AEK 2-0 Panserraikos

For teams like AEK, games against opponents such as Panserraikos, Kerkyra, Thrasivoulos, etc, should be MUST WINS. Three points are crucial and while we will unfortunately drop them at times in the derbies, there is no excuse to not take advantage of weaker opposition. Fortunately for us this weekend, we did manage to get all three points, and while it is still early, these three points could prove to be vital.

The starting lineup was somewhat different compared to what I was anticipating. Arabatzis started in net, Jahic covered right back, Manolas and Dellas were centre, Lagos on the left. Midfield was Kafes, Makos, and Scocco while Djebbour, Libe, and Burns (!) took care of things up front (yes, seven Greeks in the starting eleven). The lineup seemed questionable at first, and while it took a good five minutes for us to gain control of the game (I was at first worried that Panserraikos might have proven to be a tougher opponent than anticipated), things started to settle together well as time progressed. Our attack was alive! Djebbour, Libe, and Burns were all eager and there were some good plays linking up between the three. Libe was often seen feeding some deadly through passes for both Burns and Djebbour to latch onto in front of the net. It still took a while before we managed to go one up but we eventually did after Djebbour controlled a beautiful chip pass from Libe and notched it down low before the keeper could get to it (that makes it two goals in two games for him).

Eventually, fairly late in the second, Kafes scored to make it 2-0 for AEK. However, it took chance, after chance, after chance, to get the ball in the net for us. We did look very good up front, but we wont always be playing against teams like Panserraikos. We have to make sure we can finish our chances when we make them.

The biggest (and most pleasing) surprise of the first half was Burns. He has constantly showed (ever since the tournament in Sydney) that he deserves to play a bigger role in this team and today he showed why. Great runs, superb control, he was always there on the wing when we needed him but he was just as dangerous in the box. If he gets some good playing time he can become a key player for AEK.

Scocco, on the other hand, was a huge disappointment. Sure, he did come close on a couple of free kicks, and he did manage to hit the post off a corner, but the eagerness we saw in Djebbour and Libe was n0ne-existent in his passionless play. Unfortunately it looks like we’ll be seeing more of what we saw from him last season.

Lagos gave a solid performance. He was very smooth bringing the ball up to attack and his speed and ball control was far from disappointing.

The stadium was almost full (it seemed there were some unoccupied seats in the vip section) and the atmosphere from my computer screen seemed nice and intimidating, just how we like it. I personally would be all for us playing some more games here (aside from the derbies). If there were a fourth stand added Rizoupoli could prove to be a very suitable temporary solution for us (Im not suggesting AEK adds another stand but simply stating scenarios from an ideal world).

Some tension was expected between the fans regarding Bajevic. The situation was not made any better when Dusan was sent off by the referee. To be honest, I still have no idea why the referee ordered him to leave but hopefully Ill find out soon enough.

Not what we were hoping for.

So Friday evening comes and PAO draws 1-1 with Xanthi at home. Saturday evening comes and Iraklis beat Olympiakos 2-1. Looks like Sunday may turn out to be a pretty good day I was thinking…

and then AEK loses 2-1 to Kerkyra.

The game was played in Patra since Kerkyra’s stadium was not yet up to Superleague standards. A large number of AEK fans from around Greece filled a few gates anticipating a good result and a positive start to the season. Dellas and Lybe were back in the starting 11 and to be honest, most AEK fans I heard from were expecting a fairly easy win.

We started the match in a strong position, controlling possession, moving the ball up, laying off some nice runs, and at times coming agonizingly close to scoring. Then, completely out of the blue, Diop slipped on the grass leaving his man wide open and with enough time to launch a deadly curving shot right past Saja’s fingertips. 1-0 Kerkyra. One shot, one goal…

We picked ourselves up again but it was clear the team had taken a blow. We struggled to establish much of a rhythm, Leonardo was not at his best, Djebbour disappeared at times from the game, and chances were becoming more and more scarce. Half time came a t a good time.

