PAOK see off Atromitos at the Toumba
GREEK SUPERLEAGUE - MATCHDAY 24
| PAOK | 3 - 0 | Atromitos |
|---|---|---|
| Oliveira 39' Biseswar 45'+2' Swiderski 82' |
PAOK edged ever loser to the SuperLeague title on Sunday by claiming an impressive 3-0 home win over high-flying Atromitos at the Toumba in Thessaloniki.
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Sergio Oliveria opened the scoring after 39 minutes and Diego Biseswar doubled the advantage from the penalty spot in first-half added time, while substitute Karol Swiderski added a third to claim all three points for Razan Lucescu’s unbeaten team, who could also afford to miss an earlier first-half penalty against Damir Canadi’s Atromitos.
Atromitos did not have one of their best afternoon’s in Thessaloniki, and they also had Bruno sent off late on in the final minute of normal time.
The result means PAOK extended their lead over second-placed Olympiacos to 10 points ahead of the Thrylos’ late match against Aris at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium in Piraeus, while Atromitos remain fourth, one point behind third-placed AEK.
THE MATCH
PAOK came into the match looking to extend their lead over Olympiacos and take another important step towards ending their long wait of a domestic league title - which they last won back in 1985.
And after a frenetic and even start to the match, Chuba Akpom was brought down in the box by visiting defender Alexandros Katranis and the home side were handed the perfect chance to take the lead after being awarded a penalty.
Captain Vierinha stepped up confidently and hit his spot-kick with plenty of power, but it was a good height for Atromitos goalkeeper Christos Theodorakis who guessed correctly and dived to his right to push the effort away.
While Atromitos were limited to long range pot shots at PAOK goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis’ goal, the penalty miss only served to spark PAOK into more forward forrays, and the hosts were finally rewarded with the opening goal six minutes before half-time.
Oliveira was the man on target, scoring with a clinical header from a superb cross by Vierinha, the Portuguese atoning for his early spot-kick miss with the assist.
Then came PAOK’s second penalty of the match in the second minute of added tine, and it was Akpom who won it again. This time it seemed a harsh decision, with replays suggesting that the Englishman fell into Atromitos midfielder Madson rather than the latter committing an intentional foul.
It mattered not as the referee had already decided that it was a penalty and Dutch midfielder Biseswar stepped up to slot the spot-kick past Theodorakis.
The pace of the game dropped after half-time, but there was a glimmer of hope for Atromitos when they came close to reducing the deficit to one goal six minutes into the second period.
Clarck N’Sikulu battled for the ball with PAOK defender Jose Angel Crespo, and the ball fell kindly for Bruno, but the Portuguese forward sent his effort agonisingly wide.
PAOK added a third with eight minutes left when Swiderski took advantage of Atromitos goalkeeper Theodorakis coming way out of his goal to try and stop Biseswar, who squared to his team-mate to score.
Atromitos’ miserable evening was complete when Bruno was sent off for picking up a second booking for a foul on Biseswar in the last minute.
STARTING LINEUPS
PAOK: 31 Paschalakis (GK), 20 Vierinha, 15 Crespo, 5 Varela, 3 Leo Matos, 26 Sergio Oliveira, 8 Mauricio, 90 Pedro Henrique, 21 Biseswar, 18 Limnios, 47 Akpom
Atromitos: 33 Theodorakis (GK), 19 Kivrakidis, 3 Katranis, 29 Strouggis, 4 Karasalidis, 23 Sakic, 15 Madson, 6 Bušuladžić, 8 Umbides, 11 Bruno, 10 N.Sikulu
HIGHLIGHTS: PAOK - ATROMITOS
