ΣΤΗΡΙΞΕ ΤΗΝ ΠΡΟΣΠΑΘΕΙΑ ΜΑΣ & ΓΙΝΕ ΜΕΛΟΣ ΤΟΥ OFICRETE

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23/02/2020 - 22:19

OFI in need to beat Lamia next Sunday (video)

ΑΕΚ Athens - OFI Crete 3-0

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Daniele Verde scored twice as a resurgent AEK continued their impressive form with a convincing 3-0 home win over OFI, with the below-par Cretans offering little resistance at the OAKA.

Petros Mantalos headed AEK in front after five minutes from a Marko Livaja cross, and Verde made it 2-0 just three minutes later. The Italian forward then grabbed his second of the night and his team’s third in the 31st minute.

That ended the match as a contest, and the second half was merely a formality with Mantalos going close twice to add to the score, but in the end the scoreline remained the same with Massimo Carrera’s AEK taking all three points.

The defeat is also a damaging one for OFI, who still occupy sixth place - the final Playoff spot - as they are now locked in a four-team battle with Asteras Tripolis, Atromitos and Xanthi for that ticket to the Playoffs on what promises to be an exciting final day of the regular season next Sunday on March 1

THE MATCH

AEK came into this match back on home soil and with a six-game undefeated run behind them having won five of those including last weekend’s 1-0 win away to Aris.

OFI, meanwhile, had everything to play for as they began the night attempting to hang on to the sixth and final playoff position. After winning just once in their previous ten matches, Georgios Simos’ side picked up a crucial victory against Atromitos last week to boost their confidence ahead of this trip to the OAKA.

But as AEK have shown in recent weeks, they are a team in red hot form - and that showed with an electric start which yielded two goals in the first eight minutes.

The first came in the fifth minute when Marko Livaja drifted out wide on the left before sending over an excellent cross into the penalty area. Mantalos rose to meet it and powered a diagonal header into the corner past OFI goalkeeper Dimitris Sotiriou, who had already made a couple of early saves from the AEK skipper.

Just three minutes passed before AEK had the ball in the back of the net again, and this time it was Verde who held off three OFI defenders before scoring with a clinical side-footed finish to make it 2-0.

On the half-hour mark it was game, set, and match to the Kitrinomavri as Verde grabbed his second goal of the game after playing a neat one-two with Nelson Oliveira. Verde’S effort was initially ruled out for offside, but the decision was overturned after a VAR review and the goal stood.

That gave an impressive AEK side a comfortable 3-0 half-time lead, and all they had to do was see out the second half to clinch another convincing win.

The pattern of the game did not change much in the second half. AEK were still doing all the attacking, simply at a slower pace, taking their time and content to sit back on their lead and allow OFI more possession and space.

But the Cretans could not find a way to open up the home side’s defence, and if more goals were to come, it seemed they would be coming from AEK.

That was not to be the case though as AEK failed to add to their goal tally and the match petered out with the hosts happy with their 3-0 success.

STARTING LINEUPS

AEK:16 Tsintotas (Gk), 2 Bakakis, 3 Lopes, 4 Economou, 23 Hult, 6 Krsticic, 5 Szymanski, 7 Verde, 20 Mantalos, 10 Livaja, 18 Oliveira

OFI: 32 Sotiriou (Gk), 47 Braun, 34 Korovesis, 18 Giannoulis, 5 Koutroubis, 29 Mellado, 21 Vaz, 12 Zoao, 19 Tsilianidis, 20 Figueiredo, 11 Semedo

credits: www.agonasport.com

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