BEROIA - PAO

[MadBoy13]

another tough game for pao... after the kako apotelesma in Tripoli prepei na fanoume pio prosextikoi gia na min tin ksana patisoum...

- MATCHDAY 5

- Sunday Oct 21

- 19.00 Local Time

- live from Supersport

[athinaios]

If we show up like in Tripoli, then at best we can draw. Our team has a problem breaking through teams like this; I mean it's not the occasional screw up.. we seem to be wasting points all over, when our main opponents (OLY, AEK) seem to find ways to win even if they don't play good football. So, something's wrong, something is lacking in our team.

One excuse could be that Peseiro never had all the players at his disposal. We'll see as time goes one. But, every game counts... there are only 15 other teams... short schedule.

If we don't beat Tripoli and Veroia then we don't deserve the title. Veroia (like any other team now) know that they can beat PAO! This makes it harder for us.

I'm hoping for a victory thinking that our players realize they can't screw up again so early...

[PAO_OR_DEATH]

0-3

solid confidence building win

[HOLLYWOOD]

1-0

[bar7]

are we gonna be the welcome mat for this team too?? :blink:

[Crazy]

are we gonna be the welcome mat for this team too?? :blink:

I dont think so,after what happen with Astera,i believe your team will make a statement here.0-3

[Tsoglani]

Guys dont underestimate Veroia.

This team is i think the only Team that PAO managed to win only twice in Veroia in his whole history atleast in championship.

[DUDE]

PAO is struggling away from home to a small side AGAIN!!! 2nd half, 0-0.

[drakos13]

0-0

1 shot

46 mins

[PAO_OR_DEATH]

is it still 0-0??

[PAO_OR_DEATH]

0-1 the radio just said, who scored??????????

[PAO_OR_DEATH]

0-2 salpi!!! i think

[NikosVazelas]

0-2 final... ivan and salpi the goals. horrible pitch..players sliding everywhere.

pao 8 shots 5 on goal. veria 5 shots 3 on goal

possesion pao 57% veria 43%

boring game but pao found a way tp beat a defensive team.

[cyberfish]

Veria - Pao 0-2

Scorers: Ivanschitz 49' with a shot from 25m, Salpigidis 92' with a header off a Dimoutsos cross from the right.

I am not sure what the papers and the sports shows will say, but this was a pretty bad performance once again. Like Nikos said, the pitch did not help at all (actually, it did help the Ivanschitz shot bounce in front of the goalkeeper erratically before it hit the net), and most of the game I felt as if they were playing with one of these plastic balls you buy at the periptera :rolleyes:

Besides the two goals I don't remember another chance for us except a cross from the left that Ivan sent into the goalkeepers hands so it never got to be a chance. On the other hand, Veria had several very good shots that we were lucky to see them go wide. If we were playing a better team today we would be crying once again. Our defense was shaky and Veria with a little luck could have put a couple on the net, but their players sent their best chances wide.

Our fullbacks were as bad as I can remember, and both our DMs (especially Tziolis) had a game they would like to forget. Add a non existent Karagounis and Romero, and you get the picture. We could not exchange more than a couple of passes before the ball was out of bounds or on Veria boots.

The story of the game is the substitudes. Ivanschitz scored with a long range shot on his first touch after he came in for Romero, and Salpigidis scored a nice header after a Dimoutsos cross. Both players came in the game in the last 23 minutes.

Malartz was steady once again, but was exposed a few times by the defense. Morris was uncharacteristically mediocre, and Vintra was beyond frustrating to watch. Nilsson had major problems on his side, and Goumas was ok.

The entire starting midfield we fielded today was pretty bad. Tziolis, Mattos, Karagounis, and Romero were sub-par, but Ivanschitz and Dimoutsos breathed some life into the line.

Our forwards were easily dispossessed even under favorable conditions (isolated one on one) and failed to maintain possession or to create any space on offense.

Good win, but we are light ages behind where we should be performance wise.

Some notable statistics:

Salpigidis scored for the third time in 4 games (75% of the games he played), and he leads the team with 3 goals.

Papadopoulos has not scored in five games (in two he came in as substitude), but he has scored 4 goals already in the UEFA cup

Dimoutsos leads the team with 2 assists.

