All the pressure now rests on the second leg after neither PAOK nor Olympiacos could penetrate their respective defences in a tense opening game of the Greek semi-finals.
PAOK failed to maximise their home match advantage against the Piraeus club on Friday morning (AEST), with both teams settling for a 0-0 draw in the first rematch of last year’s Cup final.
Olympiacos managed to find the back of the net through winger Giorgos Masouras, tapping in from close range, though he was called offside (10′) which was verified by VAR.
The hosts and defending champions had their best chance of the game just past the half hour mark when winger Andrija Zivkovic had his effort from inside the box saved by goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik (32′).
Some resolute defending ensured few threatening chances as well as no advantage for either team to take into the second match of the tie.
PAOK will have to dig deep to recover their winning mentality in time for the reverse fixture next week, now going five matches unbeaten in all competitions which includes their devastating European exit.
Panathinaikos defeated Lamia 1-0 at home on Thursday morning in the second semi-final, putting themselves in a great position to reach their first Cup final since 2014.
Greens striker Fotis Ioannidis released a fantastic finish from just inside the box on his weak foot, with the ball flying into the left-hand side of the goal (19′), scoring against the Fthiotida side for the third time this season.
Lamia goalkeeper Bojan Saranov produced a stellar performance, protecting his goal on numerous occasions to keep his side in the game, though the visitors were unable to find a goal themselves.
The “Trifylli” dominated the entire match but were left to rue a series of missed opportunities, failing to convert many of their chances into goals, giving their opponents the ability to regroup and cause a monumental upset in the second leg.
Greek Cup semi-finals second leg fixtures (AEST)
Lamia-Panathinaikos: 01.00, Thu 28 Apr
Olympiacos-PAOK: 03.00, Thu 28 Apr