of the match.
The rhythm of the match slowed down at the last quarter and it seemed that the match was going to finish in a nil all draw. In the additional time, though, Marinakis scored his first goal wearing the jersey of Panathinaikos after a nice intervention of Chatziyiovannis and a precise right crossing by Mesto. This way Panathinaikos, by achieving two victories, has passed into the Semi-finals stage of the Greek Cup. The last time the team was qualified for that stage was in 2014.
The lineups:
Αsteras:Athanassiadis, Kaltsas (64′ Iglesias), Evangelou, GaiΓκαϊντούτσικ, Yannoulis, Makrostergios, Tsoukalas (64′ Dimoutsos), Tsilianidis, Stanisavlievic (74′ Fariña), Bastianos, Ioannidis
Panathinaikos: Vlachodimos Ο., Mesto, Chouchoumis, Moledo, Evangelou, Reis, Lod, Boumal (74′ Marinakis), Vlachodimos P., Mpoku (66′ Chatziyiovannis), Leto (60′ Molins).