Tziolis, Nilsson, and Malartz are the only players who have played every single minute in the first five games so far.

Next game: Pao - Aberteen (Thu 25-Oct) (Live on NET)

[Tsoglani]

(actually, it did help the Ivanschitz shot bounce in front of the goalkeeper erratically before it hit the net),

actually as far as i could see in the replay it didnt bounce on the ground but it had some slight contact with one of veroias players.

As for the rest of the game it was awful.

Karagounis shouldnt have played today after his injury and the missing trainings.

IMMO after the first half karagounis, romero, Tziolis should have been substituded by Ivanschitz, Dimoutsos, Salpigidis. Instead of using Tziolis as an DM he should position in the second half Ndoi as an OM behind Salpigidis and Papadopoulos.

Ivanschitz and Dimoutsos in the position they played anyway today. In this we would have a 4-3-1-2 or 4-1-3-2 which would allow us to make quite some chances.Ndoi would function like a hidden striker and he would be our playmaker when we went through the middle.

Nevertheless i am glad that we at least managed to win once even if we didnt play aswell as we should.

[cyberfish]

actually as far as i could see in the replay it didnt bounce on the ground but it had some slight contact with one of veroias players.

You are right tsoglani. After seeing the goal in Athlitiki Kyriaki it looks as if the shot passed through the open legs of a defender, made contact, and bounced a couple of times before it went in. I wrote my message after the game and I did not catch the detail live.

Veria had 4 or 5 better shots at our goal but could not connect. Ivanschitz took two shots, both on goal, and one connected.

As for Karagounis, it looks like he is running the show. In the 60th minute Peseiro had Dimoutsos ready to enter. The camera showed Karagounis arguing to let him in two more minutes. Dimoutsos finally entered the game in 70' :blink: For those who did not see the game, after Ivanschitz came in, Karagounis went to the right where Romero was. While Romero did not contribute anything offensively, he was busy covering well defensively. When Karagounis took his place, Veria had a party on that side until Dimoutsos came in.

Up until yesterday we had one thing going for us: opponents could not come face to face with our goal to save their life. Yesterday, Veria found themselves in shooting position at will.

Let's hope we don't repeat this performance against Aberteen.

[Tsoglani]

While Romero did not contribute anything offensively, he was busy covering well defensively. When Karagounis took his place, Veria had a party on that side until Dimoutsos came in.

Well in my opninion Kara at least when he is fit is more fitting in the 10ari possition than at the wings. Peseiro should position him more in the center behind the strikers (ofcourse this wouldnt allow him to play 4-4-2, which at least till now hastn shown great results like last year with Munioz aswell). I am still believing that a 4-3-1-2 would fit more to our team with either Karagounis as a 10ari or when he want be a starter Ivanschtz in that role. Both play in their National teams at that position very effectively.

When Eki returns i am definitely sure he will take this place in the middfield but we have to see what we do till then.

[bar7]

when EKI returns, we better hope he's EKI & not just another Gonzales

[cyberfish]

While Romero did not contribute anything offensively, he was busy covering well defensively. When Karagounis took his place, Veria had a party on that side until Dimoutsos came in.

Well in my opninion Kara at least when he is fit is more fitting in the 10ari possition than at the wings. Peseiro should position him more in the center behind the strikers (ofcourse this wouldnt allow him to play 4-4-2, which at least till now hastn shown great results like last year with Munioz aswell). I am still believing that a 4-3-1-2 would fit more to our team with either Karagounis as a 10ari or when he want be a starter Ivanschtz in that role. Both play in their National teams at that position very effectively.

When Eki returns i am definitely sure he will take this place in the middfield but we have to see what we do till then.

These are some good thoughts. I'll add some of mine to yours if you don't mind.

I think I said this before, but it was a while back. With the kind of fullbacks we have, we can't afford to play without support in front of them. This problem goes back to the Malezani years. We have not upgraded our fullbacks, so every coach is stuck to play with wingers at each end.

We can't afford to pull miflieders towards the center of the field. Doing that would require that our fullbacks support our forwards by stretching their side of the field wide. As long as we play with Vintra and Nilsson (or Seric or Darla), we will have to play two midfielders wide

It's also debadable what kind of player Karagounis is. He is a good midfielder, but he does not have the skills to be a "10" like we all mean a "10ari" to be. He does not have a very accurate long ball, he does is not known for his smart forward passes, and his dribbling skills take him as far as the nearest foul. IMO, the way he plays, he slows down the entire game for us. By the time he caries the ball 10 meters (and he does this way too often), half of the opposing team has barracked behind the ball.

