Players’ reaction to qualification
Happy and in great mood after eliminating FC Spartak Trnava, PAOK players spoke to media representatives after the end of the encounter in Slovakia.
PAOK’s scorer Dimitris Konstantinidis said:
«It was important to qualify. We have the time ahead to work more and improve further. We have been working on this kind of play in trainings and I am happy this goal came to help the team qualify. We could have finished off the encounter before the interval. I hadn’t scored before for PAOK and I am thrilled to have netted the deciding goal. It was important for me to work hard and claim a place in the starting line-up«.
Nikos Korovesis, who teed up Konstantinidis for the goal, said the following:
«Jokes aside, I had told Konstantinidis to be near the far post and score when I cross –that is the story behind the goal. I am new in the squad. In my previous club, I also had to wait 5-6 games in order to play. It’s important to be ready when the coach turns to you. When one is dedicated in trainings and tries to implement on the pitch his coach’s instructions, then both the player and the coach are happy. Things got complicated with the penalty conceded and after the dismissal, but we were very focused. When facing an inferior team, one has to stick to the plan and get over the hardships«.
Robin Olsen spoke about the team’s performance and the penalty he conceded:
«It was a tough away match. We took the initiative, but then we conceded the goal and in the end had to defend in numbers. Overall we functioned well. If I speak about the play that led to the penalty, I might suffer consequences, therefore I will remain silent as I want to be around for upcoming matches. I had the ball and I tried to protect it as all goalkeepers do. However it’s preferable not to comment«.
As for Kyriakos Savvidis, he also spoke about the team’s success and the valuable experience gained by PAOK’s youngsters participating in such games:
«Some things happen once. The play with Mystakidis is unique. We had to keep our focus. The penalty conceded was a bad call. We kept our focus and managed to equalise. It’s a huge experience for us younger players. Fifteen out of the 19 players are very young and that is very positive and helps us build our self-confidence«.
