Neither Panathinaikos nor Olympiacos were able to grab an advantage in the first 90 minutes of their Round of 16 Greek Cup tie, setting up a massive decider next week at “Georgios Karaiskakis” ground.
The two “eternal enemies” of Greek football played out a 1-1 stalemate at “Leoforos” Stadium on Thursday morning (AEDT) in the first match of their Cup tie, piling all the pressure on next week’s second leg.
The “red-whites” struck first on the verge of half time, courtesy of a goal from former Greens midfielder Sotiris Alexandropoulos as he guided the ball into the left side of the net following a corner (45′).
The “Trifylli” found their reply in the 65th minute when striker Fotis Ioannidis headed the ball past goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis from a corner.
Panathinaikos created some late chances to go in front, though ultimately were unable to convert them and both sides will now have to earn their place in the quarter-finals in next week’s decider.
Similarly, AEK and Aris will also decide their fate next week after drawing 0-0 at “Agia Sophia” Stadium.
The result is a very positive one for the Thessaloniki side as they can now hope to book their place into the next stage of the cup with a win at their own home ground.
PAOK secured their spot in the quarter-finals with a 0-2 away success over Volos in their second leg, winning the tie 3-0 overall.
The “black-whites” went ahead through a strike from young playmaker Giannis Konstantelias (17′) before midfielder Stefan Schwab ensured the win in the 73rd minute.
PAOK will now face Panserraikos in the next round after their 1-1 home draw with Asteras Tripolis helped them progress 3-1 on aggregate.
The Arcadians gave themselves a fighting chance to get back into the tie when striker Vasilios Mantzis scored a corner header, but the hosts restored their two-goal lead on aggregate with a headed goal by forward Kosta Aleksic (55′).
The remaining second leg fixtures in the Round of 16 will take place next week.
