PAOK drop points after failing to score
Despite completely dominating the game for 90 minutes, creating a raft of scoring chances, a PAOK side lacking a cutting edge and a clear head in the final third of the pitch ended up dropping two points against OFI at the Toumba on Matchday 18 of the Super League as a match that on the face of it they deserved to win, ended in a goalless draw.
PAOK wanted to get the three points before the series of matches against Panathinaikos, but on Saturday night at the Toumba things ended with disappointment. Disappointment not for the way the team played, but solely for the two points lost.
Razvan Lucescu’s side entered the game in determined mood, taking control of the ball and being patient. They began to build their game from the first minutes and started created chances, but in front of Mandas’ goal they did not show the composure needed to score, with the visitors’ goalkeeper managing to keep the hodsts at bay and keep the score at 0-0.
OFI came to the Toumba with the intention of springing a smash-and-grab type surprise. They created two solid chances, one in each half, but neither of them found the net as Kotarski made an impressive stop from Dicko in the first half, while Perea hit the post in stoppage time on the counter-attack from a PAOK corner. That was all of the attacking activity that the visitors could muster for the entire game.
PAOK, for their part, started at a frenetic pace, fashioning some very good chances, with Konstantelia having several shots in the first half, but the goal never came.
At the beginning of the second half, Lucescu’s team had all the possession again, while the Cretans were hemmed in their own half, and so the routes to Mandas’ goal were minimal at best.
PAOK did find a way through and scored a «goal» in the 67th minute with a header by Douglas, but after a VAR review, the goal was disallowed for offside by Sastre who provided the assist.
In the last 20 minutes, Mandas took center stage for OFI, and had the answers first to a shot by Oliveira, then to a header by Konstantelias , in a one-on-one with Brandon, and also kept his goal intact even in stoppage time after a shot by Oliveira, with the final score remaining 0-0.
Now PAOK… lives and breathes for the next three consecutive derbies against Panathinaikos that will decide a lot both in the Super League and the Greek Cup.
Team lineups:
PAOK: Kotarski, Sastre (73′ Vieirinha), Ingason, Koulierakis, Rafa Soares (65′ Brandon), Augusto, Schwab (73′ Dantas), Narey, A.Zivkovic, Konstantelias, Oliveira.
OFI: Mandas, Vouros, Pasalidis, Diamantis (72′ Giannoulis), Larson, Thorarinson, Meyados (56′ Perea), Diouce, Toral (72′ Neira), Balogiannis, Diko (93′ Tsilianidis).
