PAOK finish second after draw with Aris
PAOK finish second after draw with Aris
SUPER LEAGUE PLAYOFFS - MATCHDAY 10
PAOK rubber-stamped second place in the Super League and their place in the Champions League qualifiers on Sunday after claiming a point in a 0-0 home draw with Aris in their final match of the season at the Toumba Stadium in Thessaloniki.
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Abel Ferreira’s Dikefalos tou Vorra side were the better team and had the best chances on the night against their city rivals, with Diego Bieswar coming closest to scoring by hitting the post early on.
Michael Oenning’s Aris team battled manfully but did not have the quality to unlock the PAOK defence and spent most of the match defending.
The result means PAOK clinch second place in the Play Offs, while Aris will play in the Europa League qualifiers.
THE MATCH
Second-placed PAOK came into this match with a three-point lead over AEK safe in the knowledge that even a point against their city rivals would be enough to clinch second and a spot in the Champions’ League qualifiers.
And with Aris having already finished in the Europa League places, the only thing at stake for the Kitrinomavri was pride and the local bragging rights, as well as the chance of preventing PAOK from finishing second.
Ferreira had called upon his players to show intensity, aggression and character in the build-up to this match, and he certainly got a strong start with Diego Biseswar hitting the post from close range after just four minutes after Aris goalkeeper Julian Cuesta had initially blocked a header from Jose Mauricio.
PAOK had another chance in the eighth minute when Mauricio played in Karol Swiderski in the right side of the penalty area. The Pole’s low cross was cut out by the Aris defence and the PAOK frontman slammed the rebound into the side-netting.
The home side were in full control of the match and should have gone ahead on 34 minutes when young striker Christos Tziolis was sent clean through one-on-one with Cuesta, only for hte Spanish ‘keeper to thwart the PAOK forward.
PAOK continued to control the tempo of the game and most of the possession in the second half, with Mauricio sending a long range shot from distance just wide, before Fernando Varela headed just wide on the hour mark.
Aris finally got a clear sight of goal in the 62nd minute when Javier Matilla tried his luck direct from a free-kick in a good position, but PAOK ‘keeper Alexandros Paschalakis was equal to it and made a good save.
The latter stages of the game was disrupted by the anticipated flurry of substitutions and neither side could find a route to goal to end the stalemate, but it mattered not for PAOK who only needed a draw to achieve its goal.
STARTING LINEUPS
PAOK: 31 Paschalakis (Gk), 2 Rodrigo, 5 Varela, 6 Mihaj, 49 Michailidis, 23 Giannoulis, 7 El Kaddouri, 8 Mauricio, 68 Tzolis, 21 Biseswar, 9 Swiderski
Aris: 23 Cuesta (Gk), 3 Souza, 38 Bakoutsis, 40 Bagalianis, 5 Delizisis, 88 Sasha, 26 Matilla, 18 Martinez, 9 Diamantopoulos, 24 Mancini, 16 Gama
Image Source: sport-fm.gr
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