Alright, second half starts. The score is only 1-0, definitely enough time to score and equalizer and score the winner. Afterall, you would think that would be fairly easy with an offense of Djebbour, Libe, Scocco, Leonardo, and both Blanco and Burns on the bench. Sure, these guys may not have the scoring abilities of Rooney or Drogba, but they are all above average for the standard in Greece. Surely, they can score a couple of goals against a team like Kerkyra?? Where am I going wrong here?

Well, turns out they all forgot how to finish a chance off ever since that game with Sydney FC over the summer. We pressured throughout the second, and despite playing some unattractive football at times, created chance after chance but failed to score each and every time. Djebbour and Leonardo both had a number of good opportunities in front of the net, Blanco was caught waiting for a pass in a good position (and with half the net open) but the ball never was passed to him, and it wasn’t until a bullet of a shot from Djebbour off a freekick did we manage to score. The score was already 2-0 for Kerkyra at this time and it seemed quite obvious we wouldn’t leave with much to be happy about.

Our starting lineup consisted of Saja (considering how few shots he had on him and the number of goals scored, not his best game), Jahic (pretty poor game, tried to get more involved but just doesn’t have the technique required), Manolas and Dellas (both did what they had to do when they were needed, for the most part), Karabelas (considering it was his first game in a while, played alright, but as usual nothing special), Scocco (started off strong but became uninterested as the match progressed, and lacked concentration in front of the net), Diop (very poor game, and I’m starting to loose faith in this guy), Kafes (average game at best, made some mistakes along with Diop), Leonardo (not nearly as good as he was in Scotland), Libe (seemed to be putting his heart into the game, was involved in many plays up front, had some chances to score and took a few shots), and Djebbour (scored, came close to scoring on other occasions, maybe a bit too selfish at times).

Burns, Blanco, and Eder were our subs (Diop, Leonardo, and Scocco came off for them). Burns had a good game against his team from last season, and delivered some great crosses, even when under pressure. Blanco did what he could, but if given some better passes could have been more threatening (by the way, this was his first season without scoring in the first game). Eder, as every other time I saw him during the pre season, I was impressed by. Great technique, not too selfish, and I really believe he has the potential to become a key player for AEK.

Having said all that, its not nearly the end of the season for us. If we can tighten up in front of the net we will already be on much firmer ground. Fortunately, PAO and Oly dropped points so we’re all in the same boat. Its only the first game and things can very easily change (for better of for worse). The addition of Nasuti will help with our defense without a doubt and, if it makes anyone else feel better (I know it does for me), the new jerseys look very nice. Unfortunately, the new Kino sponsor ruins it quite a bit but hey, we need the cash.

AEK 2-1 Olympiakos and Im LOVING IT!!!

Now, in my opinion we didn’t play the best football we could have but, WHO CARES!!!! It was the last game of the season, what mattered most was the result. And, to top things off, Aris also won which mean Oly finishes fifth in the league! IM LOVING IT!!!!

Alright, as I mentioned in the post before Oly had a very depleted squad. Squad depth was being mentioned as one of their greatest problems and it showed today. They were a weak side and though they did manage to create some dangerous chances up front their defense was nowhere to be found! Some tighter finishing by Blanco/Nemeth/Scocco could have seen us leave the game with a 4-1 victory though Saja kept us in the game in the dying minutes.

We had a perfect start to the game with none other than KOSTAS MANOLAS scoring the first goal six minutes in. However, the celebrating didn’t last too long as Olympiakos tied things up not long after. Never the less, we still managed to keep control of the match despite not creating as many chances as we would have liked. Olympiakos gave us the odd scare throughout the first half but the lack of overall quality on their team was evident and it was obvious that the game was ours for the taking if we came out stronger in the second half (don’t forget, we scored three goals in nine minutes against Aris, all in the second half).

