Anaemic AEK held by 10-man Aris
SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 11
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Daniel Larsson put Aris ahead after 64 minutes, following the sending off of the Thessaloniki club’s striker Brown Ideye in the 53rd minute.
It took a disjointed-looking AEK until 82 minutes to find a response, and it came via the penalty spot courtesy of captain Petros Mantalos, after Lindsay Rose was adjudged to have fouled Andre Simoes.
The result means third-placed AEK lost further ground in the Super League title race, as Nikos Kostenoglou’s Kitrinomavri team now have 18 points and are currently nine points adrift of joint-leaders Olympiacos and PAOK.
THE MATCH
Both sides came into this match with something to prove. Besides sharing colors, the two teams have also endured sub-par starts to their respective campaigns. Under Nikos Kostenoglou, AEK appeared to be regaining their form, however derby defeats to Olympiacos and Panathinaikos in the last month derailed the feel-good factor.
Aris came to Athens worse off, occupying seventh in the table on 15 points before kick-off. If they are to rise up the standings in the next few months then the Thessaloniki club had to show that they can be better away from home.
The appointment of German coach Michael Oenning seems to have settled the club and they were undefeated in their last four games before this Matchday 11 clash.
And they way the first half developed, it seemed that they would not have much of a problem extended that unbeaten run against an AEK team that struggled with their shape and link-up play.
Aris were first to threaten a goal after 12 minutes when Bruno Gama sent over a perfect cross for Indeye, who beat Stratos Svarnas to the ball with a flying header, only to see his effort saved brilliantly by AEK goalkeeper Vasilis Barkas.
Aris continued to look the more threatening side, with winger Giannis Fetfatzidis, and midfielders Lucas Sasha and Javier Matilla causing all sorts of problems for AEK’s pedestrian midfield.
Aris continued to look the team most likely to score after the half-time break, but their rhythm was torpedoed in the 53rd minute when Ideye was shown a straight red card for a stamp on Mantalos.
There were plenty of protests from the Aris players, and the VAR review looked to raise more questions than answers, but the referee stuck with his decision and reduced Aris to 10 players.
If that moment was supposed to give AEK a boost, the home side did not take the hint, and it was Aris who took the lead four minutes after the hour mark to stun the home crowd into silence.
The goal came after an uncharacteristic error of judgement from the usually dependable Mantalos. The AEK skipper tried to switch the play but his pass was wayward and easily cut out by Mihaly Korhut. The Hungarian played a one-two with Nicolas Diguiny before offloading the ball to Larsson who scored with a side-footed effort past Barkas.
That eventually sparked AEK into life and the introduction of Christos Almpanis helped give the Kitrinomavri added attacking impetus.
It took until 73 minutes for the home side to launch a serious threat, and when it came it was from an error by Rose, who gave Simoes the chance of a clear run on goal. The Portuguese midfielder though was thwarted by a brilliant save by Aris keeper Apostolos Tsiligiris.
AEK kept plugging away, however, and they were finally rewarded with a penalty kick on 78 minutes following a VAR review after Rose had fouled Simoes.
Mantalos stepped up to send Tsiligiris the wrong way, slotting his kick into the right corner with the visiting keeper diving left.
A frantic finish to the game ensured with AEK desperately seeking a winning goal. Almpanis tried his luck from the edge of the box with a curling effort as the clocked ticked down, but his effort fizzed just over the crossbar.
Ognen Vranjes then had a shot blocked in the last minute of added time from close range after some pinball in the Aris penalty area following a corner, and that proved the last chance of the match.
STARTING LINEUPS
AEK: 1 Barkas (GK), 3 Lopes, 24 Svarnas, 21 Vranjes, 2 Bakakis, 8 Simoes, 22 Simao, 7 Verde, 20 Mandalos, 11 Deletic, 18 Oliveira
Aris: 75 Tsiligiris (GK), 69 Korhut, 44 Velez, 92 Rose, 88 Sasha, 26 Matilla,
98 Ba, 28 Fetfatzidis, 16 Gama, 7 Diguiny, 11 Ideye
HIGHLIGHTS
