PAOK defeat OFI 4-0 in a game of two halves
If anyone asked those watching PAOK-OFI at half-time to predict the final score, not many would have said 4-0. But that’s exactly what happened as a powerful second-half display earned PAOK a convincing victory.
Coach Abel Ferreira opted to extensively rotate his squad in view of the upcoming second leg match of the Greek Cup tie against Panathinaikos at the OAKA. And so Anderson Esiti, Lazaros Lamprou, Omar El Kaddouri and Chuba Akpom all started, while Leo Matos also returned to a starting lineup that was the first of its kind this season.
The seeming lack of chemistry caused PAOK to produce a problematic first-half display. The Dikefalos tou Vorra may have enjoyed the majority of the possession and was pressing hard for a goal, but the only threat came directly from a corner from Josip Misic (!). OFI, meanwhile, were fully focused on defending, but the Cretans still created the best scoring chance of the opening half through Lisandro Semedo in the 39th minute.
As has been said in the past, however, the way a team reacts to difficult circumstances and challenges is what defines a big club. And the Dikefalos tou Vorra showed that once again Ferreira brought on Mauricio and Limnios at half-time, and within 15 minutes the match was won.
The hosts went in front in the 50th minute when Akpom pounced on the rebound from Diego Biseswar’s missed penalty which had been awarded after Christofer Braun had fouled Limnios. Ten minutes later and AK47 found the net again. OFI defender Kostas Giannoulis held back Lamprou in the box, and the English forward made no mistake from the penalty spot to make it 2-0.
From that point OFI lost their way and PAOK began to open up their defence at will leaving goalkeeper Dimitris Sotiriou exposed and the home side got two more goals. In the 66th minute it was Lamprou’s turn to score with a header following a cross from Misic, while Douglas Augusto wrote the epilogue by curling home a wonderful goal – his first in PAOK color.
The win means that PAOK remains within two points of leaders Olympiacos, who defeated Atromitos in added time by a 1-0 scoreline, as the title race continues.
Team lineups:
PAOK (Abel Ferreira): Zivkovic, Matos, Ingason, Varela, Giannoulis, Misic (74’ Douglas), Esiti (46’ Mauricio), Lamprou, El Kaddouri (46’ Limnios), Biseswar, Akpom
OFI (Giorgos Simos): Sotiriou, Giannoulis (89’ Perdikis), Vafeas, Joao, Braun, Nastos, Staikos, Semedo, Vaz (82’ Nikokyrakis), Neira (46’ Nabi), Manos