Half time came with the score still tied at 1-1 but not long after the start of the second half AEK were creating chances and pressuring. We saw a bit of everything, two against one, one on ones with the keeper, balls going just wide of the posts on a number of occasions… the ball just never went in. Fortunately, Blanco got the job done with his left foot in the 54th minute and put a nice solid shot right in the Oly net. The guy has been far from great this season but he seemed to remember how to score for that one chance and it was enough to give AEK the win. Despite Olympiakos pressuring we held off the pressure well (thanks largely because of Saja) and after a few tense last minutes Kakos (who reffed a very poor game) blew the final whistle.

Well generally I must say it was obvious we need a stronger midfield. It was not there today at all; we would have a strong line of players in defense and some players up front waiting to attack but nobody was left in the midfield to act as a pivot between the opposite ends. Our wing play was good however (Lagos did very good on the left and Blanco/Georgeas were doing good on the right) and Gentzoglou managed to deliver some dangerous long balls so we still managed to get the ball up enough. However, we were constantly attacked through the middle and it was where Oly created most of their chances (their wing play on the other hand was terrible).

Alexopoulos (who?!?!) got to play some minutes today after being out nearly a year with injury. To be honest, I didn’t see enough of him in particular but he must have been doing his job good enough. Either way, its good to see him back on the team, I always like him and he obviously plays with passion on the pitch.

Manolas left the match early after requesting to be subbed (I will try and find pictures of his black eye which was very large) which meant Jahic had to come back to centre back to fill Manolas’ spot. I must say I was very pleased with Jahic today. Nothing superb but he did the job effectively in defense and seemed alot more reliable than normal.

Unfortunately this didn’t seem to be Nemeth’s best game. He did not have a chance to get as involved in the match, mind you I would never really expect a front three of Scocco-Blanco-Nemeth to work too effectively. Scocco had a good match though from what I saw it took him a while to get involved. Manduca also started quite strong but faded away as the match progressed and eventually started playing a very defensive role.

Alright, enough about that. We can critique all we want but its the last match of the season and things aren’t gonna change now for a while. I have to say I was extremely relieved that no serious incidents broke out with the Originals and the atmosphere in the stadium for the most part was a very good/optimistic/celebratory one. This match was one of the most important ones of the season and it was essential that all energy in the stands was put towards supporting our players and psyching out Olympiakos rather than threatening the coach (Bajevic deserves credit today since I feel he handled everything on the pitch quite well with regards to substitutions and the like).

So, Olympiakos, the team that started with +4 points, finishes last in the playoffs and fifth in the league. In case you didn’t read what I wrote before, IM LOVING IT!!! They start their preseason very early now as their first Europa League qualifying matches begin middle of July. We however, don’t begin ’till late August which gives us plenty of time to prepare and make some transfers.

Some pics below from AEK365. Enjoy.

Close your eyes, may be innapropriate for some viewers! 😛

ALEXOPOULOS!!

Zorro has returned (I believe I've said that a couple of times this season).

Why so sad?

Manolas had to go to the hospital.

THIS IS AEK!

So, we drew to PAOK and Lost to Oly. Things were looking very bad and people were wondering “what’s wrong with the players???”. Well, I don’t know what was wrong with them but yesterday’s 4-2 win against Aris saw a completely different team on the pitch. Sure, a little late to start playing some football but better late than never and to be honest we still have a chance of getting something worthwhile out of these playoffs if we keep this up.

First of all, I want to say that in three years and over 60+ games that I’ve never missed at OAKA these past seasons I cannot remember even one game where I’ve experienced these many emotions in the span of 90 minutes. There were four red cards throughout the game, a number of yellows, questionable referring, AEK taking the lead, losing it, evening things up, and taking the lead once again. I’m telling you, it was fantastic.

Now enough of that, lets talk about the players. I cannot think of one game this season where we saw our guys go out there with so much passion, not even the win against Oly (though it is a different experience watching on TV and live). I don’t know what happened but these players have woken up, finally realized what shirt they’re wearing, finally realized what exactly is at stake here. We played with passion, we had direction to our play (something that we had sorely been missing the past few matches), we saw a dangerous offense and some phenomenal goal tending, we saw our players do everything they had to to win. Now, I must say Aris were nothing special. In fact, they were terrible, though they still managed to create some very dangerous counter attacks on a number of occasion. However, if AEK had played this way from the start of the playoffs without a doubt we would be in a much different situation right now.

