PAOK Salonika produced an incredible late comeback to defeat Aberdeen at Pittodrie and all but end the hosts chances of advancing to the Europa Conference League knock-out stage.
Barry Robson’s men were made to pay for defensive errors after surrendering a two-goal lead with PAOK left on the ropes for spells. Second-half goals from Bojan Miovski and Dante Polvara had kept their dream alive before Kiril Despodov and Vierinha found the target to silence Pittodrie. It looked like the tie would end all square before referee Sebastian Gishamer was told to check VAR deep into stoppage time and awarded the visitors a penalty. Stefan Schwab stepped up and converted, which sent the Red Army home heartbroken.
The match remained finely poised going into the second half, until Miovski showed great composure to fire the ball beyond Kotarski and break the deadlock. The goal, which was Aberdeen’s first shot on target, sent the bulk of the 16,089 crowd berserk and that was quickly followed up with a second through Polvara, who calmly dinked the ball into the net – capping off a quick counter-attack.
Aberdeen’s advantage was reduced on 73 minutes when substitute Despodov pounced on a Richard Jensen slip and set up a tense finale. PAOK probed and were quickly back on level terms as Vierinha smashed the ball past Roos via a huge deflection.
Jamie McGrath was inches away from producing a dramatic winner before the game turned around completely with PAOK scoring a penalty six minutes into stoppage time to snatch all three points and ensure they remain Group G leaders.
Here are the five burning issues from the clash.
Fine margins
Aberdeen fans haven’t seen many home European victories in recent times, and after the disappointment the Europa League play-off defeat to BK Hacken brought plus their inability to find a winner versus HJK Helsinki, it is no wonder Pittodrie was absolutely bouncing when Polvara put them two goals ahead.
Even then, it was evident PAOK weren’t mugs and the sense of “not again” was clear when they were awarded a penalty so late on. It shows that you can’t take your eye off the ball in European competition and this will be a stark lesson to Aberdeen’s young squad going forward.
Changes fail to pay off
Robson opted for the same 5-4-1 formation that was effective against Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers this season, with Luis “Duk” Lopes dropping to the bench. That left Miovski as the lone striker and he worked tirelessly without much support – especially since the visitors commanded the majority of possession. Aberdeen mustered zero shots on target during a cagey first 45 minutes but it just required one breakthrough for Miovski to put his side in the ascendancy.
The defensive-minded set-up may have the Red Army questioning their manager’s approach but they did extremely well to contain PAOK’s danger men for 73 minutes, while capitalising on mistakes at the other end. What Robson won’t have been so pleased with is the fact Aberdeen conceded directly after he made a triple substitution and ultimately collapsed as a result.
PAOK produce memorable turnaround
Greek giants PAOK were on a run of just one defeat in their last 16 matches going into the match. And their boisterous away following were left shell shocked when Polvara’s strike rolled over the line.
Schwab was lucky to escape with just a yellow card for a late lunge on McGrath in the first half and that just set the tone. The Thessaloniki-based outfit were wasteful for large spells and were clearly caught cold at times. However, their brilliance came to fruition by full-time as they can now travel back to Greece on maximum points after a hard-fought victory.
Leading by example
It was a fiery encounter at times and Aberdeen captain Graeme Shinnie was ever present when the Dons needed to dig deep. He made multiple important tackles and was a driving force in ensuring his team kept their shape. The 32-year-old was pivotal throughout and it feels harsh to see him on the end of such a cruel end result.
Group G starting to shape up
The loss means Aberdeen are third in the table on one point from three games.
Elsewhere, Eintracht Frankfurt hammered HJK Helsinki 6-0 at Deutsche Bank Park to keep on PAOK’s toes and cement that second spot., while HJK, who are also on a solitary point, prop things up at the bottom.