[Tsoglani]

when EKI returns, we better hope he's EKI & not just another Gonzales

I agree with but since i am an optimistic nature i believe that we will see the best Eki we have seen. Even though i dont know which player id prefer to see when most of our players who miss from the middfield return.

I love Kara when he is at his great days

I dont want to miss ivanschitz though neither ninis

Nobody can throw Matos from his position

Dimoutsos is in my heart already

and Eki is returning too.

in which system could we place them all in the staring 11?

[cyberfish]

I agree with but since i am an optimistic nature i believe that we will see the best Eki we have seen. Even though i dont know which player id prefer to see when most of our players who miss from the middfield return.

I love Kara when he is at his great days

I dont want to miss ivanschitz though neither ninis

Nobody can throw Matos from his position

Dimoutsos is in my heart already

and Eki is returning too.

in which system could we place them all in the staring 11?

No problem mate Here is the lineup:

------------------Malartz--------------

Dimoutsos--Goumas--Morris--Leontiou

------------------Mattos--------------

Ninis---Gonzales--Karagounis--Ivanschitz

--------------van Nistelrooy-----------------

:tup:

[Tsoglani]

I agree with but since i am an optimistic nature i believe that we will see the best Eki we have seen. Even though i dont know which player id prefer to see when most of our players who miss from the middfield return.

I love Kara when he is at his great days

I dont want to miss ivanschitz though neither ninis

Nobody can throw Matos from his position

Dimoutsos is in my heart already

and Eki is returning too.

in which system could we place them all in the staring 11?

No problem mate Here is the lineup:

------------------Malartz--------------

Dimoutsos--Goumas--Morris--Leontiou

------------------Mattos--------------

Ninis---Gonzales--Karagounis--Ivanschitz

--------------van Nistelrooy-----------------

:tup:

:nw: :nw: :nw: :nw: :nw: :nw: :nw: :nw:

[Tsoglani]

I agree with but since i am an optimistic nature i believe that we will see the best Eki we have seen. Even though i dont know which player id prefer to see when most of our players who miss from the middfield return.

I love Kara when he is at his great days

I dont want to miss ivanschitz though neither ninis

Nobody can throw Matos from his position

Dimoutsos is in my heart already

and Eki is returning too.

in which system could we place them all in the staring 11?

No problem mate Here is the lineup:

------------------Malartz--------------

Dimoutsos--Goumas--Morris--Leontiou

------------------Mattos--------------

Ninis---Gonzales--Karagounis--Ivanschitz

--------------van Nistelrooy-----------------

:tup:

:nw: :nw: :nw: :nw: :nw: :nw: :nw: :nw:

Or we could play with a 3-5-2

after all both Vyntra and mostly Nilson aswell dont do much for defending

:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

[Crazy]

Congrats on your away win and the fact that you did not commited the same mistakes as you did in your away game with Astera.

[athinaios]

I think I said this before, but it was a while back. With the kind of fullbacks we have, we can't afford to play without support in front of them. This problem goes back to the Malezani years. We have not upgraded our fullbacks, so every coach is stuck to play with wingers at each end.

We can't afford to pull miflieders towards the center of the field. Doing that would require that our fullbacks support our forwards by stretching their side of the field wide. As long as we play with Vintra and Nilsson (or Seric or Darla), we will have to play two midfielders wide

Yes, most excellent point. This situation greatly affect how the team plays and to what strategy a coach can use.

I still don't think we have a good team, but one with some potential if we get every player healthy for the most part. With Ninis and Eki there might be some crowding, but here's a case when a good coach can manage players. As for Eki, I'd like to see the guy when he first came to PAO not the player who showed up after his first serious injury--he wasn't good.

Anyway, one more point: PAO's success in the past came because we had a solid defensive line; I haven't seen this in a long time since. Especially in Europe, you've got to have a solid defense.

Still can't understand why Vyntra is with us.... [this player is the luckiest ever! or, he's a blackmail artist :LOL: ...]