The Niki Volou – AEL in Panthessaliko ended without a winner, in the premiere of the playoffs of Super League 2. The maroons took the lead with Pedrosos, but the hosts leveled the game with Gavrielidis, for the final 1-1 which was shaped by first part.
The game started with recognition for the two teams, with Niki and AEL looking for a way to the opposing goal, without however having any classic opportunity. The visitors stepped up and began to threaten Garavelis as the first quarter ended, with Papageorgiou in the 17th minute making a powerful shot but seeing the Niki keeper drive away for a corner, where the 0-1 eventually came from . From the execution and while the ball remained alive in the home team’s box, Pedroso took the header after a header-pass by Plegas and in the 17th minute he opened the scoring, freezing Panthessaliko! In the next minute, we almost made it 0-2 when Mavria’s strong shot was countered and narrowly missed.
Niki tried to recover, took steps on the field and found the equalizing goal in the 28th minute. Gavrielidis became the receiver of the ball and managed to level the game with his head, amid the apotheosis of the people in the stands. The game leveled again, with AEL the first team to threaten for a second goal, with Kostas Papageorgiou heading in from a good position but seeing his effort go wide of Garaveli’s left crossbar in the 38th ′. The final minutes of the first half ended without anything of note, with both teams going to the locker room with the score at 1-1.
The second half started at a low tempo, with both teams avoiding big risks in order not to leave open spaces at the back. AEL started after the completion of an hour of the game to come forward and threaten first with Pedrosos in the 65′, before Nino came two minutes later to mark Garaveli’s left vertical post with a drift shot from the heart of the area! The 1-1, however, remained, with both teams entering the final stretch of the match, looking for the coveted goal of victory.
In the 74th minute, Kassos rose higher than everyone, took the header, but Souloukos managed to block in his corner, while Panagiotidis’ shot in the 77th minute ended up high. In the 86th minute, AEL squandered a great opportunity for the 1-2, when Garavelis, with an impressive intervention in his corner, impressively saved Papageorgiou’s direct free kick, while Miranda’s well-judged free kick went wide at the end of the 90′. Somehow the match ended with the score at 1-1.
Niki Volou (Eleftheropoulos): Garavelis, Topalidis (75′ Miranda), Stikas, Andreou, Anastasiou, Gavrielidis, Kyriakidis, Litainas (71′ Pettas), Panagiotidis (87′ Makatsaria), Politis, Tzioras (46′ Kassos)
AEL (Dermitzakis): Souloukos, Kaloutsikidis (79′ T. Papageorgiou), Maidanos (79′ Papadopoulos), Iliadis, Giannarakis, Plegas, Andrada (87′ Thomaidis), Kossonou (66′ Nino), Pedrozo, K. Papageorgiou, Mavrias.