Panathinaikos made a great effort but failed at OAKA against Ajax in the first match for the 3rd qualifying round of the Europa League. The Greens were beaten 1-0 by Ajax and now have to chase the qualification at the Johan Cruijff Arena on August 15.

The first half started at a low tempo and with central play. The first 25 minutes were uneventful on either side of the pitch until Ajax threatened for the first time in the 25th minute with Berhuis crossing but Dragowski made  the save. However, in the 28th minute, in a similar offensive effort by Ajax, the Greens could not prevent the goal. The Dutch team made a quick exchange of the ball, and Berhuis shot on target, after the ball had previously also hit Jedvaj’s leg, changing direction slightly.

In fact the Greens, in the 44th minute, had a huge opportunity when Bakasetas attempted a strong shot from a side position. But Pasveer and the crossbar prevented 1-1.

In the second half, the Greens found great momentum on the field, showing a great desire to chase the goal. In the 54th minute, the ball ended up in the net after Bakacetas’ cross and Mancini’s perfect finish, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

The pressure continued on the part of Panathinaikos who missed a huge opportunity in the 61st minute after an excellent vertical strike by Bakasetas and a cross by Yeremeyev, which ended up just wide. Panathinaikos threatened again in the 78th minute with a sudden shot by Djuricic, but again Pasveer made a saving save, keeping the score at 0-1.

Ajax, making delays early in the second half, and under the tolerance of the referee, essentially froze the pace of the match by blocking on the one hand the energy that the players of the Shamrock put out on the field, on the other hand the great impetus given by the platform. But the equalizing goal did not come and now the Greens are invited to make the big fightback  in Amsterdam…

Panathinaikos: Dragowski, Kotsiras (63′ Baldok), Mladenovic, Ingason, Jedvaj, Arao, Cerin (76′ Maksimovic), Bakasetas, Mancini (63′ Tete), Djuricic (86′ Limnios), Yeremeyev (63′ Ioannidis).

Ajax: Pasveer, Rennes, Soutalo, Baas, Ato, Henderson, Fitz-Jim (67′ Van den Boumen), Taylor (82′ Brombay), Berhuis (57′ Gaaei), Forbes (56′ Gods), Akpom (67′ Traore).