Epic comeback earns PAOK a place in Greek Cup semi-finals
It was one of those nights that you talk about still 30 years later. One of those matches for which the highlights become a trend on Youtube. It was one of those games that will simply never be forgotten. Razvan Lucescu’s PAOK once again refused to give up and in the end celebrated a legendary qualification to the sem-finals of the Greek Cup at the OAKA, snatching a 2-1 win from the jaws of of defeat against AEK with two late, late goals in added time.
We had written after the game with Panathinaikos, and we will write it again. It’s all a matter of mentality, as Razvan Lucescu likes to say. On a night like this, he has every right to be proud of his players.
Despite the fact that PAOK fell behind in the 82nd minute with what seemed at the time like a knife to the heart, the Double-headed Eagle had the composure, the strength, quality, and the necessary mental reserves to reverse the situation and leave the OAKA celebrating once again.
The game was more like a game of chess than football. Neither team was in the mood to take risks, resulting in a match that for the large part did not feature many clear scoring chances at either end. AEK in fact had the ball in the net in the first half, but their first «goal» was ruled out for offside following a VAR review which confirmed the decision.
PAOK, for thier part, upped their tempo as the match wore on and were the team that wanted to avoid extra-time and try to lock up the qualification within normal time.
AEK though, seemed to have found the solution. On a counter-attack with just eight minutes to go, they opened the scoring. Levi Garcia dribbled down the right and crossed for Simoes, who scored with a low shot on the move. The goal survived a VAR review and everyone in the AEK camp believed at this point that this time at least, it would be the home side that would progress at the expense of PAOK.
But, as we have said many times, PAOK simple refuse to lose. The AEK goal seemed to act as a catalyst for Lucescu’s players. The composure was still there even as the clocked ticked down.
And then Jasmin Kurtic came to the fore once more. The Slovenian has taken it upon himself to lead the team since the beginning of the season, and he was the man with the solution again.
And what a goal he scored. After bringing the ball under control inside the left-hand side of the penalty area, Kurtic then curled home an incredible goal which clipped the post on its way into the back of Tsintotas’ net.
That was the away goal that PAOK needed, and at that point it was already enough for them to go through. But PAOK did not want to just wait for the final whistle. The Double-headed Eagle wanted more.
And so Mitrita took possession of the ball for the last attack of the game, skipped past a couple of tired AEK players on the edge of the penalty area and scored an equally impressive curled effort with his right boot to make the final score 2-1 to PAOK, putting his own stamp on an unforgettable game.
The Double-headed Eagle progressed to the semi-finals, and now from tomorrow the squad’s attention turns to to Sunday’s game against Atromitos in the Super League Interwetten.
In the Greek Cup semi-finals, PAOK will face Olympiakos, who needed a goal in the 115th minute of extra time to get past a battling Panetolikos side.
Team lineups:
AEK: Tsintotas, Rota (90 ‘Michelin), Mitoglou, Tzavellas, Hadjisafi, Simanski, Simoes, Amrabat (93’ Ansarifard), Tsouber, Garcia, Araούjo (90 ‘Le Talek).
PAOK: Paschalakis, Lyratzis (63′ Sastre), Crespo, Ingason, Sidcley (93′ Murg), Tsingaras (63′ Mitrita), Kurtic, Augusto, A. Zivkovic (82′ Vieirinha), Akpom, Biseswar.
