AEK 2-0 Lamia

The improvement in fortunes under Kostenglou has continued with another 3 points following today’s win over Lamia, a win which brings us up to 5th place with 6 points (Olympiakos, PAOK, and Xanthi are all 3 for 3 so far).

Truth be told, it wasn’t a phenomenal game by any means, but it sounds like we did enough to control the match and make a couple of our chances count. From what I could make out on the radio, it seemed like though we managed to control the game for the most part, it was making any meaningful gain’s into Lamia’s box which we struggled with. Livaja stepped up when needed though, as he did last week, and was involved with both of our goals scored today (the first was a pass from Livaja which resulted in an own goal while the second was a Livaja free kick slotted into the net by Vranjes).

All in all a critical 3 points as we prepare for our critical test against PAOK in a couple week’s time. Before that though, we face Panaitolikos in Agrinio, a match which we really shouldn’t struggle with considering Panaitolikos currently sit second from last, one 0 points.

Progress on the stadium is continuing at a steady rate. This video shows some great aerial views over the stadium at sunrise this morning:

AEK 2-0 Lamia

And just like that, were back in the race. Thanks to our 2-0 win against Lamia and Olympiakos’ 1-1 draw in Tripolis, only two points separate 1st and 3rd. As it stands, we currently sit 3rd with 41 points, behind Olympiakos on 42 and PAOK on 43. Its safe to say we haven’t seen a top 3 that was this close in as long as I can remember and it certainly sets up a high stakes encounter when we face Olympiakos in Karaiskaki this coming weekend.

Wasn’t able to catch the game myself as I was away for the weekend, but our goals came courtesy of Lazaros and, unsurprisingly, Livaja. Livaja now sits on 7 goals this season, even with Araujo. Lazaros meanwhile isn’t too far behind either with 5 goals thus far. His goal particularly was a pretty one, not so much for the finish but for the play that lead to it.

The result over the weekend wasn’t anything noteworthy on its own, but it is worth noting that prior to Saturday’s win, we hadn’t scored a goal in two games. Thankfully we managed to get the job done seeing as a loss would have seen us sit 5 points out of 2nd place. As things currently stand, we could very well see ourselves leapfrog Olympiakos into 2nd place, something which I genuinely think we have a chance at doing. Is it likely? No, it never is when you face them in their own stadium, but at the moment I’d say we’re pretty even with them and if the Cup game was anything to go by, we definitely have what it takes to grind out a result. If anything, I would argue that we are even more prepared having just faced them in their own grounds less than a week ago.

 

 

 

AEK 2-0 Lamia

After facing Lamia for the second time in less than a week, we managed to come away with yet another win with a slightly more convincing scoreline.

I’m just watching the game now and while it might not have been the best game we’ve played this season, it wasn’t an awful performance. More importantly, it gets us an important first win in the Cup against a team that is the toughest opponent in our group (with the other two being Kallithea and Apollon Larissa).

The game featured many of our starters but we also saw from the likes of Tsintotas, Vinicius, and Traustason, all of whom had pretty decent games. We also saw some familiar sides amongst the opposition as both Alex Dacol and Chrisantus were part of the squad and both made their way onto the pitch later in the game as subs.

Today’s win was an important one for sure but its safe to say that the team’s focus was probably directed to the upcoming game against Olympiakos before the final whistle was even blown today. Ticket sales are looking pretty good so far with around 15,000 tickets having already been sold. Add into the equation the 11,000 season tickets and thats already about 25,000 supporters with over three days to go until the game. At this rate I can see anywhere between 40,000 and 50,000 in attendance on Sunday.

AEK Alone in First

Lamia 0-1 AEK

A late (and somewhat fortunate) penalty turned out to be the difference for AEK after a game which saw many chances but few goals thanks to some great goalkeeping by Lamia’s Papadopoulos.

It wasn’t a great game but it did provide some entertainment as both sides had their chances to score. Lamia deserve credit for the game because despite being outplayed they still managed to look dangerous at times and were well disciplined defensively. While we did come away with the win, the game gives Jimenez something to think about as we play Lamia again two days from now in our first cup game of the season.

Anestis had a good game, dealing with whatever was thrown his way and our defense was also pretty solid in the centre though I feel like our left wing was left exposed a little too often. Offense wise, it wasn’t a consistent effort from the group. On the one hand, players like Mantalos, Araujo, Livaja, and Lazaros all had pretty good games while both Bakasetas and Klonaridis contributed very little to our attack. I would be a bit worried if I were Bakasetas or Klonaridis because its only a matter of time until Araujo and Livaja are considered for the starting position. On top of that, Giakoumakis should be returning from injury at some point which will create even more competition for spots in our offense.

