Donis: “Our goal is to continue developing”
After defeating PAOK at home in the Super League, Panathinaikos boss Giorgos Donis spoke about his targets with the team, while Abel Ferreira stated that the game was based on details.
Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage with Go Greek TV!
Before the game began, PAOK were classed as favourites for the duel at the Olympic Stadium, but Panathinaikos were full of confidence and subsequently put the reigning champions to the sword. In charge of proceedings, the Athenians scored twice in the second half to win the match, as Federico Macheda converted a penalty and Tasos Chatzigiovanis hit the target when clean through. This is only PAOK’s second defeat of the Super League campaign.
“The most important thing is the progression of the team,” remarked Panathinaikos boss Donis. “We have been working very hard for 19 months. In order to maintain confidence and good psychology, it’s very important to achieve positive results. Nevertheless, we remain humble, and we must continue improving. Congratulations to my players. Any normal team sets goals for itself, and we are no different. Our goal is to develop.”
“This derby was judged on details,” remarked PAOK manager Ferreira. “At the start of the game, we had the first opportunity to score, but we missed it. Our profligacy in front of goal cost us. Until the Panathinaikos penalty, it was a very balanced game. Nevertheless, the championship is a marathon, not a sprint, and we will earn the points which we lost here. Of course, it’s easy to criticise the performance after a loss, but we must speak about details. If Panathinaikos had been playing like this at the start of the season, they would be challenging for the title. They have a really good team.”
Tasos Chatzigiovanis, the scorer of the second Panathinaikos goal, was delighted to earn the three points against the reigning champions: “We were really passionate about winning today, and I believe that we were better than PAOK. It was a great atmosphere inside the arena today, we expected the fans to support us well. When you play for Panathinaikos, you must be strong in both defence and attack. Moving forward, we believe that we can win the Greek Cup!”
Mauricio, PAOK’s Brazilian midfielder, spoke about the importance of recovering from this loss: “There’s no time in which to be upset, we have to move on to the next game. This week, we will meet Panathinaikos again, but we must produce a different performance. One defeat doesn’t mean that you’re the worst team. I think that all of us have been making mistakes, but this is not a time for excuses. We didn’t play well against Volos NFC either. In the Greek Cup, we have to make changes.”
“It was a great joy to have the supporters by our side,” beamed the scorer of Panathinaikos’ winning goal, Federico Macheda. “We really wanted the fans to return to the arena. From a tactical point of view, this was our best match so far, when we play like this it’s difficult for the opponents to threaten us. We’re building to challenge for bigger things. PAOK didn’t score for the first time in 69 games? Yes, we knew about that, and we understand that they are fighting for the title. We have to keep progressing, the next three matches will decide the season.”
PAOK full-back Leo Matos apologised to the team’s fans: “The truth is that we didn’t play well today,” admitted the 33-year-old Brazilian. “Unfortunately, sometimes it’s not possible to achieve the desired outcome, but the league still has a long way to go. We will have the chance to recover these three lost points. I would like to apologise to the fans for our performance, but we will give 100% to use our potential. We must improve.”
