On this day: A counter-charge for Europe
On April 2 1995 PAOK welcomed Aris at the Toumba on Matchday 26 of the championship on the back of a 2-0 loss to Olympiacos in Athens.
PAOK found itself out of the title race but still in touch with the teams who were battling for the European places. However, the Dikefalos tou Vorra was below Aris and Iraklis even if they had been dominant in the meetings between the Thessaloniki clubs in that season.
The win over Aris at the Toumba came courtesy of two headers from Paris Zouboulis in front of 19.734 fansο. PAOK had also emerged victorious in emphatic circumstances at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium in their first meeting that season via a 4-0 scoreline (22′, 57′ Toursounidis, 61′ Lagonidis, 90′ Bociek).
A poor refereeing display from Giorgos Fasolis irritated both players and coach Arie Haan, who famously said: «You can sell average players, but what can you do with average referees?»
With eight wins in their last nine matches of the season, PAOK managed to climb above Apollon Smyrnis, AEK, Iraklis and Aris to finish in third place and claim a place in the UEFA Cup.
The team did not manage to seal their place in the group stage, but the performance overall went some way to offsetting the punishment received for the events which marred the match against Paris Saint-Germain at the Toumba in 1992.
PAOK’s starting lineup:
Michopoulos, Gioukoudis (15′ Chavos), Kapetanopoulos, Zafeirou, Alexiou, Lagonidis, Zagorakis, Panagiotidis, Bociek (70′ Anastasiadis), Van Rooy, Zouboulis
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