So, the match itself. One could tell from the start it was going to be a rather exciting game. Aris created the first dangerous chance very early on however there was alot of back and forth play between the two teams from the get-go though AEK managed to take control of most of the passion with Aris looking quite weak on the ball. After a number of decent chances for AEK we finally went up with a superb shot from none other than Rafik Djebbour after Scocco’s pass deflected off an Aris defender. The crowd erupted after the goal (though it was a terribly small crowd at OAKA that night the atmosphere was fantastic for the most part) however cheering soon turned to booing after less than ten minutes later Jahic was kicked out for his second yellow. I’ll let you make your own decision from the video below. He is pushed, as he said he was, but it also looks like he intended on having his hand there so its a tricky decision.

Three minutes later the players were even again as Calvo received a red card as well. Again, some say the red was not required, so I personally don’t know. Either way, a yellow was needed since he kicked the ball for no reason. I just can’t remember if that was his second card.

So half time came and went and at the start of the second we were up 1-0. Things changed shortly later however as Saja received a red card for taking down Campora when in reality in was not necessary. Campora scored the penalty and the score was even once again. Regardless, our players never gave up their attack but failing to quickly restore the lead punished them as Aris’ American forward scored another for them to put them up 2-1. Well, by this point tension was building up again in the crowd but once again the fans were up and cheering  when Leonardo scored only three minutes later. Two more goals followed, a penalty by Scocco and a header by Leonardo, giving AEK three goals in nine minutes and a 4-2 lead.

So, a few players in particular deserve credit (actually, pretty much almost the whole team). Firstly, Gentzoglou! Wow, the kid is still young but, as is the case with Manolas (who didn’t play today because of an injury of some sort), he plays like someone with ten years experience at this level. He has a great vision, and holds up the ball expertly.

Saja and Arabatzis. Both of these guys had great games yesterday. Saja, until he got kicked out, was solid, but Arabatzis was just incredible! Made a number of critical and phenomenal saves to keep AEK in the game.

Leonardo. Now, I know this guy hasn’t been a star this season, but yesterday was a fantastic performance from him. Aside from his two goals he was fighting with passion and was dangerous when on the ball.

Scocco, who scored and had two assists yesterday, and Djebbour, both played very good games. I was surprised to see the level of passion coming from Scocco, but it seems even he wanted nothing less than a win. Djebbour scored a goal and played a killer pass for Kafes to set up Leonardo. The guy’s technical skills are among the best in the league and it would be a terrible loss if we got rid of him this summer. I hope management acknowledge this fact.

Aside from these select players, I want to give credit to the whole team for playing hard despite the heat and being down two players for quite a while. I also want to give Dusan credit since he clearly knew what he was doing when he put Leonardo in and I can’t complain about any of his choices yesterday considering the absence of Manolas and the number of cards the players received.

Okay, so we got a fantastic win and one much needed for the players and the fans. Will we keep up this level of play? I hope so, because of we do we can definately get second place in the playoffs and quite possibly first if we have a little luck and PAOK loses where they should.

As of right now the standings are PAOK with 10 points, Oly with 7, AEK with 5, and Aris with 3.

AEKARA!!!!

Half Time Olympiakos 2-1 AEK

Well, the ref is not helping us (though he did give us a penalty which we scored). However, aside from that, our defense is terrible! We are letting every ball through, marking is non-existent. Both Oly goals could have easily been avoided had our defenders been marking their players.

Anyways, Olympiakos is playing pretty poor football, but our defense is helping them out. If we were to come out stronger and tighter in the second half we could easily grab a point if not all three, there is nothing stopping us.

