PAOK put aside its introversion and problems, looked Bran—a team with over 20 official matches under its belt—in the eye, and rose to the occasion.
The 1-1 draw at Toumba leaves the series wide open between the two teams, who will battle it out for a spot in the Conference League’s League Phase.
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With Alessio Lissi fielding a makeshift starting 11—without the suspended Andrija Živković, Yiannis Konstantelias, who recently left the team, and with Anestis Mithou as the sole striker, PAOK managed to completely dominate the Norwegians in the first 45 minutes, creating a string of chances which, however, the players of the “Double-Headed Eagle of the North” failed to capitalize on.
In the second half, a completely different team took the field at Toumba Stadium, with Brann taking control of the match against a listless and lackluster PAOK.
The Norwegians opened the scoring in the 57th minute with a goal by Eriksen, and with the Thessaloniki side posing no threat to the opponent’s goal, it seemed as though defeat was inevitable.
But then the “black-and-whites’” savior stepped up and, with a header by Rahman Baba in the 80th minute, he leveled the score and the series, reigniting the hopes and morale of the entire team.
*photo source: KYPE
