Rastoder Backheel Gives Panathinaikos 2-1 Cup Win Over Aris

By Taki Panos

Some cup nights need a hero, and some just need a heel. Panathinaikos beat Aris 2-1 at OAKA on Wednesday, October 28, in round four of the Greek Cup league phase, and the winner came in the 89th minute, when Elmin Rastoder flicked a low Kyriakopoulos cross past the Aris goalkeeper with a backheel. Kontouris had given the hosts a 10th-minute lead, Kadewere equalized for Aris in the 65th, and the greens made it three wins from three in the competition, as the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) and CNN Greece reported.

If the new format is still unfamiliar, here is the short version: the Greek Cup now opens with a league phase, with every club ranked in one table on the way to the knockout rounds. This was round four, played on Ochi Day, the national holiday, as the EPO schedule noted. Panathinaikos arrived a few days after a 1-0 Super League win over Volos that kept them top of the league, so the question was how a heavily changed line-up would cope with an Aris side in good form.

Both coaches rotated heavily, per Ant1 Live, and Jacob Neestrup's Panathinaikos struck first anyway. In the 10th minute Imran Louza slid a perfect through ball into the path of Kontouris, who sold the Aris goalkeeper a dummy and slotted home for 1-0. Ant1 Live named Louza the best player of the first half, and the Moroccan midfielder kept finding gaps behind the Aris back line. On a night of changed names, he was the one who made the whole thing look familiar.

Panathinaikos should have been further ahead. Pellistri sent a weak header wide around the half-hour mark and then glanced another one off target from a good position after more clever work from Louza, per Ant1 Live. Aris grew into the game before the break, though. Goalkeeper Pena gave the ball away to Rafa Mir outside the box and got away with it when Mir's finish lacked direction, and Charoupas then forced his way into the area to win a corner, as CNN Greece and Ant1 Live described.

The second half belonged to Aris for long spells. In the 49th minute a mistake by Palmer-Brown sent Jensen running at goal, and only good recovery work from Katris and a clearance by Tsapras ended the danger, per CNN Greece. Five minutes later Charoupas crossed from the left and Papasarafianos rose at the penalty spot, only to head just over the bar. Michalis Grigoriou's side was pressing high and winning the ball back, and Panathinaikos were hanging on.

Panathinaikos had one big chance to calm things first. Around the hour mark substitute Adino burst into the box from the left, beat Charoupas with a lovely dribble and went one on one, but the Aris goalkeeper made what CNN Greece called the save of the match. They paid for it in the 65th minute. Garre moved the ball wide to Papasarafianos, who cut it back across the six-yard box, and substitute Kadewere finished for 1-1, per Ant1 Live. Fair reward, honestly.

Neestrup's answer came from the bench. Levi Garcia, the Trinidad and Tobago forward, sent a shot from outside the box just wide in the 74th minute and then forced a stretching save over the bar with a longer effort in the 83rd. Then came the 89th minute. Kyriakopoulos whipped in a low cross from the left, and the North Macedonian striker Rastoder improvised a backheel that beat the goalkeeper. Gazzetta called it an excellent backheel. That is underselling it.

Neestrup was pleased but measured afterwards. "It was a difficult game, against a tough opponent that is in good form. We had to work hard to get to the win. Rastoder scored again, he is a kid who works hard," the Danish coach said, as Ta Nea reported (translated from Greek). Newsit carried the same message, with Neestrup also praising the players who had been waiting for minutes and took their chance.

He was also open about why he rotated. "It is important that we won on a day when we did not play very well, although we were good in the first half hour. We won, but we have an important game ahead, and we also wanted to give a chance to some players who do not get enough minutes to show how good they are," Neestrup said, per Gazzetta (translated from Greek). That important game is the derby against AEK on Sunday.

Aris deserve real credit. Grigoriou also changed his team, yet they created more of the clear chances after the break, and tvxs singled out Charoupas as outstanding down the flank. This was a side that came in on a good run, a few days after a 3-1 win over Atromitos in Thessaloniki. They stay on four points in the cup table with a 3-3 goal record, per Gazzetta, and will feel they left OAKA with nothing to show for a strong hour.

The table now has a familiar look. Panathinaikos and Olympiacos sit level on nine points, with Olympiacos ahead on goals (9-2 against 5-1) after their own 2-0 win at Marko earlier in the day, per Gazzetta. AEK have six points with a game in hand and were due at Toumba to face PAOK later on Wednesday night. According to tvxs, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos still have their head-to-head meeting at Karaiskakis to come, with a top-four place the target.

My take: this was not a pretty Panathinaikos performance, and Neestrup more or less said so himself. But cup league phases are won on nights like this, when the rotated eleven is flat, the opponent is better for half an hour, and somebody finds a moment. Kontouris and Louza showed the coach they can carry a game, Rastoder keeps scoring, and the key starters got a rest before AEK. That is a decent evening's work, even if Aris will grumble about it.

Next up for Panathinaikos is the derby with AEK on Sunday, and you can bet the rested legs will be back. If you are heading to Athens for a game, our Athens guide has ideas for the rest of your trip. To follow Panathinaikos and every other Greek club this season, keep an eye on our Greek Sports section. Three from three, with a backheel to remember.

Sources: Hellenic Football Federation (EPO), CNN Greece, Gazzetta, Ant1 Live, tvxs, Ta Nea, Newsit.

Image: Panathinaikos FC crest, via Wikimedia Commons (public domain).