Carrera: “There was a lot of tension”
Following the pulsating 2-1 victory against Aris in the first leg of the Greek Cup semi-finals, AEK boss Massimo Carrera noted the amount of tension, while Michael Oenning was furious.
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A match which had simply everything. In the eighth minute of play, Petros Mantalos opened the scoring for AEK with a clever finish, but Bruno Gama promptly got Aris on the board from the spot after Stratos Svarnas tripped Daniel Larsson. However, AEK wouldn’t be denied, as Ognjen Vranjes headed in the winning goal during the early stages of the second half after Aris midfielder Javier Matilla had been sent off with a straight red card. The game was temporarily stopped following Vranjes’ goal as Aris coach, Lazaros Vardakis, fell to the ground. AEK will take a slender advantage to Thessaloniki for the second leg of the Greek Cup semi-final in April.
“We played well, although there was a lot of tension,” revealed Carrera. “Taking into account that this was a semi-final, it’s understandable. We had several opportunities. Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to score a lot of goals, but it will be important to prepare for the second leg in Thessaloniki in the correct manner. It’s tough when you can’t score. The delay for the start of the second half? I agree that it’s strange that no one told us what was going on.”
“None of us received any official information concerning the delay to the start of the second half,” added Aris manager Oenning. “It’s ridiculous. What can I say? This isn’t the first time when these things have happened in Greece. Don’t even ask me if I am satisfied with the result, it means nothing. My assistant was hit and fell to the floor. He has dizziness and doesn’t feel well. I’ve had a long career, I have seen everything, but what happened here is not good for football. Let’s be careful not to ruin the sport.”
Aris midfielder Lucas Sasha vented his fury at the events at the OAKA: “We can’t speak about football today,” fumed Sasha. “What we saw here was not football, it is a disgrace for the sport in Greece. I’m really mad. It’s a real shame that the second game will take place in April, it would have been a lot better if the match was next week, as we really want revenge. We hope that our fans will be just as angry as we are.”
Petros Mantalos, the scorer of the first AEK goal in Athens, wanted to score more against the 10 men of Aris: “When you’re at home, and Aris are down to 10 men, you certainly want to score more. Nevertheless, we did achieve the victory, although we have mixed emotions at the moment. We had more opportunities when Aris had 11 players on the pitch. The Aris penalty? I cannot understand what the referee saw.”
AEK goalkeeper Panagiotis Tsintotas also noted the missed chances for the Enosi: “Overall, we’re satisfied with the win, but we did have chances to score more goals than just two. It’s always hard when the opponents are down to 10 men, because they defend deeper. We kept going after the early Aris equaliser. 2-1 doesn’t mean anything, we will go to Thessaloniki to beat Aris.”
Giorgos Delizisis, who was solid at the back for Aris alongside Fran Velez, voiced his anger with the referee: “I don’t think that it was a red card, it was a bad mistake. Later on, you saw what happened for yourselves, these things are completely unacceptable. Are we living in a jungle? You will see a good second game at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium!”
