Kostenoglou: “There is no excuse for our poor performance”
Following the draw against Aris at the Olympic Stadium, Nikos Kostenoglou admitted that AEK played poorly, while Michael Oenning praised his team.
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AEK appear to have pressed the self-destruct button. Once again, the Athenians failed to deliver in a major Super League match, playing to a frustrating 1-1 home draw against 10-man Aris at the OAKA. After Brown Ideye received a straight red card, Daniel Larsson opened the scoring for impressive Aris, before AEK captain Petros Mantalos eventually equalised from the penalty spot. Third-placed AEK are nine points behind the leading pair of Olympiacos and PAOK, while Aris sit in fifth position with 16 points on the board.
“There is no excuse for our bad performance today,” moaned AEK head coach Kostenoglou in his press-conference. “This was our worst match of the year. We had no passion or concentration in the first half. In the second stanza, we had two clear opportunities to win the game, but we failed to use them. Our display on the pitch did not allow us to earn the three points, and we must all take responsibility for what happened.”
“The fans’ criticism of us is justified,” continued the AEK boss. “Once again, I stress that we we did not play well today. Our level of performance has to improve. We really weren’t good at all. Injury issues? I want to speak about facts. We have had serious injury and illness problems this season, and Marko Livaja was suspended today. Giorgos Giakoumakis played despite having a fever yesterday. I don’t want to make excuses, though; something has to change. We now have to look ahead to the game next Saturday.”
“We were the better team, so I can’t be satisfied with just the one point,” remarked Aris manager Michael Oenning. “This performance gives us more confidence for future games. We pushed high in the first half, creating opportunities to score. As a result of the red card, we couldn’t do this in the second, but we managed to avoid defeat. Apostolos Tsilingiris? He played really well, he kept us in the match in the final minutes and I’m really happy for him.”
AEK attacker Christos Almpanis expressed his disappointment: “I have no words, we are disappointed. There is no excuse. We understand that we are not performing at the required level. Everyone must take responsibility and move on. Yes, we have lost confidence, but I don’t want to start using excuses.”
“We are saddened by this result,” added AEK winger Milos Deletic. “In order to achieve better results, we must keep our heads held high and approach the upcoming matches with an improved mentality. With faith, the results will improve.”
Panagiotis Tsilingiris, who performed well between the Aris sticks, felt pleased after helping his team earn a point in Athens: “It was important to make my debut in a derby, this was a great experience and I won’t forget it. The coach compared me to Iker Casillas? His words are certainly important to me. We had the chance to win today, but we only came away with a point. The referee also played his part, but I don’t want to talk about that.”
“The whole team was the MVP today,” stated Aris defender Fran Velez. “We were very strong throughout the entire match, even taking the lead with only 10 players. Aris were one step ahead of the opponents. The penalty? The referee took that decision. Taking into account our problems in this game, one point is a good result, but I would have liked to earn more than a draw.”
