PAOK finally beaten by Aris in Thessaloniki derby
 

SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 17

PAOK’s ‘Invincibles’ were finally beaten after 51 games by Thessaloniki derby rivals Aris 4-2 in a thrilling match at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium on Saturday evening.

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Reigning Super League champions and Greek double-winners PAOK took an early 10th-minute lead through top scorer Karol Swiderski, who benefited from an error by Aris goalkeeper Julien Cuesta.

But despite conceding most of the possession and chances, Aris pulled level on 17 minutes through Daniel Larsson, and moved 2-1 up four minutes before half-time thanks to Fran Velez’s strike.

PAOK were frustrated as Cuesta made up for his early error with two key saves to deny Josip Misic and Swiderski, and the Dikefalos tou Vorra were made to regret those missed opportunities when Aris astonishingly made it 3-1 two minutes after the restart through Lindsay Rose’s header.

And there was no way back for PAOK after that, especially when Lucas Sasha struck a brilliant fourth goal to make it 4-1 following a fast break. The look on a shocked PAOK coach Abel Ferreira’s face summed up what was a highly disappointing night for the league leaders.

Leo Matos reduced the arrears following a set-piece with 13 minutes left, but it too little, too late for PAOK, who will have to take defeat on the chin and regroup for their next match.

Olympiacos can now overtake PAOK by one point if they take all three points from the Derby of the Eternal Enemies against Panathinaikos at the Georgios Karaiskakis on Sunday.

THE MATCH

Having celebrated an incredible 2019 going the entire calendar year unbeaten en route to winning the Greek domestic double, the onus was on PAOK to show that they could keep their amazing run going into 2020.

A derby match, however, is always difficult to call, and a resurgent Aris under new coach Michael Oenning represented a tough challenge - just as they did at the Toumba in the corresponding fixture earlier in the season that ended in a 2-2 draw.

This time at Aris’ Kleanthis Vikelidis’ home where boos and jeers greeted every touch of a ball from a PAOK player, the visitors did not seem unsettled and got themselves a perfect start with Swiderski’s opening goal.

The Polish forward gleefully slotted home the rebound after Cuesta clumsily spilled a shot from Dimitris Pelkas.

Two minutes later and it could - and perhaps should - have been 2-0 to PAOK when a move involving Swiderski and Dimitris Limnios ended with the Greek winger teeing up Misic, whose effort was brilliantly stopped by Cuesta.

The visitors were made to pay for that miss after 17 minutes when Larsson skipped past an uncharacteristically stationary Leo Matos and cut in from the left flank to fire a shot under the body of PAOK ‘keeper Zivko Zivkovic.

Still, PAOK were the dominant force thereafter and Swiderski should have made it 2-1 on 21 minutes. Unfortunately for Ferreira’s team the Pole fluffed his lines and saw his shot blocked brilliantly by the legs of Cuesta after being put through on goal by Pelkas.

The tempo of the match dropped after that, but just when it seemed that the teams would go in at the break at 1-1, Aris struck again on another counter attack. Mihaly Korhut sent over a perfect cross and Velez beat Zivkovic with a superb header.

PAOK then had to regroup at half-time and you would have loved to have been a fly on the wall of the visiting dressing room. Whatever was said at the interval, however, was cancelled out just two minutes after the restart when Zivkovic made an error of judgement and came out to try and meet a cross but was beaten in the air by Rose who made it 3-1.

Aris had the ball in the net a few minutes later on 49 minutes through Giannis Fetfatzidis, but the ‘goal’ was correctly ruled out for offside. 

PAOK still had a mountain to climb if they were to get back on level terms, and it made for a highly intriguing second half. 

But not even the introduction of Diego Biseswar could galvanize a sluggish-looking PAOK, who found themselves 4-1 behind with 20 minutes left when Fetfatzidis surged through the heart of the PAOK defence before squaring for Sasha to score with a clinical finish into the top left corner of Zivkovic’s net.

PAOK’s dugout and players looked ashen-faced as they tried to comprehend the end of an incredible run and a horror start to 2020, and although Matos pulled a goal back to make it 4-2 with a low shot following a free-kick, Aris held firm to claim a famous scalp, which was even sweeter for them since it was also a derby clashon their home turf. 

STARTING LINEUPS

Aris: 23 Cuesta (Gk), 69 Korhut, 44 Velez, 5 Delizisis, 92 Rose, 16 Gama, 26 Matilla, 88 Sasha, 28 Fetfatzidis, 10 Larsson, 11 Ideye 

PAOK: 88 Zivkovic (Gk), 23 Giannoulis, 5 Varela, 4 Ingason, 3 Matos, 8 Mauricio, 27 Misic, 20 Vieirinha, 10 Pelkas, 18 Limnios, 9 Swiderski

HIGHLIGHTS

by Graham Wood

Image Source: to10.gr

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