So, a lot has happened since my last post, and not much of it was good.
Before talking briefly about today's match, Ill mention the other two we played this week, even
though Id much rather not.
So, PAOK-AEK in Toumba. Of all the derbies we play each season, the PAOK one rarely gives as
much trouble as others.
Yep, 2 for 2 in the championship already. Who would have thought? Certainly not me (if I read
correctly, we had 2 points by this time last season). And really, THESE are the games we must be
winning. Take the 07-08 season for example, where easily avoidable home losses to teams like
Iraklis and Panionios cost us the championship.
Really not sure where to start this one, but I guess Ill begin with Scocco transfer (though I'm
sure most of you have heard by now). Yep, Nacho Scocco is no longer a player of AEK. And I really
don't know what to say about this... literally.
Three seasons he's been with us and in during those three seasons he has left us with so many
great memories: his two goals in the 4-4 Cup Final, his two goals against Oly to give us the win in
Karaiskaki, his two goals (one of them being an outrageously beautiful shot, as were most of his
goals) against Aris, his two goals against Vaslui, his fantastic shot against Panionios, a number
of goals against PAO.
So, I know its a bit late, but I figured I'd get a short review of the season up (even though
its a season, one of many, that I would ultimately like to forget about)..
I guess it would be most appropriate to start from the beginning though in all honesty, I can
barely remember much from the first half of the season!
So, just a little over a week after we won our first Cup in so many years (despite the rather
depressing events which followed after the match), us AEK fans were treated to yet another pleasing
weekend. This time, however, the attention was not only on our football team, but also our Handball
guys, a group of players who have fought hard and gave everything they had to offer to the club for
the past three years.
Alright, so I'm not sure whether I should start with the positives, or the negatives from this
match. Either way, I'm sure most of you have read about yesterday's events by now.
So, the big day had come. For months I had been waiting for it, as I'm certain you all have
also, and slowly the hours passed by, one by one, until it was time to finally head off to OAKA for
my first time in almost five months.
Im pretty sure Ive used that title before but Im going to use it again because I feel it works
for the occasion. Today, in the same stadium, against the same team we so miserably drew 0-0 with
five days ago, we witnessed a performance from AEK that was unlike anything we've seen yet this
season (in my opinion).
We made it much more difficult for us than we needed to but, thanks for Michel's last second
GOLARA, AEK are through to the semi-finals!
I'll admit that I did miss the second half due to this lovely snowstorm we had today in Ontario
and the shoveling which was required, but I managed to catch the first even though it wasn't all
good news.
Davide Mateo, 23 year old centre back signed on loan by AEK, had his first training session with
the team today and nothing but praise has been said about him.
According to team mates and management, he is excellent with the ball at his feet and has an
excellent sense of the pitch and positioning.
What a sweet, sweet victory for all of us AEK fans today! A 2-0 victory over PAO in their own
stadium, with both goals being scored by Libe.
The match was a fairly even affair throughout with neither side absolutely dominating
possession. The match started with a very low pace with neither team looking to risk too much
offensively too early in the game.
We NEEDED a win and thankfully that's just what we got! Now, before we get too confident, this
was Panserraikos we played. An AEK team that we the fans want should beat this team EVERY match,
home and away, and comfortably, rather than having us threaten the team not to return if they lose.
Yes, we got the win, but let's not forget the fact that we still have many problems which need to
be resolved, ASAP.
I was really looking forward to this game today as it was going to be my first AEK match that
I'd be seeing live since last season. I'm now sitting here wondering what I was all excited about
in the first place!
First match of the new year after a fairly quiet holiday period and we needed a win to keep a
good grip on third place.