Didn't win, didn't lose either
An away draw on the opening day of the play-offs cannot be considered a bad result, however PAOK could have won the game, judging by the way they dominated proceedings after equalizing and until the final whistle. This solitary point could provide crucial, if PAOK manage to win all their home matches and go to Leoforos or Tripoli for the three-pointer.
Mathematics aren’t relevant however, especially when momentary lapse of concentration in defense changes the course of a game and the coach’s plans. It happened in the 7th minute, when Atromitos took advantage of PAOK’s sloppy defending and scored the opener through Agouazi.
From then on, the “Double-Headed Eagle” had to push for the equalizer against a very well organized opponent. Their effort paid off in the 32nd minute, Tziolis teeing up Pereyra who coolly dispatched the ball to level the encounter.
Atromitos had two good chances afterwards (with Napoleoni in the 45th minute and in the 90th), while Giorgos Georgiadis’s squad improsed their commanding presence in the second half. Stefanos Athanasiadis (twice), Róbert Mak and Stelios Pozoglou wasted huge chances to give PAOK the lead. However it remained 1-1 until the final whistle, thanks also to Charles Itandje’s fine interventions in the last minutes.
A victory would surely have given the “Double-Headed Eagle” a much needed boost. But even the draw point is something PAOK can build on ahead of the exciting remaining matches.
Line-ups:
Atromitos: Gorbunov (83’ Barkas), García (62’ Dimoutsos), Katsouranis, Lazaridis, Fytanidis, Kivrakidis, Kouros (50’ Kontoes), Agouazi, Umbides, Napoleoni, Karamanos.
PΑΟΚ: Itandje, Tzavellas, Raț, Kitsiou, Kace (85΄Pozoglou), Pereyra, Mak, Athanasiadis, Vítor, Noboa, Tziolis.
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