Highlights Below (Pavlis Goal, Burgas Goal, and Scocco post)
Again, another draw for AEK. I believe that’s our third from three friendlies. Perhaps not an encouraging result on paper, but in reality, AEK dominated the match.
Each half saw two different lineups. The first half seemed to have what might be considered to main squad, consisting of players such as Scocco, Blanco, and Majstorovic. The second half seemed to be for the second team, with guys like Tachtsidis and Pavlis playing.
The two lineups were
First Half
——————————Arabatzis—————————
Koutromanos—-Majstorovic—-Kyrgiakos—-Karabelas
———————-Yahayia—————–Kafes————-
——-Iordache————————————Manduca—
——————Scocco——————————————
————————————–Blanco———————-
Second Half
——————————Arabatzis—————————
—Gentzoglou——Geraldo——Manolas——Juanfran—
——————————–Makos—————————–
——————–Nsaliwa————-Tachtsidis————–
———–Diouf————————————–Burns——
——————————–Pavlis—————————–
As you can see from above the first half lineup does look stronger however there were also some key players on during the second half. One thing Im interested to see is who will be Dusan’s first choice left back, Karabelas or Juanfran.
Well, as for the game, it was a pleasing performance. AEK dominated throughout. Passing seemed smooth and effortless, and the players seemed to be really in sync with each other. Many opportunities were created in front of the goal which was a good thing, but we could not score any, which was not a good thing. Our defence was rarely troubled, so it is difficult to comment on them. I was impressed with Yiahayia. He fought hard, showed strength, and is clearly a good defender. The partnership with Kafes should be a good one. Iordache also impressed, had great ball control, and was able to set up plays nicely.
Although some papers are saying that AEK were better in the second half I believe it was the first half where we were strongest. Either way, its still preseason, and this is still friendly, so while it will show some information about the club, we still can’t see the club showing its full potential until later on.
Our goal came from the second half by none other than Pavlis. The young striker (who by the way is being called the next Demis due to his form, goal scoring, and small size) played great with the Greek youths this summer in Italy, and with the right team and coach around him I believe he can become a key player, and will be a good player to have in the squad.
Burgas levelled things up in the last minute, so it was unfortunate we couldn’t hold on to the win.
Our next friendly will be in Athens against Panionios, and a few days later we will play Boca Juniors in OAKA. I believe these matches we will start to see the team perform closer to its full potential.
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