The three Greek teams competing in the Europa League – cup-holders Panathinaikos, runner-ups PAOK and Asteras Tripolis – completed their European campaigns for this season on a sour note.
Last season cup-holders Panathinaikos drew with Portuguese side Estoril in Athens, bringing one of the most disappointing seasons in Europe for the “Greens” to an end. With both teams having failed to progress to the next round, Panathinaikos coach Anastasiou tried out many of the team’s reserves.
Despite having starting off rather strong and eventually opening the score in the second half with Nikos Karelis (55’), the Athens-based team was unable to capitalize on its dominance on the pitch with a second goal. Estoril substitute Kléber (87’) equalized the game for his team in the final minutes of the match, denying Panathinaikos its first win in the competition.
Similarly, Asteras Tripolis had also failed to progress to the next round in the Europa League, meaning that the game against Partizan in Belgrade was of little consequence. Nevertheless, Asteras coach Staikos Vergetis was careful in the match and thanks to some wonderful saves from goalie Kostas Theodoropoulos, the Arcadians drew with the Serbian champions and left the competition with their head high. This was Asteras’ finest foray into Europe and left many promises for the future.
Thessaloniki’s PAOK had hopes of progressing to the next round of the competition and needed to defeat French side EA Guingamp, with who they were tied. Fans in Thessaloniki cheered Angelos Anastasiadis’ team throughout the game, despite Claudio Beauvue (7’) giving Guingamp an early lead. PAOK captain Stefanos “Klaus” Anastasiadis (22’) leveled the game shortly later with a successful penalty kick.
Tension grew in the second half, with both teams hitting the woodwork, before Beauvue (83’) put his team back in the lead once again at a critical point in the game. Despite some last moment efforts though, PAOK was unable to respond and met defeat, bringing this year’s European campaign to an end.
