AEK 1 Kavala 0

Nacho Scocco came on as a sub and won the game for AEK with a header from close range,after a sublime ball by another sub Geriero found him,for once,unmarked.
Jimenez rested many players with the midweek cup match at Toumba in mind.Saja still started in goal,and honestly was a spectator for most of the match.Manolas a surprise right back,took time to get into the game,their left caused him problems early,but steadied and finished strong.Nasuti and Mateo like Saja,had little troubleto deal with,as Kavala’s attacks were few and far between over the ninety minutes.Dadomo went ok,but really,he’s barely only a squad player,hence the few starts this year.The central midfield duo of Gentzoglou and Michel struggled to create any worthwile attacks in the 1st half,and it was only when Gentzoglou was replaced early in the 2nd by Papa Boupa,did it allow Michel to get more free in attack,and the much improved team 2nd half was mainly down to that duo.Michel had a stinging shot hit the bar midway through,and he deservedly ended up with the MVP award.

Out wide,jimenez stared Lagos on the left,who was fairly quiet,and Burns on the right,who looked lively early on,but seemed to fade in that 1st half,much like everyone else.
Liberopoulos behind Baha as a front duo struggled,they did connect briefly when Libe sent Baha through after a nice little one two,but the final pass just eluded him.In all honestly,Baha seems overweight still,and it affects his mobility.
We were much better in the 2nd half,defending much higher up the pitch,winning the ball in good positions and cutting out 4-5 chances.This coincided with all 3 subs Nacho,Geriero and Papa,having a big say in this.The victory was deserved,as Kavala were terrible for the most part,seemingly intent on trying to win a game with bad tackles.
Now its onto Paok in the 2nd leg of the Cup Semi,we need an away goal,hopefully early to shut their crowd up.Blanco has a great record up there,and he should be well rested now for this one.Saja will obviously need to have a big game as will our defense,but with Dellas marshalling,1 goal for us should be enough for another crack at Silverware,one long overdue!