After an exciting game, Panathinaikos eliminated PAOK on penalties and got the ticket to the final of the Cup, for the second time in the last three years, but only the second time in the last ten years.
It was the first time in the history of the institution that qualification to the final was decided on penalties. He has never before reached either the doubles or singles semi-finals on penalties. Many were decided in extra time, others on away goal advantage, previously in a replay, but it was the first time that qualification to the final went through the penalty shootout.
First time penalty in Leoforo
At the same time, it is the first time in the history of Panathinaikos, that qualification was decided on penalties at the Leoforos stadium! And we say decided, because Panathinaikos had also scored a penalty in “Apostolos Nikolaidis” in 1972 against CSKA Sofia, but the match was canceled and repeated without a penalty being needed the second time.
It is also impressive that during this season Panathinaikos has found itself in the penalty shootout three times and passed in all of them, even having a different goalkeeper under the goalposts each time: On August 15 in Marseille against Marseille with goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli, on the 17 January against Olympiakos in “G. Karaiskakis” with Yuri Lodgin as the goalkeeper, and now against PAOK, with Dragovski as the goalkeeper.
In the five previous times, when Panathinaikos had found themselves playing penalties in the Greek Cup, they had only one success (defeat by AEK in the 1997 final, elimination by Aris in 2000, qualification with Apollon Kalamarias in 2007, elimination by Panionios in 2012 and Lamia in 2017).
Besides, Panathinaikos kept one more of its traditions: Never in the Greek Cup and in double meetings, when it has won the first game away from home, has it been eliminated.
Four times in arms with the qualification, PAOK!
PAOK found themselves in the first half of extra time getting a qualifying score, but a former player of theirs, Dimitris Limnios, in the delays of the… delays of the extra time, gave the kiss of life to Panathinaikos with his goal. His first goal after four years in the Greek stadiums, with the previous one he celebrated with the PAOK jersey.
In fact, Dikefalos found himself taking the lead three times in the penalty shootout, but he didn’t keep it.
And that’s because the Polish goalkeeper of Panathinaikos saved three penalties in the process, all at a point in time that, if the goal had gone in, his team would have been shut out. It was all three, that is… match ball in tennis terminology. Despodov’s 5th, Ozdoev’s, after Lemniou’s miss and Yoni Otto’s penalty after Arao’s crossbar. So PAOK will not be in the final, for only the second time in the last eight years!
They also failed to become only the second team in the history of the Greek Cup to qualify for the final, having lost the first semi-final at home. Only Aris has achieved something like this, when in 2005 they lost at home to Xanthi, but won away from home and qualified.
It is also impressive that Razvan Lucescu tasted elimination in the Greek Cup for the first time, in the five seasons he has been working for PAOK, since he had only been defeated in the Cup finals in his career in the “Northern Doubleheader”.
Source: epo.gr
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