Starting 11 were Saja, Araujo, Manolas, Majstorovic, Lagos, Kafes, Hersi, Jahic, Makos, Djebbour, and Scocco. I hope we see either Manduca or Nemeth on soon, if not both.

AEK Has Supposedly Fixed Upcoming Match

Reports coming out of Greece suggest that the upcoming match with Levadeiakos has been fixed. Levadeiakos are in a fight for survival and currently only sit one point above the relegation zone and some are saying that AEK will let them win this match so they stay up. Many betting companies (both in Greece and abroad) have started giving some pretty crazy odds such as around 1.95 (or lower) for Levadeiakos and 3.00 (some places are giving odds as high as 4.00) for an AEK win. As a result, betting on this match has been dis-allowed by OPAP and many other sites.

Why would we give away this match?? I have no idea. If PAOK and Olympiakos win on Sunday they will again go higher up in the playoff standings I believe. Why would we want this? No clue. Also, Aris are still quite close behind us and a loss would mean things would get tighter between the two teams and would see us lose any extra points in the playoffs.

I don’t know what to see, I really don’t. Of course, none of this has been anything close to confirmed and is rather just speculation from various sites, but who knows… this is Greece after-all. I do hope it isn’t true though. I’m going to be heading up to Livadia for this one and really do not want to see us lose and I really do not want to see our name involved with any match fixing scandals, ever.

By the way, it looks like we will have a few players out in the end. Scocco, Jahic, Karabelas, and one other (I can’t remember who) will be out with cards. Blanco had an injury during the week but will be fit for the match. Bajevic was apparently experimenting with him at right midfield. WHY!?!? He’s finally starting to score a couple of goals (and is our top scorer in Livadia).

Updates

First of all, Happy Easter to everyone celebrating today.

Well, because of the the Easter Holidays there were no matches this weekend and therefore not so much to comment on. However, there has been some news lately.

Hull lost over the weekend, 2-0 to Stoke, meaning they still remain in the relegation zone. Now, whether the Geovani rumors are at all true I myself am not too sure (Hull president says he has not been talking with anyone at AEK), but if the rumors are in fact true than this loss is good news (though don’t offense, I have nothing against Hull).

Adamidis was in England discussing the possibility of keeping Nemeth one more season. I’m not quite sure what came out of the talks but Nemeth still says he has no problem with staying at AEK one more season. He gave an interview a few days ago where he mentioned that what he’d miss most if he leaves AEK is the supporters. Great to hear considering the supporters of AEK make up so much of the club.

Two more games left in the regular season before playoffs. As of right now only Scocco and Jahic will be unavailable for our next match with Levadeiakos, both due to cars. Other than that we have no injuries to deal with which is good news.

I still doubt Nemeth will start any time soon. Rather, I see Manduca starting the next match in Scocco’s place so Nemeth can be rested for the playoffs. To see Nemeth injured again would be a huge blow for us since I really doubt any team that we will face in the playoffs will be able to contain our offense at the moment.

As of right now, the playoffs look quite good for us. Nemeth has promised that we will make 2nd spot and I can honestly see that happening. Both Olympiakos and PAOK are falling apart at present, with Olympiakos having plenty of problems off the pitch (including financial problems and trouble with the players…. tough luck is all I can say, about time) and PAOK having a significant drop in form lately.

Aris are still a dangerous team, as they’ve been all season, with some spectacular players up front. While we could drop a few points to them I see us making up those points against the other two teams. I know it sounds crazy but right now we can certainly beat Olympiakos at home and away, that’s how bad they are right now.

Generally, things are much better for us at the moment. Everything is calm, all players have now been fully payed, and the psychology seems quite high overall. Contract renewals are being discussed and the Greeks have been dealt with first. After Easter a few more players (such as Manduca) will have their contracts discussed as well.

We’ve apparently seen some offers for Scocco from Spain around 3 million Euros. Not enough in my opinion, but my opinion doesn’t really much does it? Oh well, I guess as long as he doesn’t go to a Greek team. The 3 mil will still be enough to cover Geovanni.

