Donis: “We were the team trying to win”

Both of the respective head coaches, Giorgos Donis and Michael Oenning, spoke to the media following the Super League draw between Panathinaikos and Aris in Athens.

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Panathinaikos and Aris, both now locked on 22 points in the Super League table, rather cancelled each other at the Olympic Stadium. After a forgettable first half, the game livened up in the second, as Giannis Fetfatzidis had a fantastic solo goal ruled out for offside and Dimitris Kourbelis struck the post with a late header for Panathinaikos. Nevertheless, despite the teams’ best efforts, the breakthrough never arrived. 

“It was an uneventful first half, with both sides cancelling each other out,” said Donis. “However, in the second, we were the team trying to win the game. We increased our pressure. There were chances, and I am satisfied with our effort during the second set of 45 minutes. We have many important matches in front of us to be successful. So far, we have had a lot of psychological ups and downs this season, and we need to find a better balance.”

“It would be unfair to criticise the players’ efforts,” continued the Panathinaikos boss. “Yes, it’s true that we haven’t gained enough points, that isn’t up for debate. The team needs to evolve and gain confidence. It’s not easy to create a team in 1.5 years, history tells us this. More organisation is required to achieve better results. The Christmas break? Players will have time to be with their families.”

Aris manager, Michael Oenning, felt that 0-0 was a fair result at the OAKA: “In my opinion, the result reflects how the game unfurled,” stated the 54-year-old. “We played with good organisation today, especially in the first half. Unfortunately, our goal in this match was disallowed for offside. Overall, we move into the Christmas period with good feelings and a goal of achieving more in the new year. The second half? I felt that we really wanted the victory. Both teams became weary.”

“We didn’t take any risks in the first half, but we proved in the second frame that we wanted the win,” revealed Federico Macheda, Panathinaikos’ Italian striker. “We were lacking freshness. Did the disallowed Aris goal wake us up? We weren’t happy with how we were playing at the time. Unlike Aris, we did have opportunities to score. We needed to be more aggressive in our play.”

Julian Cuesta, the Aris goalkeeper, was happy to leave Athens with a hard-earned point: “We did a good job today by claiming this point. During the first half, we had the upper hand, and both Aris and Panathinaikos played to win in the second. I think that fatigue played a big role today, so the result can be considered fair. We have travelled here to earn a victory.”

by Shaun Nicolaides

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