PAOK and Atromitos have both progressed to the Europa League qualifying play-offs by seeing off their opponents in the second leg of their third round qualifying ties on Thursday evening.
In Athens, Atromitos defeated Sweden’s AIK Solna 1-0 to advance 4-1 on aggregate, but not before home fans were forced to endure a 50-minute stoppage early in the second half due to a power failure. When play resumed, Atromitos’ Brazilian import, Marcelinho, provided the spark of brilliance which won the game when he pounced on an AIK error, produced a fine solo run and scored a 67th minute winner.
In Slovakia, PAOK also progressed in its tie against Spartak Trnav, drawing 1-1, for a 2-1 aggregate score, but not without some nervous moments for fans. PAOK missed chances to put the Slovakians away early in the match only for Spartak to square the tie with a 35th minute penalty goal to Erik Sabo. However, PAOK rallied after the break and scored an equaliser from Dimitris Constantinidis following an excellent cross by Nikos Korovesis.
Yiannis Skondras then received a straight red in the 66th minute but the team from Thessaloniki held out to progress to the draw for Europa League play-offs alongside Atromitos and PAO. The draw takes place on Friday.
Source: Kathimerini