AEK 1-1 Panionios

Well, obviously not a favorable result for us yesterday. Sure, we aren’t exactly desperate for points right now (though they would help since Aris is only three behind us) but it’s still painful to see us drop two points at home to this Panionios team.

To be honest, this wasn’t our worst performance yet. We were all over Panionios for the first ten minutes and we had numerous chances throughout the match to put the ball in the net.

Arabatzis started this one and he did a fairly good job. He can’t really be blamed for the first goal, few keepers would have done anything there.

Jahic played right back since Araujo was out and he did a decent job. He certainly wasn’t the weakest link in our defense yesterday, that honor would have to go to Majstorovic. The Swede was sloppy throughout. I don’t know what it was, perhaps he was feeling a little too comfortable since the team had finally seen some good form, but he was slacking off far too much. Fortunately, Manolas was considerably tighter and more secure (he got the MVP award once again) and for the third game in a row the rookie showed what he is capable of. Honestly, I think Majstorovic should start following Manolas’ example and not the other way around.

Karabelas played left back and did a fairly good job at it. He was clearly giving it 100% out there (the same could not be said about other players) and marked well at times, but he had some trouble defending 1-on-1’s.

Our defense overall was very weak when it came to defending the counter attacks. We were caught off guard plenty of times and were rarely organized enough to halt Panionios’ attack. Hopefully this will be addressed though to be honest this hadn’t been our problem in a while as far as I can tell.

Our midfield was weak. Aside from Gentsoglou (who started off weak but eventually managed to pick things up a bit) we weren’t doing anything. Leonardo had a poor game and he gave away far too many balls. Kafes tried as far as I can tell but didn’t too much. However, there is only so much he can do when the others around him aren’t doing what they should be doing.

Scocco…. he was USELESS. Totally useless. I want him sitting on the bench until the season is over. Manduca could easily take his place, at least he has been contributing to the team whenever he plays. Either way I’m getting very tired of Scocco’s four year old mentality. He sits around the entire match, gives a couple of useless passes, doesn’t even bother trying to get the target on his free kicks, and yet still wants to move to a bigger club. Sure, he scored our only goal for us late in the match, but we would have been better off without him in the first place.

Djebbour and Blanco deserve some credit. They both had some great chances and both were clearly trying out there. I’m not going to be too critical of Blanco. He could have scored, but didn’t, however other than that he didn’t do too much wrong out there.

Djebbour also came close to scoring but he holds on to the ball far too much. Instead of shooting when he gets the chance or passing when he has nowhere to go he simply tries to dribble around as many defenders as possible. Of course, this may work occasionally such as at the Iraklis game or with PAOK but it’s not the way he should be doing things. Blanco is finally having some good form lately. PASS IT TO HIM. Or take a shot! Very simple things, yet he still chooses to go about things the hard way.

Nemeth, Roger, and Hersi were our subs. I didn’t see Hersi contribute too much but he didn’t have too much time to make an impact. Roger had a nice shot which if I remember correctly rebounded out for a corner. Nonetheless, this was Roger’s first game in a couple of months if I’m correct (he had a serious blood infection, or something along those lines) but it was still good to see him back. He is a player capable of good things so hopefully we’ll see more of him now.

Nemeth was fighting out there. He was going for as many goals as possible and there was no doubting that. I really feel the Bajevic should introduce him at half time at our next match (though he may be trying to rest him for the playoffs) but he made a considerable difference when he came on.

Ok, time for some rumours. Obviously, Scocco wants to leave this summer. IF he can bring in five million euros or more I will be more than happy to see him go (yes, I appreciate all that he did for us these past two seasons but clearly is no longer for us unless he matures a bit). Now, assuming he brings in a large sum of money many papers both here and in the UK are reporting that we have been talking with Brazilian star Geovanni (currently playing for Hull). Hull are near relegation and have told their players that if they are relegated they will have to accept significant cuts in their paychecks. Assuming we get the money from Scocco’s transfer, I personally wouldn’t mind seeing Geovanni on our team. Sure, he’s almost 30 now, but he has huge talent and can easily be one of the best, if not THE BEST, players in our league. I say he’s easily got one or two more years left in him and he would be an ideal replacement for Scocco.

