Triumphant PAOK made to wait against Xanthi
SUPER LEAGUE - MATCHDAY 13
Two late goals in the second half fired PAOK to a hard-fought 2-0 victory against Xanthi at the Toumba Stadium in the Super League.
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It was beginning to look like it wasn’t PAOK’s day, but with 10 minutes remaining, substitute Diego Biseswar broke the deadlock before Jose Angel Crespo added an insurance goal. PAOK hit the post four times and had three goals disallowed.
PAOK are now three points clear in first place of the Super League table, but Olympiacos can draw level if they beat Panetolikos later on this evening.
The Dikefalos tou Vorra will face Panetolikos on the road next week, while Xanthi host AEK.
THE MATCH
Making a powerful start, PAOK immediately came close to scoring, as both Dimitris Pelkas and Vieirinha smacked the woodwork in quick succession.
Incredibly, Pelkas was then denied by the frame again in the 25th minute as PAOK began to create opportunities at will. Xanthi goalkeeper Carlos Abad pulled off an alert stop to deny Josip Misic.
Karol Swiderski, who has been in fantastic scoring form so far this season, had a goal ruled out for offside as PAOK really forced the issue. Xanthi escaped a potential handball call in the box on the brink of the half-time break.
The second half saw PAOK completely lay siege to the Xanthi goal. Swiderski had a second marker chalked off for offside in the 51st minute.
However, for all of their pressing and chances, PAOK were lacking a finishing touch in front of goal as a huge amount of clear opportunities were wasted.
Chuba Akpom was the next to have a goal disallowed for offside, before Crespo struck the crossbar.
Nevertheless, with 80 minutes on the clock, Biseswar finally ended Xanthi’s stubborn resistance as he converted his own rebound. The Dutchman subsequently provided an assist for Crespo’s headed goal to seal the deal with three minutes left.
TEAMS
PAOK: Zivkovic, Giannoulis, Crespo, Ingason, Leo Matos (El-Kaddouri 79’), Vieirinha (Biseswar 64’), Misic, Mauricio, Limnios, Pelkas (Akpom 63’), Swiderski.
Xanthi: Carlos, Djurickovic, Pablo (Barrientos 84’), Karasalidis, Terki (Eduardo 79’), Kovacevic, Renella (William 84’), Sturgeon, Fasidis, Camara, Sosa.