Much of the talk in the press over the past couple of days revolved around the fact that our penalty should have only been a free kick, and there is definitely some truth to that. I’ll be the first to admit that I think it was a bad call, but if I remember correctly, Lamia’s Pito also should have received a red card so it wouldn’t exactly be right to claim that only AEK benefited from the officiating. Either way the result is what it is and because of it we now find ourselves in first place with 10 points. After four games we are still yet to concede a goal and its looking more and more like we’ll have a very good chance against Olympiakos this sunday. A win on sunday would put us five points clear of Olympiakos which would be an amazing position to be in this early in the season. Its worth noting that Olympiakos play Juventus in the Champions League just a few days after they play us so its safe to say that game might be on their minds which will hopefully affect how they prepare for us. Its also safe to say that their form is anything but stellar after a home loss in the champions league and two straight draws in the Championship.

Catching Up…

Its been a few weeks since my last post and as is often the case early on in a season, lots has happened. Luckily for us, things have been going pretty well so most of what I have to talk about is good news.

PAS Giannena 0-0 AEK

We’ve played three games since my last post, the first of which was a disappointing draw away against Giannena. I was only able to follow this game from the radio but in the end I think I was glad I didn’t watch it on TV. It wasn’t an awful game… after all, we didn’t lose. The game did leave a lot to be desired though with neither team managing to really make much happen. The good news though is that we weren’t really outplayed that much.

To be fair the game was only three days after our match against Club Brugge so I could see fatigue playing a part. On top of that there was probably a lot of pressure on the team to put in another good performance as they did against Brugge and perhaps they struggled to deal with those expectations. Its early in the season and we’re still figuring things out so I’m not too worried about the result.

AEK 4-0 Larissa

Our next game was a home game against Larissa, the third Superleague game of the season for us. The score was impressive but our performance was anything but. We seemed uninspired and the tempo of the match was more like what would be expected from a training session.

Thankfully we were rewarded with some goals, a couple of which were particularly impressive. I don’t know if its the fact that we were playing against a team that was clearly not going to be hard to beat, or if it was the empty stands for yet another game (I believe we have one more game with no fans before we are allowed to let them watch again), but there didn’t seem to be much urgency within the team. Thankfully though they managed to get the job done at least since we needed to make up for the points dropped from the previous match. Whats worth noticing with this game is that this is the first time since the 2007-2008 season that we have started the league and have not conceded in our first three games. The 2007-2008 season was also the season when we should have won the championship, so thats promising.

 

Rijeka 1-2 AEK

Our Europa League group stages campaign got off to an excellent start after 2-1 away win in Croatia. As the score suggests, the game wasn’t a blow out and both sides had there chances to add to their tallies. Ultimately though it sounds like AEK were the stronger team. One thing worth mentioning is Lazaros’ goal was a beauty. It sounds like Lazaros wasn’t even supposed to take the free kick that resulted in the goal but he stepped up and took it anyways, silencing anyone who was not expecting him to be able to score it.

Its still very early as there are another five  games to play but the talk is that AEK is looking likely to finish second in the group. I don’t want to jinx anything but I’d say our chances look pretty good. Having already won an away game and considering we’re in pretty good form, I’d say the home games against Austria Wien and Rijeka will quite likely result in wins and the away game to Wien is also one that could very well result in a win for AEK as well.

Looking Forward

We play tomorrow against Lamia in a game which I’d say we have a pretty good chance of winning. Doing so would put us comfortably in 1st place as Olympiakos only managed a 1-1 draw against Tripolis today (in their own stadium!) so a win would see us 1st on 10 points, two ahead of Olympiakos and PAOK. We’ll certainly face a boost as though we are playing “away” against Lamia, the game will be played in Athens and AEK supporters will be allowed in the stands effectively making it a home game for AEK. This will be the first time this season that our players have played against our fans so I’m sure its something the team is looking forward to.

Personnel Changes

We have seen some personnel changes both on and off the pitch since my last post. I’ll start with the behind the scenes chances: Majstorovic has left his post as director to take up a similar role with Wolverhampton. It sounds like Majstorovic and the team parted ways under good terms and its worth noting that I believe Majstorovic waited until his contract with AEK was over before he switched to a different team. Its a good opportunity for him so I don’t blame him for taking it, but its also a good opportunity for us since it means a place has opened up for Limberopoulos again. I’m glad to see Limbe back with AEK again since hes the kind of person who everyone expects. Its a good time for him to be at AEK, so hopefully his second stint in the position brings some memorable success.

We also saw some more changes on the pitch was. Firstly, Almeida has left the team and joined Hajduk Split. I’m glad he found another team since he definitely still has something to offer, but I dont think AEK or even Almeida himself would have been happy with his output while with us. Its a good move from the team since it frees up some space and budget which means the long awaited news we’ve wanted to hear all summer could become reality. Thats right, Araujo has rejoined AEK on a year long loan from Las Palmas. I know AEK wanted to sign him outright rather than keep him on another loan, but its a great move regardless as he was clearly a good fit for AEK under Jimenez. He got off to a great start scoring in his first game back with the club and while he hasn’t played as a starter yet, its only a matter of time until he is fully integrated back into the team again.

