A heroic performance from goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski spurred Panathinaikos to a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Shakhtar Donetsk to officially confirm their spot in Europe this season.
The “Trifylli” defeated the Ukrainian side 4-3 on penalties following a 0-0 draw after extra time in the second leg of their Europa League third qualifying round tie on Friday morning (AEST), guaranteeing they will at the very least advance to the League Phase of the Conference League.
It was a game owned primarily by the defenders with both teams fighting hard to ensure neither took the advantage in the contest.
Chances were created sporadically throughout the contest (which was played in Krakow), though the most noteworthy event occurred in the 81st minute when midfielder Oleh Ocheretko received a second yellow card and was sent off.
Ocheretko’s red was closely followed by another that was handed to manager Arda Turan, who was fiercely upset with the decision.
The decision allowed Panathinaikos to largely control proceedings for the remainder of regular time and then also in extra time, but they failed to capitalise as the tie, after two full games, finished at 0-0 on aggregate and proceeded to penalties.
The shoot-out started terribly for the Ukrainian outfit with their first penalty taker, Yehor Nazaryna, hitting the left post.
Goalkeeper Dmytro Riznyk evened things up when he saved a terrible spot-kick from Panathinaikos’ third taker, Manolis Siopis, but Dragowski put them back in front after diving correctly to the bottom left to save fifth taker Kaua Elias’ shot.
The save gave Anass Zaroury the chance to win the tie for the “Trifylli”, but the Moroccan buckled under the pressure as he sent his effort over the crossbar.
Dragowski stepped up immediately after with another save, this time diving to the bottom right to keep out Pedro Henrique’s effort.
Daniel Mancini was enlisted to finish the job, and the winger finally put the game and tie to bed with a driving penalty that bounced in off the underside of the crossbar in the top right corner.
The result makes Panathinaikos the third Greek team to confirm their ticket in Europe this term, joining rivals Olympiacos (who qualified straight to the Champions League) and PAOK, who defeated Wolfsberger 0-1 away in extra time roughly an hour earlier.
The Thessaloniki giants, like the Greens, found themselves locked in a fierce battle as they also played out a tie that remained 0-0 after two 90-minute games.
PAOK, however, was able to find a tie-winning strike in extra time, thanks to a 115th minute strike from Mady Camara, meaning they too have secured minimum a berth in the League Phase of the Conference League.
AEK, like PAOK, ensured a win in extra time over Aris Limassol in a thrilling game at “Agia Sophia” Stadium that finished 3-1 (5-3 on aggregate) to ensure their place in the Conference League play-offs.
Enosi took the lead in the game in the 51st minute after Razvan Marin converted a penalty, though it was cancelled out just 11 minutes later via a spot-kick by Giorgi Kvilitaia.
The game progressed to extra time where AEK stepped up with two goals, the first from Dereck Kutesa (104′) and the second from fresh recruit Luka Jovic (109′).
AEK Larnaca fell 2-1 away to Legia Warszawa but won their Europa League tie 5-3 on aggregate, meaning they join Panathinaikos and PAOK in securing European football for this season.
The Polish outfit threatened to level the tie after scoring two early goals through Jean-Pierre Nsame (11′) and Mileta Rajovic (16′), though the Larnaca side restored some vital breathing room with a 52nd minute goal from Djordje Ivanovic.
The travellers kept the scoreline as it was for the remainder of the game, even after receiving a red card in the 72nd minute to Jeremie Gnali.
Omonia made light work of Araz Naxcivan in their Conference League clash, beating them 5-0 to win the tie 9-0 on aggregate.
The Nicosia club was up four-nil by half time with goals from Willy Semedo (9′), Stevan Jovetic (23′) and Ewandro (30′, 45+4′), and they added one more in the 79th minute through Mateusz Musialowski.
