PAOK, although it made things difficult for itself for a half, triumphed 3-2 over Borac Banja Luka and took the first step towards qualifying for the third qualifying round of the Champions League.
The Double-headed Eagle of the North achieved victory with 3 goals from its central defenders, Koulierakis and Ekong, but raised concerns about its defensive organization as it gave the Bosnian champions the opportunity to score from its mistakes.
Now, the team of Razvan Lucescu focuses on next week’s return leg (July 31, 22:00), with the sole aim of advancing to the next stage.
Koulierakis scores, penalty by himself makes it 1-1
PAOK started the match lethargically, with Razvan Lucescu’s team lacking rhythm. In the 14th minute, the Bosnians threatened first with Lukic’s header, yet it was the Double-headed Eagle of the North that opened the scoring. In their first shot of the match, Koulierakis took advantage of Mourg’s corner execution and, with a powerful header, opened the scoring, giving his team the lead.
However, three minutes later, the young defender of the home team acted recklessly, colliding with Kotarski and handling the ball, “gifting” a penalty to Borac. Herrera took the penalty and defeated Kotarski, bringing the match level.
Koulierakis scored again, Borac responded before halftime
From that point on, PAOK became disorganized, making several mistakes while the Bosnian champions comfortably held the draw. However, the final minutes of the first half concealed two more goals. In the 39th minute, Koulierakis found the net again. Ozdoev took a shot from the edge of the area, the goalkeeper saved, and from close range, the 20-year-old center-back scored with a header to make it 2-1.
Borac, however, had the answer once more and equalized in the last action before the break. Tyson made a mistake in midfield, Vukovic launched a counterattack, made a cross, the ball went past Lukic, and Koulashin slotted it in for 2-2.
The defenders secured the victory
The second half started at a lower tempo, but PAOK quickly found a third goal. Again from a corner, the Double-headed Eagle of the North took the lead once more, with Ekong heading in to make it 3-2.
Following that, the hosts managed their lead well, with Lucescu’s players attempting for a fourth goal that would give them a greater advantage for qualification. In the 77th minute, in the virtually last significant move of the match, Samata found himself alone in front of an empty net, but Meyers managed to get his foot in, and his shot hit the post and went for a corner.
The remainder of the match held no surprises, and thus the two teams scheduled their rematch for next week.
Team line-ups:
PAOK (Razvan Lucescu): Kotarski, Ekong, Koulierakis, Sastre, Baba, Ozdoev (68’ Kamara), Schwab (85’ Tsiggaras), Despontov (69’ Zivkovic), Mourg (60’ Konstantelias), Tyson, Brandon (68’ Samata).
BORAC BANJA LUKA (Bojan Puzigaca): Siskovski, Herrera, Karolina, Meyers, Kvrits (72’ Khrelia), Skorup, Grahovac, Vukovic (89’ Kavits), Savic, Koulashin, Lukic (89’ Hasukic).