Iraklis Psachnon 1-3 AEK

I only managed to watch the game from the 30 minute mark on, though from what I saw it seemed like the win never really was in doubt. It didn’t seem like we played the best we could have, though I get the feeling the players didn’t really feel much pressure throughout the match. The possession was almost 70 % in AEK’s favour, and though Iraklis had some dangerous moments, they were hardly able to apply pressure when not in possession.

Aravidis was unsurprisingly one of our best players, scoring two wonderful goals and coming awfully close to completing another hatrick when he hit the post in the 80th minute. Zoric was our other scorer, making it two games in a row where he has now scored.

Anestis had a reassuringly decent game, making a few good saves and blocking a penalty shot, though I felt like he could have handled the play leading to the penalty in a better way. Sure the play was threatening, though had he closed down the angle and forced the Iraklis player further wide, he would have had a decent chance of saving the shot.

I felt like Barbossa had another disappointing game, reminding me somewhat of when Scocco would have spells where he was far from spectacular. Unfortunately though, even when Barbossa does have a good game he never comes close to the levels Scocco would reach, and I’m starting to get a bit annoyed by this. Hes definitely a solid player when he wants to be, but he has to start proving himself a little more if he wants to keep being a part of the team come next weekend. Afterall, its not as if there is a shortage of players who would give anything to have the chance to prove themselves in his position.

After today’s and yesterday’s game, we are now a more than comfortable 14 points ahead of second placed Panachaiki, which means that if the playoffs were to start with the teams being in their current positions, AEK would start with 8 points. Reassuring of course, though Iraklis (Iraklis from Thesaloniki, not Iraklis Psachnon) would also start with 8 points. The third through sixth teams in the playoff behind AEK and Iraklis would be Panachaiki, Apolon, Olympiakos Volou, and Lamia.

Updates

Sorry for the lack of posts recently. To be honest, I’ve had a hard time following and keeping up with all the news regarding the stadium, players for next year, and what exactly will be happening with the team and the management board.

The season has obviously been over for a while now, and we now know who we’ll be facing for next season. There are certainly some pretty dangerous teams in the list, and all I can say is that I hope we have players who are up for the challenge. Among the teams we’ll face will be Panahaiki, Fostiras, Kallithea, and Apollon Smirnis.

For those who don’t know, the second division is considerably different than the Superleague. Second division in Greece is actually two divisions, a Northern division and a Southern division (which we’ll be playing in next season). The Southern division includes teams from Attiki, the Peloponnese, and Crete, as well as a couple other regions. At the end of the regular season, the top four teams from each division play each other in an eight team playoff, with the top three teams being promoted to the Superleague.

In addition to the teams already listed for our group, there are some even tougher opponents in the northern group, teams we’ll quite likely face during the playoffs. A few examples of some worrying opposition: Aris, Iraklis, Olympiakos Volou, Doxa Dramas, Larissa, and Lamia. Definitely won’t be easy.

I wish I had some solid news to discuss regarding the stadium, but I really don’t know what exactly is going on. As far as I can tell, there are still a few hurdles regarding laws, parliament, municipalities, and the environment, that need to be sorted out. Knowing how things in Greece work, I can only imagine this will all be worked out later rather than sooner…

There have been a few names for players thrown around for next season, with Dimitris Papadopoulos being one of the more recognizable ones (can’t say I’m extremely excited about the prospect of signing Papadopoulos, though I guess he will bring some experience to the squad).. An interesting name I’ve seen thrown around the past few days has been not that of a possible player for next season, but a possible coach:

Yes, apparently Lorenzo Serra Ferrer is being linked by some (not necessarily in Greece) to AEK… Now, I know it probably will just turn out to be another rumour, but I must admit, maybe its not the worst idea. He did have some pretty decent moments with us, and though he did leave after a while, lets face it: Whoever we do sign to be our coach will probably end up leaving the same way (if recent history is anything to go by).

The first time I saw his name linked to us, I laughed. But the more I think about it, the more I realize maybe it isn’t a completely crazy idea. We’ve had high profile Spaniards manage us, as well as lower profile Greeks, and even former AEK players recently. Managers have come and gone, and come again. Sometimes things improve momentarily, but they almost always take a turn for the worse eventually. At least with Ferrer, we’ll have a coach who will come to the team knowing its history and know what kind of pressure to expect from the supporters. He will come already having experience with life in Greece, and some of the management staff would even be players that he managed six years ago (wow, I can’t believe its already been that long). Who knows… either way, whoever we go with will be a risk, that’s a guarantee. So maybe it would be worth it to go with someone we at least somewhat know? Just my opinion..