Panathinaikos took the first step towards qualifying for the third qualifying round of the Europa League tonight, defeating Botev 2-1 at OAKA. Diego Alonso’s side wasted several clear-cut opportunities and were hampered by an individual error from Villena.
The game started perfectly for the Greek club, who opened the scoring in the 8th minute with Geremegev. The Swedish forward wasted a great opportunity in the 13th minute, in the 37th minute Vilena failed to score, which Bakasetas did in the 45th minute with a well-placed penalty kick.
Panathinaikos pressed for a third goal early in the replay, and had a chance with Vagiannidis in the 54th minute, but their performance dropped off after the 60th minute. In fact, after a big individual error by Vilena, Korosecs made it 2-1 with an empty net.
The “Greens”… responded with two goals from Djurisic in the 77th minute, but Botev pressed on late on, with Panathinaikos anxiously holding on to their 2-1 lead.