Blackhawk

That's what happens when you don't finish a game against weak teams.

Very good that we scored before half time. I have started thinking that the missed penalty will come and haunt us. I started drinking early after the penalty miss.

Tzimas

I like seeing Tzimas getting a start.

I watched the second half and Pablo got lucky. The score could easily have been 5:1 for AEK. They had 83% possession and missed a penalty. On top of that the ref was 80:20 in favor of AEK. I'll take the tie though. Always good when the big one from Athens drop points.

Squad for the game:

Yes it's at home. I would put money on that one too, but I would not be surprised if one of other options work in our favor too.

We have a fairly decent chances of being seeded in the top group in the Group Stage draw. Basically we need all the favorites in Europa League to advance and then one of the following things to happen in Europa Conference League: Osasuna to eliminate Club Brugge. First game Osasuna - Brugge 1:2 Brann Bergen to eliminate Alkmaar. First game Alkmaar - Brann Bergen 1:1 NK Rijeka to eliminate OSC Lille. First game Lille - Rijeka 2:1 APOEL to eliminate AA Gent. First game Gent - APOEL 2:0 Legia to eliminate FC Midtjylland. First game Midtjylland - Legia 3:3 Best chance to achieve this is probably the Legia advancement. Needless to say is that we need to take care of our own business first and eliminate Hearts next week.

And with that, the Greek participation with 2 days left is over. Overall we did ok. As expected Tentoglou took care of business. Drisbioti also did very well. There were some disappointments though. I expected better things from Frantzeskakis, Karalis, Tzengo and the triple jumpers.

We can still ask SL to postpone the game at least 48 hours before kick-off.

VS MATCHUP: PAOK Thessaloniki FC – Heart of Midlothian FC COMPETITION: Europa Conference League – Playoff Round – Leg 2 DATE: 31-August-2023 TIME: 20:30 EEST (17:30 UTC, 12:30 CDT, 03:30 AEST next day) CITY/STADIUM: Thessaloniki – Toumba Stadium Stadium (28,708) REFEREES: TELEVISION: Novasports Prime (Greece, Cyprus) PAOK’s History against teams from Scotland in European Competitions 2023-2024: Heart of Midlothian FC – PAOK 1:2 (Schwab-p, Zivkovic A.) - Att: ? – Europa Conference League (Playoff Round – Leg 1) 1998-1999: PAOK – Glasgow Rangers 0:0 - Att: 30,388 – UEFA Cup (QR1, Leg 2) 1998-1999: Glasgow Rangers – PAOK 2:0 - Att: 35,000 – UEFA Cup (QR4, Leg 1) GAMES: 3 WINS: 1 TIES: 1 LOSSES: 1

Good win. Should have no problem advancing.

Zivko 2:1

Thank god.

Another defensive lapse and 2:1 Hearts.

If we can improve our play in 2nd half we will win today. Their defense is not that good.

Unbelievable saves by Kotarski.

Tentoglou world champion in long jump with 8.52 meters on his last jump. Going into the sixth and last jump Tentoglou and Pinnock both jumped 8.50, but the Jamaican was leading since he had a better second jump. Tentoglou took care of that with his sixth jump and taking home the gold medal.

Schwab 1:1

And a penalty for us now.

1:0 No way that was a penalty.

Remember Amr Warda? Well he signed a new contract with Casablanca from Morocco earlier this month, but only 13 days later he was kicked out of the team for not showing up at practices and checking himself into a hospital without informing the team.

Drisbioti got the bronze medal, which is a great accomplishment. What a fighter at almost 40-years old. Emmanoulidou disappointed me in the semis. I really expected she would run better than what she did in qualifiers. Her time was 23.15. Great start by Tentoglou jumping 8.50 meters on his first jump. Three Jamaicans follow him after 1st jumps.

Except for Tentoglou (who barely qualified with his last jump) and Emmanoulidou it was another disappointing day for Greek athletes in Budapest. Karalis failed to clear 5.35 m and was eliminated. Tzengo did not even come close to the 60 meter mark and is out as well. Same for Skarvelli. She needed to throw over 72 meter to have a chance for the final. Emmanoulidou will need to have the race of her life to have a respectable placing in the semifinals. With the 23.00 she ran in qualifying, she will finish last in her heat. Tentoglou on the other hand is our only chance for a medal. I think he will get one, but it will be tough to get the gold.