Aris, although he did not impress with his performance, remained in the “white” draw against Panaitolikos and qualified for the final of the Greek Cup, thanks to the victory from the first semi-final with 1-0 in Agrinio.
The yellows managed their lead and will claim the trophy, 14 years after their last final, against Panathinaikos.
The Agriniotes fought as hard as they could and almost scored before the end of the match.
“Colorless” first part with Mars in control
Aris, as is logical, entered the match better with the team of Akis Manziou wanting to “lock” the qualification to the final as early as possible. The yellow ones imposed their rhythm from the start and only in the 3rd minute did they create their first chance with Veleth catching the header, which was misdirected and went wide. Before the end of the first quarter, the home side threatened again when Suleimanov, after a poor clearance from Mavria, took a one-on-one shot and missed from a favorable position.
Little by little, the Agriniotes raised their lines on the field and made their presence felt by stepping on the opposing area, however the two attempts of Nikos Karelis did not particularly worry Questas who was… a spectator for most of the half-time.
After the first half hour, the Thessaloniki team became more threatening. In the 32nd minute, Zamora made a powerful shot from outside the area, but the ball went wide, while eight minutes later the same player missed with projection, after Odubazio’s turn. The best moment in the first half came in the 45th minute. Suleimanov caught a powerful shot and forced Chavez into an impressive intervention, keeping it 0-0.
The 0-0 remained despite the chances of Panaitolikos and Aris advanced to the final
In the second half the tempo picked up as the visitors tried to press, leaving gaps in their defensive half. Peres with a strong shot in the 52nd minute, which went wide, created the first final for the “canaries” who were looking for a goal that would put them in contention for qualification. In the 63rd minute, the team of Yannis Petrakis lost their moment. Mavrias swung in from the right, but neither Pedro nor Sengelia made contact with the ball and Cuesta collected his second effort.
Aris did not take advantage of the empty spaces, while Panaitolikos once again made his presence felt. In the 71st minute, Huanpi took a low shot from the height of the area, but the ball went well past Cuesta’s right crossbar. In the 86th minute, the visitors missed their biggest chance to score. Bruno Duarte rose higher than everyone else and headed home, following Huanpi’s corner, but missed just short, with the Agriniotes unable to believe it.
It remained 0-0 until the final with Aris players, coaching staff and fans erupting in celebration for a return to the final after 14 years thanks to that Fran Veleth goal in the Agrinio match.
The compositions:
ARIS (Akis Manzios): Cuesta, Odubajo, Ferrari (90′ Embudo), Brambetz, Fabiano, Veleth (90′ Rose), Darinda, Manu Garcia (60′ Fetfajidis), Suleimanov (79′ Saverio), Zamora, Moron (79′ Ansarifard).
PANAITOLIKOS (Yiannis Petrakis): Chavez, Mladen (80′ Lomonaco), Br. Duarte, Tabitze, Maurias, Fr. Duarte (61′ Juanpi), Perez (80′ Tsingaras), Hadzitheodoridis, Torrejon, Sengelia (72′ Sergio Diaz), Karelis (61′ Joao Pedro).