PAOK’s most pivotal recreation on this loopy march to the highest and the entire turnaround it has achieved was not a derby. Fairly just because within the play offs and the “scorching” dates, Lucescu and the footballers have been 100% targeted and scored many factors.
If one observes rigorously what occurred, one finds the next: Out of the 18 accessible factors within the matches with AEK, Panathinaikos and Olympiakos, PAOK received 13! Only some will not be thought of.
He defeated Panathinaikos twice (3-2 in Leoforos and 4-1 in Toumba), took 4 factors from AEK each occasions by turning the video games round and scoring within the ultimate (2-2 in New Philadelphia and 3-2 at house ) and secured a three-pointer (win in Thessaloniki, loss in Neo Faliro) towards Olympiakos. Quite the opposite, PAOK made enjoyable of the groups that didn’t declare something within the further video games of the championship and this looks as if an oxymoron.
The defeat by Ari on the primary matchday of the play offs (0-1 on the house of PAOK) made most individuals imagine that the Romanian coach will throw within the towel. How would his fighters resign? Error. As a substitute, everybody got here ahead and tried to cowl the handicap. With the sport in Lamia that got here instantly after the defeat in G. Karaiskakis, it’s maybe essentially the most decisive in the entire historical past.
Returning, subsequently, to the prologue, when PAOK went to Lamia on April 24, they discovered a group that was counting objectives in its passive. And but, the Black and Whites discovered themselves again on the scoreboard and saved the tie proper within the final minute. And when was the final minute? At 100′ (!) it was 1-1, as a result of the referee Katsikogiannis saved a ten minute delay. Exaggeration; Clearly.
However the skilled 34-year-old Schwab, the captain of the group this season, with one other purpose and even a header, gave oxygen to PAOK. If one other defeat got here then, everybody would discuss, and fairly rightly, about nice composure.
PAOK remained standing regardless of shedding important floor, however morale didn’t drop. And he discovered the braveness to battle again, to make it “three out of three” with shut victories within the derby he gave Toumba and now to see the “ultimate” with Aris and a brand new success. Which is not going to come simply and everybody in Dikefalos is aware of that.