Now you wanna hear something funny? PAO are offering us 1.2 million plus Petropoulos (woo hoo!) in exchange for Scocco. Are these guys serious?!

PAOK 0-1 AEK

So, our excellent form in the second half of the championship continued with only one loss since the December break. Shame we couldn’t have had this form from the start of the season but oh well, maybe next year.

Anyways, a great win away in a stadium which has only seen one loss (for the home side) before yesterday’s game this entire season. Blanco, who has scored in the past four AEK matches in Toumba, scored the only goal in the match.

By the way, before I go on to the match, I would like to point out that of the four teams currently in the playoffs (AEK, PAOK, Aris, and Olympiakos) AEK has won the most points between the four. After two wins against PAOK, a win and a draw against Aris, and a win against Olympiakos we got 13 points. Olympiakos, on the other hand, only have six points (after beating AEK and PAOK away but loosing at home to AEK and PAOK and loosing to Aris away) though they still play Aris at home. A favorable stat for us since the playoffs are just around the corner.

So, back to the game. But before that, some highlights:

So, to win in Toumba is always something big, especially with this year arguably being PAOK’s best season in recent memory. As I said before, only Oly managed to do that this season, and that was with some controversy from the referee.

I’ll give the lineup and in brackets my rating of the player. Feel free to agree or disagree in the comments section if you have a different opinion. Saja (9), Araujo (7), Manolas (8), Majstorovic (7), Georgeas (was subbed off early), Jahic (6), Kafes (8), Leonardo (7), Scocco (6), Djebbour (8), Blanco (8).

Our substitutes were Karabelas (8) who came on early for Georgeas who got injured, Gentzoglou (8) who came on for Jahic (who received a yellow and will now have to miss two of our final three games), Manduca (8) who came on for Leonardo.

Firstly, Sebastien Saja. The Argentinian, though he had some poor games earlier in the season, made some critical saves to keep us in the game. He was solid on the ball, clearly not the case with Chalkias, and confident, managing to collect most corners with ease.

Araujo held his ground well in my opinion. I don’t think many people will doubt it but this guy is a solid defender. Not much more to say for him.

Manolas played once again and once again did not fail to impress. His headers and clearances were exactly what we needed. He never fooled around, didn’t play any games, simply got the ball out and away from our box any way he could. He also defended well in the box and rarely let his men past him.

Majstorovic was always there when we needed him yesterday and defended well for the most part but I feel his marking was not as good as it should be. Often PAOK players were free to run into the box, runs which should have been halted by Majstorovic. I have a feeling the partnership between Manolas and Majstorovic may need a few more games to be completely solid. After-all, this was the first game they played together.

Georgeas came off early after leg or foot injury (I thought it was a cramp but whatever it was he couldn’t continue playing). He was replaced by Karabelas (the former Aris player was not warmly welcomed by the PAOK fans) who played a good game throughout, one of his best in a while in my opinion.

Our midfield in general was weak at first. Kafes was trying hard, and so was Jahic, but it was not until Gentzoglou and Manduca were introduced that we finally saw some control around the half line. However, when those two came on the difference was a noticeable one. Kafes was given some more freedom since Gentzoglou was covering his position well, so he was able to attack further up and gave some fantastic through balls for Blanco and Djebbour.

Scocco, aside from one left footed shot, contributed nothing to the match. He seemed absolutely uninterested in the match and rarely ran for the ball. I really believe Dusan should sit him out for a match or two until his attitude changes. I realise he wants to leave in the summer. Fine, bring in a good enough offer and your gone. Until then there his little he can do so he better start showing up 100% (even 50% would be better!) at our matches or he might as well not play at all. We would have been much better off starting with Manduca rather than Scocco.

Leonardo had a decent game. The kid is definately showing progress, hopefully he will continue this way.

