It seems unbelievable but it is very true! AEK took the lead in the score in Armenia with Levia Garcia and made everyone believe that they had laid the foundations for qualification for the Conference League playoffs, but the continuation of the match against Noa found the Greek team living an absolute nightmare, conceding three unimaginable goals .
After the first exploratory minutes in the game, AEK slowly began to gain ground and in the 8th minute they had their first chance from a stoppage time, with Gacinovic executing a masterful free-kick from the left and Mukudi winning a header in the heart of the defense by Noah, sending the ball wide of the left post.
This phase was a compass for the rest, with the Almeida players not facing the slightest threat from the home team and slowly trying to transfer the ball and the pressure to the opposition frames. In the 21st minute, Levia Garcia took the header at the height of the small area after Eliasson’s cross, but the ball went out for a corner, only to smile a few seconds later.
And that’s because from the corner taken by Gacinovic, the striker from Trinidad and Tobago made an impressive leap at the second post and took a cannon header to send the ball into the net and put his team in front of the score (0- 1) in the 22nd minute, with his fifth goal of the year.
Until half an hour, AEK had not received the slightest “disturbance” in their large area and it seemed that they were holding the ball, but against the flow of the match, they saw their home goal being violated.
This came in the 33rd minute and Strakosa was largely responsible for inadvertently feeding an opponent, with Pinson weaving beautifully into the area (Vida, Simanski and Pineda were unable to stop him) and sending the ball low into the Albanian international keeper’s left corner. (1-1).
This was also the only time that Noa threatened AEK in the first 45 minutes, with the home team taking courage from the equalizer and balancing the game until the two teams went to the dressing room for the break, sending a message to the Union that they will not surrender without a fight.
In the second half, the pace of the match dropped even more and the first good moment was Santos’ shot from a lateral position in the 55th minute which was saved by Strakosa, with AEK trying to take the reins but having difficulty moving the ball well and to transfer it to the opposing frames.
As if it wasn’t enough for the Union to lose their momentum in attack, in the 67th minute they suffered a second cold spell during the match, much bigger than the first, after conceding a goal that comes once every… 10 years.
Noah’s goalkeeper, Candarevich, made a powerful volley in the 67th minute and with the help of the strong wind (his timing favored the Armenians in the second half) brought the ball into the AEK penalty area, with Strakosa miscalculating and he sees the ball burst in front of him and ends up in the back of his goal (2-1).
In the very next minute, Almeida made a triple change, putting Lamela, Pereira and Koita on the pitch and by the 80th minute he had completed his moves by bringing on Hadjisafi and Amrabat, with AEK looking obviously affected by the goal and the match to be played on the strength, with the home team winning most of the duels.
Koita had the appetite but could not equalize for the Union while on the other hand Noa flirted with the third goal as well but Strakosa reacted positively just before the final, in two dangerous shots from the home side.
The seven minutes of stoppage time did not bring a change of scenery, but the nightmare for the Union continued in the 90+8′ after conceding a third goal. Čančarević volleyed and Manvelian stepped up to meet Strakosa to beat him with a double effort to make it 3-1, sealing the biggest win in Noah’s history and putting AEK ahead of the rematch at the OPAP Arena on 15th of August.
- NOA: Cantsarevic, Gonzalo Silva, Milkovic, Thorarinson, Santos, Gambos (46′ Gregorio), Shangare, Manvelian, Pinson, Aias (46′ Avanesian), Ferreira
- AEK: Strakosa, Rota, Vida, Mukudi, Callens (72′ Hadjisafi), Simanski, Pineda (68′ Pereira), Eliasson (78′ Amrabad), Ljubicic (68′ Lamela), Gacinovic (68′ Coita), Garcia
#Big #win #AEK #running #rematch
