A «cold» defeat for PAOK B against Xanthi [pictures]
A bitterly cold afternoon at the Makedonikos Stadium saw PAOK B suffer an equally ‘cold’ defeat by Xanthi on Matchday 8 of the Betsson Super League.
The Double-headed Eagle fell behind early on, as Ginsari struck in only the third minute for Xanthi, and although the home side played well afterwards, they failed to get an equalizer and suffered a first loss in three games.
The match was not of particularly high in quality and chances from both sides, and this was mainly due to the poor surface which had been affected by the recent bad weather.
PAOK did react immediately after falling behind, and actually had the ball in the net in the sixth minute, however, Tzimas’ ‘goal’ was ruled out for offside. Shortly afterwards the referee awarded a penalty to Xanthi, but the visitors failed to convert from 12 yards and the first half ended 0-1.
In the second half, PAOK tried to move the ball around better and they succeeded to an extent, however they let themselves down where efficiency was concerned. There were many strong one-on-one duels all over the pitch, and the referee reached for his yellow card on numerous ocassions. Perhaps the only chance of real note in the second 45 minutes was Panidis’ 78th-minute effort, which hit the crossbar from close range. Xanthi managed to hold on to their lead, however, and claimed all three points.
The Double-headed Eagle remain on nine points and attention now turns to the next game with Thesprotos, in Igoumenitsa on Sunday.
Team lineups:
PAOK B: Talichmanidis, Kaloutsikidis (46′ Koulouris), Apostolopoulos, Koulierakis, Panagiotou, Ouendraogo, Salamouras (74′ Grosdis), Chatzistravos (87′ Fasidis), Tachatos, Tzimas (67 Melitidis), Gordeziani (67′ Panidis)
Xanthi: Itsos, Batzios, Fazos, Thymianis, Tzanakakis (77′ Deligiannidis), Polimos, Gomez (77′ Doris), Monge (67′ Platellas), Ginsari (87′ Papazoglou), Tsemlios.
