Muslimovic, Ivic corral PAOK past OFI

By: Peter Katsiris | January 5th, 2009

A goal from Bosnia and Herzegovina international Zlatan Muslimovic, and another from Yugoslav compatriot Vladimir Ivic, gave PAOK its first win of the season as the ‘Dikefale tou Vorra’ cruised to a 2-0 win over Hraklion-based OFI Crete on Sunday. Knowing a wind would only allow PAOK to keep pace with league leaders Olympiacos, Fernando Santos’ men gave a resolute performance at the Toumba Stadium to rid them of an OFI challenge.

Taking little time to settle down, PAOK attacked down the flanks to commence the match and the first opportunity to net a breakthrough came on six minutes through a header by Vladimir Ivic off a cross from defender Filipos Darlas. Not challenged by the attempt, OFI goalkeeper Arkadiusz Malarz handled the ball well to deny the Serbian midfielder.

OFI registered its first chance of the match when Giannis Taralidis free-kick effort resulted in a corner for the Cretan thanks to a block by Greece international ‘keeper Kostas Chalkias.

Quickly at the other end, PAOK’s season long sniper Muslimovic made a great run before finding captain Pantelis Konstantinidis with a clever pass. From there the PAOK playmaker forced Malarz into his second save of the night as the Polish ‘keeper reacted quickly to block Konstantinidis’ well taken effort.

Three minutes later and PAOK had a optimum opportunity to open the scoring as Ricardo Veron played a pinpoint cross towards Vasilis Lakis. The Greek midfielder controlled the ball delicately, but he didn’t have the composure to take advantage of the opportunity and the former AEK player missed out on opening the scoring.

PAOK came much closer to scoring on twenty-seven minutes, but the only thing keeping the Thessaloniki giants from registering their first goal of the game was the post which rejected Miroslaw Sznaucer’s effort.

OFI looked desperate to create in offense and lack of options in attack saw OFI’s Stelios Sfakianakis resort to a long ranged effort in attempt to beat Chalkias. The Greece number one was unfazed by Sfakianakis’ strike.

PAOK’s long awaited breakthrough finally came just after the half hour mark, with a trio combining to give PAOK the lead. Ibrahima Bakayoko played the ball wide for Konstantinidis, who cleverly returned the pass back into the middle, where an alert Muslimovic was waiting and with little effort the Bosnian beat Malarz to give PAOK a 1-0 lead.

It only took eight minutes for PAOK to extend its lead as Toumba went into pandemonium as Ivic connected with Bakyoko’s curling shot to beat Malarz. The play started with Lakis providing a centering pass into the box, but what looked to be a harmless connection into the OFI box quickly turned into mayhem; it was the fault of OFI defenders, who fell into confusion after several deflections left the ball bouncing around in the box.

Holding their advantage until the second frame, PAOK looked to be in cruise control after the restart. OFI, meanwhile, struggled to cope with the pressures of a packed Toumba Stadium and nerves looked to have deprived the ‘Omilos’ of providing a challenged for the second ranked team in Greece.

The second half opened with many off target attempts from both sides, but OFI improved its shooting when Taralidis fired a blast towards Chalkias on sixty nine minutes.

At the other end PAOK caught off guard and Muslimovic was fortunate enough to be on breakaway against Malarz. Fortunes favoured the goalkeeper in the end, as the former Atalanta striker was denied by the on-loan Panathinaikos keeper.

The storyline concluded with few chances for PAOK, which was satisfactory for the fans in the stands. Their hard work in the opening half was more than enough to defeat a struggling OFI side, whose New Year’s hopes were dented with a Thessaloniki road trip.

PAOK 2-0 OFI Crete FC
Muslimovic 34′, Ivic 42′

Yellow Cards:
PAOK – Darlas 40′, Contreras 55′.

OFI Crete FC – Sfakianakis 6′, Isa 21′.

PAOK (Fernando Santos): Chalkias, Konstantinidis, Marcos Antonio, Darlas, Bakayoko, Muslimovic (82′ Anastasakos), Contreras, Ivic (73′ Balafas), Veron, Lakis (75′ Vieirinha), Sznaucer.

OFI Crete FC (Ioannis Matzourakis): Malarz, Barcauan, Taralidis, Simic (71 Dimoutsos), Popovic (71′ Arvanitis), Stavrakakis, Isam Sfakianakis, Manousos, (82′ Kostovski), Kounenakis, N’ Doye.

Referee: Lazaros Polatian

Venue: Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece.