AEK fire blanks in stalemate at Larissa
 

SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 6

AEK and Larissa shared the spoils of a goalless draw at the AEL FC Arena on Saturday in a match which saw both sides miss their fair share of chances to score.

Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage with Go Greek TV!

Nikos Kostenoglou’s AEK, who had been so impressive in coming back twice to draw against PAOK last weekend, did not get going into early in the second half when Marko Livaja rattled the crossbar with a free-kick.

But Michalis Grigoriou’s much-improved Larissa team also missed a couple of golden chances during a purple patch which they enjoyed mid-way through the second half.

AEK could still have taken all three points late on, but Larissa defender Vangelis Moras cleared the ball off the line with Livaja ready to pounce after Petros Mantalos’ shot was deflected.

THE MATCH

AEK came into this tricky trip to Larissa on the back of a positive performance in the 2-2 derby draw against PAOK. Larissa had started the season badly but after going 2-0 down away to Aris last weekend, the Vissini fought back to record a breathtaking 3-2 win.

Combined with their win over Xanthi the match before, suddenly Michalis Grigoriou’s men were on the up heading into this match against a similarly resurgent AEK.

Unfortunately, the form book went out the window and the first half was an instantly forgettable affair with neither side troubling the goalkeepers at either end. The match in fact had an air of a pre-season friendly about it, although it didn’t help that Larissa did not come out with an ambitious approach initially.

With no clear chances created in the opening 45 minutes, there was the hope that in the second half the match would open up more when both sets of players began to tire.

And AEK did finally come close to breaking the deadlock on the 57th minute through Marko Livaja. The in-form Croatian, who has been by far AEK’s best player so far this season, surprised everyone by going for goal from a free-kick postion where it seemed a cross would be the chosen approach.

And it almost worked, had it not been for the crossbar. Livaja’s thunderous strike cannoned off the woodwork and bounced to safety, much to the disappointment of the AEK dugout but much to the relief of the home one.

That let off seemed to spark Larissa into life and they twice went close to scoring shortly afterwards and they looked to respond to AEK’s efforts to score.

First Dymitro Chygrynskyy came to the rescue for AEK after 61 minutes, clearing the ball off the line with Abiola Douda set to score following a poor clearance from AEK goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas.

The home side then contrived to miss what was more or less an open goal four minutes later when Alexis Michail missed the target from close range after latching on to Moras’ flicked header.

There was little it seemed AEK could do as Larissa just kept coming, with the Vissini creating another chance after 67 minutes. This time Amr Warda wriggled away from his marker Michalis Bakakis, but his shot was just a little wayward with only Barkas to beat.

Next it was Larissa’s turn to produce a goal-saving clearance with Moras the man getting in ahead of Livaja seven minutes from time following a deflected shot from Mantalos.

STARTING LINEUPS

Larissa: 1 Kristinsson (GK), 5 Mihail, 18 Moras, 28 Bralic, 88 Stankovic, 22 Secerovic, 8 Milosavljevic, 26 Kace, 25 Bertos, 7 Warda, 9 Dauda, 99 Ristic

AEK: 1 Barkas (GK), 23 Hult, 2 Bakakis, 19 Chygrynskyy, 21 Vranjes, 27 Paulinho, 25 Galanopoulos, 20 Mandalos, 8 Simoes, 18 Oliveira, 10 Livaja

HIGHLIGHTS

by Graham Wood

Image Source: sportfm.gr

Thank you for visiting AGONAsport.com, the only English based website for Greek sports fans across the world! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter for all the latest news in Greek Sports!