OFI beats PAOK 2-1 at Pankritio Stadium, moves up to sixth in Super League

Cautious start in Heraklion

OFI beat PAOK 2-1 at the Pankritio Stadium in Heraklion on 25 October, in the eighth matchday of the Stoiximan Super League. Most accounts say the hosts were the better side over the longer part of the match, even though PAOK had more of the ball. Christos Kontis set his OFI side up in a 3-4-3, while PAOK coach Alessio Lisi kept his usual 4-2-3-1. PAOK created the first real chance after 40 seconds, when Zivkovic shot from a wide angle and goalkeeper Lilo saved it. The contest was physical, with duels growing sharper as the first half went on, and clear chances remained few.

Fountas breaks the deadlock

OFI struck in the 38th minute, when Aitor sent a long pass into the space behind the PAOK defence. Fountas chased the ball, and PAOK goalkeeper Antonis Tsiftsis misjudged it, letting it run under his legs into an empty net. Several outlets placed much of the responsibility for the goal on Tsiftsis. iefimerida.gr framed it as another goal for Fountas against PAOK, and he had also scored for OFI against Rennes in the Europa League league phase. The 1-0 scoreline held at half-time, although PAOK came close to an equaliser before the break.

Pressure, a missed chance and a penalty

PAOK pushed harder after the restart, keeping possession but finding few clear routes to goal. Lilo made several important saves, including efforts from Zivkovic. NewsIT reported that Hatzidiakos missed from an empty net in the 68th minute, which was PAOK's best chance of the second half. In the 84th minute, Babba's handball gave the referee a reason to point to the spot, and Androutsos converted the penalty to make it 2-0. About 800 PAOK supporters in the stadium expressed their frustration with boos as the visitors left Crete without a point.

Late reply and what it means for the table

Banza headed PAOK's reply in the 89th minute, giving the visitors a late hope, but OFI held on to the win until the final whistle. The result moves OFI to 13 points and sixth place, while PAOK remain on 15 points and fifth, according to iefimerida.gr. Several outlets described the win as ending four straight defeats in Greece and Europe, whereas in.gr counted one defeat and four draws in that stretch. Iefimerida.gr also drew a comparison with OFI's similar performance against PAOK in the recent Cup final in Volos.