Pablo García and Mirosław Sznaucner decided quite a few changes to their line-up, wanting to rest players who got much time on the pitch in previous encounters and especially in the away leg against AEL Limassol in Cyprus. They also had to replace Gargalatzidis and Michailidis who were sidelined with injury.

PAOK took the reins of the encounter right from the start, but apart from two shots by Lyratzis and Maniotis, they weren’t able to create substantial danger. Apollon Smyrni, on the other hand, settled for a counterattacking game and that paid off in the 19th minute, when they took the lead, aided by a lapse of the black-and-white defence.

Apollon’s goal served as a wake-up call and García’s troops sought to press home their dominance. In the 24th minute, they leveled with a Panidis’ header following a cross by Lyratzis. Just before the interval, Doumtsis completed PAOK’s comeback with a fine shot.

The “Double-Headed Eagle” dominated second half from start to finish. They ran riot and didn’t leave any room to Apollon players. In the 48th minute, Tzovaras set up Panidis who made it 3-1 from up close. In the 67th minute, Balogiannis collected a Theodoridis pass and coolly dispatched the ball for PAOK’s fourth goal.

He then completed his brace teed up by Doumtsis in the 78th minute. Four minutes later, Voutsas sealed 6-1 victory with a belter from a long range.

PAOK U19s landed their fifth win of the season, keeping their perfect record and giving their coaches the opportunity to rotate.

PAOK U19: Papadopoulos, Diamantis, Giaxis, Κaloutsikidis (46’ Tzovaras), Τsaousis, Μaniotis, Salamouras (61’ Voutsas), Balogiannis, Lyratzis, Doumtsis, Panidis (65’ Theodoridis).