The team coached by Pablo García and Apostolos Papavasiliou travelled to Athens with just 16 players, as four footballers were sidelined with injury and Meletidis was suspended. There was also the additional problem of the players’ fatigue due to their Wednesday match against AFC Ajax for the UEFA Youth League.

The match started at a high tempo, but chances to score were scarce by both teams. Panionios had a decent shot on goal, but Siampanis saved it and the 0-0 remained when the two teams hit the dressing rooms for the interval.

The complexion of the encounter changed in the second half and PAOK improved their performance. They pressured the home side, who were trying to create danger only from set pieces. In the 46th minute, Stathopoulos wasted an excellent opportunity to break the deadlock, but the rival goalkeeper saved his close-range shot. A few minutes later, Chatzidimpas also came close, but mistimed his header with the goal at his mercy, while Kapretsos’s shot rattled the crossbar. The efforts of the “Double-Headed Eagle”were vindicated deep into stoppage time, with Chatzidimpas scoring the winner from close range on an assist by Tzovaras.

PAOK U20’s line-up:

Siampanis, Papathanasiou, Gialamoudis, Dimitriou, Dodontsakis, Kyrillidis, Kozak, Chatzistravos (46′ Chatzidimpas), Papadopoulos (46′ Tzovaras), Kragiopoulos, Stathopoulos (60′ Kapretsos)