Tsiknaki Saves Last-Second Penalty as PAOK Draw 27-27 at AEK

By Taki Panos

Handball derbies are supposed to be decided by shooters. This one came down to two goalkeepers in the final 30 seconds. AEK and PAOK drew 27-27 in the A1 women's handball league on Monday, October 19, 2026, at the Georgios Kasimatis hall, after PAOK goalkeeper Emmanouela Tsiknaki saved a penalty with the clock already at zero, as Gazzetta and Sport24 reported. It was the fourth round of the season and the first big derby of the new campaign, per Gazzetta.

For readers new to Greek women's handball, this is the rivalry of the moment. PAOK beat AEK 3-1 in the championship finals in May, sealing the series with a 29-20 win at Mikra on May 26 for the seventh league title in the club's history, according to Gazzetta and ERT. AEK, who had finished first in the regular season, were in the finals for the first time, as Sport24 and Gazzetta noted. Their home hall sits inside the OAKA Olympic complex in Marousi, in the northern suburbs of Athens.

The stands were full on Monday, Gazzetta reported, and AEK gave the home crowd an early lift. They raced to a 3-0 lead and were 4-1 up after six minutes, per Gazzetta and Sport24. PAOK steadied quickly and pulled level at 6-6 in the 13th minute, according to Sport24, and from there the two sides traded goals all the way to 13-13, Gazzetta's five-minute splits show. Then the champions found an extra gear before the break and led 16-14 at halftime, as Gazzetta, ERT and the PAOK club report all noted.

PAOK came out of the locker room flying. The club's report, carried by PAOK Today and Paokmania, described quick, efficient attacking play as the visitors pushed their lead to five goals at 23-18 in the 41st minute, a score Gazzetta also recorded. Five goals is a lot of cushion in a derby. It is not enough, though, when players keep heading to the bench for two minutes at a time.

That is what turned the game. According to the PAOK report, a string of two-minute suspensions against the visitors gave AEK the opening it needed. Vyron Papadopoulos's side cut the gap to 23-21 by the 45th minute and to 24-23 heading into the last ten, Gazzetta reported, before drawing level at 24-24, per the PAOK report. Then the home side went in front. AEK led 26-24 with about seven minutes left, according to Gazzetta and Sport24, and suddenly all the pressure was on Dimitris Pelekidis and his PAOK team.

PAOK answered and tied it at 27-27 in the final minute, per Gazzetta. They then had a golden chance to win it from the seven-meter line, but AEK goalkeeper Eduarda Bavaresco saved Sanja Premovic's penalty with roughly half a minute to go, as Gazzetta and the PAOK report described. It was a big moment for the Brazilian keeper, who has been with AEK since February 2025, according to Sport24.

The game had one more twist. With time already up, AEK won a penalty of their own and a chance to take both points, as Gazzetta, ERT and PAOK Today reported. Erika Zeneli stepped up. She had been perfect from the line until that moment, Gazzetta noted. Tsiknaki read it and kept it out, ERT reported, and the derby finished 27-27.

It capped a huge day for the PAOK goalkeeper. Tsiknaki finished with 17 saves, according to PAOK Today and the PAOK club report, which named her the best player on the court. Gazzetta counted 16 saves before the final one, which adds up to the same total. She was also in goal for the 29-20 win that clinched last season's title, per Gazzetta, so AEK have now seen plenty of her. Big games seem to bring out her best.

On the scoresheet, AEK's Brazilian playmaker Andrezza Pazinho was the game's top scorer with 10 goals, according to the Gazzetta and Sport24 box scores, with Thais Fermo adding four and Zeneli and Despoina Fragkou three each. For PAOK, Olympia Andritsou led the way with six, Premovic had four, and Milica Grbavcevic, Lamprini Tsakalou and Eleftheria Trochidou scored three apiece, per the same box scores. Both teams converted three penalties, AEK from four attempts and PAOK from six, the two outlets listed.

The table explains why both coaches can live with a point, even if neither will love it. PAOK and AEK are level on seven points after four rounds, one behind Nea Ionia, the only team with four wins from four, according to Gazzetta's standings. Anagennisi Artas, the most successful club in the league's history with 12 titles, per ERT and Sport Report, sit fourth on five points after a 29-29 draw at Kamatero, Gazzetta reported. It is early, but the top of this league already looks crowded.

Next up is a break, and a busy one for many of these players. There is no A1 women's action on the weekend of October 24 and 25, ERT reported, because the national team is preparing for the Women's EHF EURO 2026. Coach Menelaos Danilos's squad flies to Cairo on Tuesday, October 20, for friendlies against Egypt and returns on Saturday, October 24, according to the Hellenic Handball Federation and ERT. Twelve of his 17 call-ups play for these two clubs, eight from PAOK and four from AEK, including Tsiknaki and Zeneli, per the federation's list.

My take: this was the best possible advertisement for a sport that deserves more attention in Greece. A full house, a five-goal swing, two penalty saves in the last 30 seconds, and a reigning champion who left with a point instead of a statement. PAOK will regret the suspensions that let AEK back in. AEK will regret the last shot. If these two meet in the finals again next spring, and on this evidence it is likely, that series will be worth watching. Greece's goalkeeping looks in good hands too.

The EURO itself runs from December 3 to 20, with Greece's games in Antalya, Turkey, per the federation and Palmare. PAOK fans will have plenty to talk about in Thessaloniki this week, and AEK supporters can also look back at how the club's men's team routed Anorthosis in the EHF European Cup. Keep an eye on our Greek Sports section for every big result. Monday's derby ended level. The rivalry is anything but.

Sources: Gazzetta, Sport24, ERT, PAOK Today, Paokmania, Sport Report, Palmare, Hellenic Handball Federation, A.C. PAOK, European Handball Federation.

Image: White and black flag with a double-headed eagle in PAOK colors by Sportingn, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0).