Livaja stuns Aris with late heroics
 

GREEK FOOTBALL CUP - SEMI FINAL (LEG 2)

Just when it seemed Aris were on their way to the Greek Cup final, Marko Livaja halted them in their tracks, scoring a last-gasp equaliser before grabbing the tie winner in extra time to earn a stunning 4-3 aggregate victory for AEK with a 2-2 draw on the night.

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A battle for the ages. With three minutes of stoppage time in the books, Aris scored their second goal through Nicolas Diguiny to seemingly secure their berth in the Greek Cup final, but Livaja and AEK had other ideas. 120 seconds after Diguiny’s marker, Livaja bunded the ball over the line to save the day for AEK, a moment which shattered Michael Oenning’s Aris who were within a whisker of a famous win. Livaja subsequently netted the decisive second away goal for AEK in extra time to end the tie as a contest.

Incredibly, Petros Mantalos, Andre Simoes and Nelson Oliveira all received their second yellow cards for AEK in the 120th minute, but the Enosi already had breathing space with Aris requiring two goals to knock them out. AEK had won the first leg 2-1 at the Olympic Stadium in Athens. 

This is the fifth consecutive season when AEK have qualified for the final of the competition.

Massimo Carrera’s troops will face the winner of the Olympiacos - PAOK match-up in the final. 

THE MATCH

AEK calmly controlled the tempo throughout the entire first half. Boasting the majority of possession, the visitors kept Aris at bay with ease, while creating a few promising chances to score in the process. 

When clean through, Daniele Verde failed to take the ball past the onrushing Julian Cuesta, before Mantalos lashed a powerful attempt off target. Verde then had a low shot from the right wing comfortably saved by Cuesta.

AEK should have taken the lead in first-half stoppage time.

After a bout of pinball in the box, the ball fell kindly at the feet of Oliveira, but the Portuguese forward somehow contrived to blaze over from point blank range. 

Aris’ best chance of the half saw Vasilis Barkas stop Giannis Fetfatzidis’ deflected effort.

However, Aris increased their intensity at the start of the second half, showing a positive approach which was rewarded with a goal in the 57th minute.

Displaying wonderful skill, Fetfatzidis roasted Helder Lopes inside the box, thumping the ball across the to Daniel Mancini who emphatically turned it beyond Barkas.

Lopes picked up a muscle injury in the 65th minute for AEK as the tie looked to be getting away from the Kitrinomavri.

AEK passed up another glorious opportunity with 15 minutes remaining. Superbly picked out by Mantalos, Andre Simoes beat Cuesta with a looping header, but the left post came to Aris’ rescue.

Desperately searching for the equaliser, AEK threw everything at Aris during the closing stages, with Livaja testing the reactions of Cuesta and Dmytro Chygrynskiy heading wide. 

Aris appeared to have sealed the deal in the third minute of injury time. Left in acres of space, Diguiny had time to pick his spot, firing past Barkas with the help of a ricochet.

Nevertheless, AEK weren’t about to go down without a fight.

With a matter of seconds left on the clock, Livaja kept a simply enthralling tie alive, tapping the ball into the net after his initial header had been saved.

The gifted Croat would soon sink Aris once and for all. 

In the 102nd minute of play, Livaja completed a beautiful move for AEK, carefully sliding the ball under Cuesta to spark wild celebrations on the visiting bench.

There was no way back for Aris this time, and they knew it. In the remaining minutes, Barkas did have to stop two hopeful shots from outside the penalty area, but the stuffing had been knocked out of Aris and AEK had little trouble in protecting their aggregate advantage. Oliveira could, and should, have got his name on the scoreboard on the counter, but he smacked the crossbar with Cuesta out of the picture.

In what turned out to be a crazy end to the match, Mantalos, Simoes and Oliveira were dismissed in quick succession by Dutch referee Danny Makkelie, but their red cards arrived too late to affect the outcome. 

THE TEAMS

Aris: Cuesta, Korhut, Rose, Delizisis, Sasha, Matilla, Tonso (Martinez 96’), Fetfatzidis (Ba 78’), Larsson (Mancini 49’), Gama (Diguiny 89’), Ideye.

AEK: Barkas, Lopes (Hult 65’), Chygrynskiy, Svarnas, Bakakis (Paulinho 46’), Krsticic (Araujo 73’), Simoes, Mantalos, Livaja (Szymanski 110’), Verde (Almpanis 65’), Oliveira.

HIGHLIGHTS

By: Shaun Nicolaides

Image source: gazzetta.gr

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