Blanco and Djebbour really seemed to be into the match yesterday, unlike Scocco. They were both attacking whenever they could and clearly wanted nothing less than a win. Blanco had some great chances, and his finishing his looking better than earlier in the season.

Djebbour absolutely ripped open PAOK’s defense, the best in the league and one of the best in Europe, on a number of occasions. It was good to see him go all out in terms of effort. His attitude has really changed since last season, now all that’s left for him is to turn into a bit more of a team player. He gets the ball, makes space and room for himself, but always tries getting to the net the hard way rather than laying a simple pass to an open man in front of goal.

Our second half performance generally was far better than the first. For a few minutes at a time we had total control of the ball and were laying some nice one touch passes to each other. As was made evident at the Aris match (Aris 2-0 PAOK), PAOK’s defense is useless in these types of situations. I must say they were really nothing special in general. They played a simple game which was certainly effective at times, but their midfield lacked any creativity at all. Their finishing was also extremely poor as they had a number of chances early on to score. However, they were by no means an easy opponent and were probably one of the toughest teams we’ve played all season.

AEK 3-0 Kavala!

I really have no clue what to say. I mean, before this match, I wasn’t expecting us to come out with anything more than one point. Yet to get the full three points and to do it in such a fantastic way… I’m speechless.

Before I go on I would like to show the lineup for today’s match. In goal was Saja. In front of him was Araujo, MANOLAS, Jahic, Georgeas. Taking care of midfield was Genztoglou, Kafes, and Leonardo. Finally, up front was Blanco, Djebbour, and Scocco. Now, looking at that lineup (aside from goalkeeper and forwards) one may wonder a few things. Manolas had never played an official game for AEK yet he was starting against a team with a deadly counter attack. Gentzoglou was starting from the start, and Jahic was covering center back, a position he hasn’t played as often this year.

Personally, when I heard that lineup being proposed in the papers a few days before the match I was terrified. I knew what Kavala could do (they held Oly to draws twice this year, as well as beating PAO in OAKA), and I thought they were going to have a great time running circles around our defenders. Well, I couldn’t have been more WRONG!

Our defense was organized from the start and never gave Kavala a chance (the difference between this match and the Larissa one last week was huge). Jahic had a flawless game, Georgeas fought hard as always, and Araujo was tight (nothing unexpected there). However, the big surprise in our defense today was the young Kostas Manolas. The nephew of the great Stelios Manolas had big shoes to fill today yet he showed no signs of struggling to do just that. He controlled the ball with expertise while never panicking, he defended superbly, was not afraid to risk it all for the team, and even helped bring the ball up at times. The kid rightfully got the MVP award for his efforts today.

So, no Makos today you may have noticed. Who took his place? Gentzoglou. Was it the right choice? YES!! He brought total control to our midfield, something Makos rarely (actually, never) provides. He got the ball, made it his, controlled it, ran a bit if he had to, and released. No stress, only concentration and some good football. He helped out all over the pitch and the partnership between him and Kafes was great.

Our offense wasn’t “superb”, but they did the job. Sure, our excellent midfield today may have helped things out but we managed to create some fantastic chances (though it did take a while) though Scocco was relatively uninvolved aside from a few runs every now and then. Blanco had a great chance and also scored a good penalty (the way Djebbour should have done against Iraklis), Djebbour managed to get the ball into the box on a couple of occasions, but, at the end of the day the support from the midfield is what made the difference.

Well, it was a much more pleasing Saturday than last week. We now have 45 points and depending on what happens at the Aris-PAOK match tomorrow, our lead over Aris can still remain pretty considerable. Hopefully this happens in order to give us a little breathing space in case we dont come out with full points next week against PAOK.

Earlier today, Adamidis (who should be officially confirmed as president on Monday) went to the hotel to promise the players a bonus of one million euros if they qualify for Champions League. Perhaps this had an impact on them but either way, if we continue to play this style of football the remainder of the season we can expect nothing other than positive results.