He doubled his wins over OFI and wrote history Panaitolikos!
In a game with a very good pace, the Agriniotes withstood the “hammering” of the Cretans, and thanks to the many and large operations of the 24-year-old, Antonis Stergiakibut also in the cynicism they showed in the phases that were presented to them, they took the victory with score 3-1 (5-2 aggregate score) and together with the qualification to semi-finals of the Betsson Greek Cup for the first time in their history!
The… dream of the final is now one step away for Yannis Petrakis’ team, which will have to overcome its obstacle Mars in the “4” of the institution, in double matches.
In the coach’s mind
THE Yannis Petrakis lined up the hosts with a 3-5-2 system. Stergiakis was found under the goal, with Mali, Oikonomou and Mladen forming the defense trio. Duarte, Tsingaras and Hatzitheodoridis started in the midfield positions, with Mavrias and Torrejon playing on the two wings and Dias and Pedro at the top of the attack.
On the other hand, Mr Pep Mel took down OFI with a 4-2-3-1 system. Bowman started in goal, with Thorarinsson, Vouro, Bressan and Abada in defence. In the axis were Glazer, Bakic, with Neira and Baku starting on the two wings, behind the only promoted, Luis Felipe. Toral started in the role of ten
The match:
The pace of the match was excellent, as both teams entered their game strongly and with intensity in the first 45 minutes. THE OFI had started the match better, having the initiative of the movements in the first minutes, even “touching” the goal in the 2nd minute, when Bressan and Felipe tangled in front of an empty net, with Mali making saves.
The Cretans continued to have the first say, and in the 16th minute, o Bakits threatened with a powerful shot from a good position, which he took impressively Stergiakis. Five minutes later, Panaitolikos made his presence felt with the spinning header of Oikonomos after a foul, but also with the missed shots of Hatzitheodoridis and Diaz. In the “caps”, OFI came close to the goal, with Neira’s header being saved by Stergiakis and while the ball had burst in front of him!
With the Agriniotes well into the spirit of the match, the pace became frenetic, with the ball going up and down. In the 30th minute, the home team came a… breath away from the goal, when his shot Diaz from Torrejon’s turn stopped on the post after and intervention by Bowman. Two minutes later, Stergiakis said “no” to Felipe’s “lightning”. in a free kick, with Bowman “copying” him in the 34th minute, striking Diaz’s kick for a corner!
Finally, the goal that the game deserved based on its image, came in the 38th minute, with Panaitolikos doing it 1-0 with a powerful shot by Duarte in the lower right corner of OFI after a nice ball movement. This was also the last phase of the first half, as, despite the efforts of the visitors in the remaining minutes, they could not do anything.
Given that his back was against the wall, OFI proceeded to switch Glaser with Riera at the beginning of the second half, with Pep Mel doing more aggressive the team of. A move that partially paid off, since on the one hand the Cretans had the first say at the start of the replay, but on the other hand they were unable to create a dangerous moment in front of the opposing frames.
And while the momentum was showing OFI, Panaitolikos, “struck” by surprise and in the first phase of the half, succeeded and raised its index score at 2-0! Specifically, at 59′, the hosts quickly went out into the open field, Liavas found Duarte, whose “chaf” favored the incoming Hatzitheodoridiswho coolly beat Bowman for 2-0!
In fact, the team of Yannis Petrakis found two more good times in the next five minutes, initially, with Pedro’s shot from a diagonal position and then with Mali’s misdirected header, after a foul. From that point on, OFI turned up the heat, initially threatening with Felipe’s curling shot in the 69th minute, before reducing in 2-1 Iseka three minutes later, with a very nice finish by the Belgian on his debut, after Bakic’s vertical pass!
A goal that revived the hopes of Pep Mel’s team, who came close to a second goal on two more occasions, in the 79′ and 86′ with Gaiegos’ shots stopping at Stergiakis. OFI, in fact, paid for this anarchic attempt to find a goal, as Panaitolikos formed the final 3-1 in the third minute of stoppage time with a goal by Peres in a counter attack situation!
The match lineups:
Panaitolikos (Yiannis Petrakis): Stergiakis, Mladen, Oikonomou, Malis, Duarte (85′ Sengelia), Tsingaras (85′ Peres), Hatzitheodoridis (70′ Bakakis), Torrehon (70′ Duarte), Mavrias, Dias (57′ Liavas) , Pedro.
OFI (Pep Mel): Bowman, Vouros, Bressan, Thorarinsson (77′ Larson), Abada, Bakics, Glazer (46′ Riera), Baku (54 Mosquera), Neira (64′ Iseka), Toral (64′ Gaiegos), Felipe.
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
