Aris is better, bitter with Darida of OFI in Mel’s debut

Return to (closed doors) “Kl. Vikelidis” and in the victories for Aris. Thessalonians prevailed 1-0 of OFI in the framework of the 14th competition.

Thus, on the one hand, they took the first step towards the goal of 2/2 at home with Kritikos and Lamia (20/12, 17:00) and climbed to 23 points, being 5th. On the other hand, they forced him Pepe Mel in debut with the… left on the Cretan bench.

The guests had their moments, however, after the first quarter, Aris started to charge, creating plenty of opportunities. Among them the beam of Moron at 24′, with Darida to be the “golden” scorer (39′) scoring his second goal of the season.

OFI’s goal was cancelled at 75′, with the replay not clearly showing whether the ball had crossed the line. Seventh game in a row without a win in the league for the “black and white” (8th, 15th).

In the… minds of the coaches:

With a system 4-3-3 lined him up Mars The Akis Manzios. Under the goalposts Cuesta, right back Odubajo, left Montoya, with Fabiano and Brambetz in the stoppers. Zoul is six, with Darinda and Pardo flanking him in the midfield. On the far right is Suleimanov, on the left is Mendez and at the top is Moron.

Same system and from him Pepe Mel in his first eleven as his coach OFI. Bowman was in goal, with the foursome of defense consisting of Larson, Vouros, Lambropoulos and Thorarirson, from right to left. In the midfield, Gayegos, Neira and Toral, with Abada in the role of right winger, Mosquera starting on the left and Diko at the top.

The match:

The start of the match was slow, with the players of both teams potentially affected by the empty stands.

First threats from OFI which appeared more active at the start. In one of them, in the 9th minute, Toral made a dangerous turn from the right, but was unable to find Diko in the small area.

After the first quarter the Thessalonians began to pick up the pace. Yes, in 12′ they had their first good moment, with his shot Suleimanov to go past the right post. More generally, the Russian midfielder was involved in almost all phases for the hosts. Quite threatening too Odubajo which in yet another game had several promotions. In one of them, at 19′received a nice through ball from Fabiano, stepped into the area and slotted the ball over Bowman, only to see Lambropoulos clear before he could finish.

To get to 24′when Suleimanov broke at the height of the large area in Moronwhose nice one-piece shot stopped at horizontal beam!

Aris came within a breath of the goal, did not find it, but continued to threaten steadily. To… be justified in 39′: After Suleimanov’s pass (which was included in almost all of Aris’ attempts), o Darida he took advantage of the fights with Lambropoulos, came before Bowman and placed well.

Two more phases for Mars with Suleimanov (43′) and Odubajo (45’+1′), with Bowman showing his reflexes in both. Thus, the first half ended 1-0, with the hosts deserving of their lead.

The two teams started the second half without changes. OFI seemed to enter (again) with aggressive moods. However, it was something that Aris proved in practice.

So many collected phases for the home team at the start of the second half, with Darida (47′), Suleimanov (57′), Menendez (58′) and Darida (60′) to threaten.

In between (54′), OFI had its moment with Neira, to reach the 75′ and find the back of the net, but the goal is disallowed. Specifically, Mr Felipe scored after his cross Band (which had moved to the left after the changes). However, the 23-year-old ace was deemed to have failed to keep the ball inside the pitch before making the tackle. A scrutinized move, with the replay giving no clear indication that it had gone all the way over the touchline.

Nothing changed in the remaining minutes, with 1-0 remaining until the final.

Watch the match live here.

The whistle: The replay in the 75′ phase for OFI’s disallowed goal does not clearly show that the ball has crossed the touchline (which of course may have happened and seen by another camera). From then on, the home team protested in the 67th minute for a penalty for Darinda’s turnover, but the ball did not find Lambropoulos’ hand.

MVP: In almost all phases Suleimanov, very active offensively for one more game Odubajo. But the distinction will go to the “golden” scorer, Darida. He needs Aris from the Czech midfielder to be his point of reference. He hasn’t done it this year for as long as he did last season.

The compositions of the two teams:

Aris (Akis Manzios): Cuesta – Odubazzo, Fabiano, Brumbetz, Montoya – Jules (82′ Saverio), Darida, Pardo (62′ Verstrate) – Suleimanov (83′ Suleimanov), Moron (89′ Zamora), Menendez (82′ Jurasek).

OFI (Pepe Mel): Bowman – Larsson, Vouros, Lambropoulos, Thorarisson – Gayegos (79′ Glaser), Neira (65′ Felipe), Toral (74′ Riera) – Abada, Diko, Mosquera (65′ Felipe).

Referee: Andreas Gamaris

First Assistant: Dimitrios Samoilis

Second Assistant: Elias Konstantinou

4th referee: Aristides Vatsios

VAR: Photios Polychronis