August 22, 2023
The Champions League qualifiers have now reached the Play-Off round, where the winners enter the CL group stages and the losers drop down to the group stages of the Europa League.
Antwerp were Belgian champions after a dramatic end to the 2022/23 Jupiler Pro League. With two games to go Antwerp knew a home win over Union St Gilloise would give them the title, and they led 1-0 against 10 men with 10 minutes remaining after having missed a bagful of chances to clinch the points. However, a late own goal meant a 1-1 draw.
In their final game, they trailed 1-2 at Genk as the game moved into added time. The title now seemed to be going to Union as they held a 1-0 home lead over Club Brugge with one minute of normal time left, but an under-strength Club side stunned Union with three very late goals, which then looked to have then handed the title to Genk. But it wasn’t over yet, and in the 4th minute of added time Toby Alderweireld hammered home an unlikely equaliser for the Great Old to snatch the championship from Genk as Antwerp won the league for the first time since 1957. The destiny of the title changed three times in less than 5 minutes !
In the close season, Ecuadorian centre-back William Pacho left to join Eintracht Frankfurt for €9M and midfielder Pieter Gerkens signed for Gent on a free transfer. In their place, Swedish winger Jacob Ondrejka ( 1 cap ) was bought from Elfsborg for €1.5M and Nigerian forward Chidera Ejuke ( 3 caps ) arrived on a one year deal from CSKA Moscow. Young French centre-back Soumaila Coulibaly is on a season’s loan from Borussia Dortmund.
Antwerp have made a mixed start to the new season, winning both home matches ( Cercle Brugge 1-0 and Kortrijk 6-0 ) but lost 0-1 at Anderlecht and drew 1-1 at OH Leuven. Dutch striker Vincent Janssen has scored 4 times.
AEK won the 2022/23 Greek title by finishing 5 points clear of Panathinaikos, with Olympiakos, winners of 15 of the last 18 championships, a further 5 points behind. Trinidad & Tobago striker Levi Garcia was their top scorer with 14 goals.
AEK translated into English is the Athletic Union of Constantinople, with the club being founded in 1924 by refugees from Turkey after the Greco-Turkish War. Their traditional colours are yellow shirts with black shorts, and their emblem is a double-headed eagle. Ex Brighton and Hove Albion manager Gus Poyet was AEK’s coach in 2015/16.
AEK have not started their domestic league campaign yet, but overcame Dinamo Zagreb in a remarkable tie to reach the Play-Off round. Their home first leg was postponed following riots between fans of both sides in the afternoon before the kick-off in which one AEK supporter died. As a result the return leg in Zagreb became the first leg, where a 90th minute goal gave AEK a 2-1 victory.
However, it was a different story in the second leg as Dinamo took a 2-0 lead and looked to be going through as the game moved into added on time. AEK pulled a goal back in the 92nd minute to level the aggregate score, and were then awarded a penalty for handball after a lengthy VAR review. It was one of those decision you think unfair when it goes against your side but think it is a penalty when it is in your favour !
Garcia’s spot-kick was saved by Livakovic but the rebound was smashed home by Croatian defender Domagoj Vida, ironically an ex-Dinamo player, for a winner in the 10th minute of added time. The TV replay suggested that Vida had encroached into the area when the kick was taken but this didn’t appear to be reviewed so the goal stood !
The AEK side that started the second match against Dinamo Zagreb featured only one Greek, full-back Lazaros Rota ( 12 caps ), who has previously played for Fortuna Sittard and Slovak side Zemplin Michalovce. Tonight, there was also just one Greek player, this time keeper Georgios Athanasiadis, with Rota being rotated to the bench.
Notable names in their line-up tonight included veteran Moroccan playmaker Nordin Amrabat ( 64 caps ), who had a spell at Watford, Iranian left-back Ehsan Haj Safi ( 129 caps ), ex-Grasshoppers, Hoffenheim and Eintracht Frankfurt Swiss midfield Steven Zuber ( 51 caps ) whilst captain Damien Szymanski has made 14 appearances for Poland. Ex-Lille and Monaco French defender Djibril Sidibe had an unimpressive spell at Everton, whilst former Bristol City Swedish winger Niclas Eliasson was on the bench.
Antwerp were able to make extra tickets available the day before the match when it was announced that a number of places reserved for UEFA were not going to be taken, and these were on sale for between €60-90, but no tickets were being sold on match-day. The regular tickets had already been sold-out, with prices between €35-50.
The match was being shown on TNT Sports in the UK and Bet365.com made Antwerp 5/4 favourites, with AEK at 11/5 and the draw at 23/10.
The weather at the 21.00 local time kick-off was dry after a sunny day, with temperatures around the 22 degrees mark.
Both sides appeared to be extremely relaxed in the tunnel before kick-off, with AEK captain Szymanski happily chatting with a mascot and Antwerp manager Mark van Bommel having a long chat with AEK’s Levi Garcia, who had played in the Netherlands with AZ Alkmaar. It all seemed a bit too friendly with everyone smiling and no sign of pre-match nerves !
Antwerp immediately sent a long probing ball to test the centre of the AEK defence but a mystery foul was awarded against Ondrejka, who if anything was the one having his shirt pulled. After Balikwisha did well on the left and delivered the ball towards the penalty spot, Ekkelenkamp turned inside the AEK area but was unable to make a decent contact with his shot and the ball was easily gather by the AEK keeper.
AEK’s first chance arose in the 11th minute. Amrabat was left in space on the right wing and his pin-point cross was met by Garcia, but his header from 10 yards was straight at keeper Butez, who made a routine save. It was a good chance wasted.
Antwerp’s Bataille then produced a “robust” challenge on Sidibe but was lucky to avoid seeing yellow.
Antwerp opened the scoring in the 16th minute. The lively Keita, who had impressed with his ability to retain possession in the opening phases, showed good skill to feed Vermeeren, and the 18 year-old showed good vision to thread a pass to Janssen behind the square back-line in the right-hand channel for the ex-Tottenham striker to sweep the ball left-footed across goal into the far corner.
AEK responded strongly, and in the 20th minute a lay-off teed up Szymanski, but his 20 yard effort went 20 yards wide. The visitors were looking dangerous every time the 36 year-old Amrabat was on the ball on the right hand side, and although looking like a night-club bouncer, he possessed a delicate touch and a box of tricks.
Amrabat then skinned Bataille on the right wing, and another great cross again reached Garcia, but this time the Trinidadian headed over from 10 yards.
The first yellow card of the game was finally shown in the 25th minute when Szymanski chopped down Keita as the Antwerp midfielder burst past him when attempting to make a break from his own half.
AEK continued to look dangerous and Garcia produced a great spin from a pass from Szymanski to break away from Alderweireld but the veteran Belgian international did well to recover and produce a good diving block to divert the goal-bound shot off for a corner.
Amrabat then showed good feet to send Janssen in the wrong direction and a reverse pass found Szymanski in space on the right side of the Antwerp area, but his low cross was intercepted by the lunging Coulibaly for a corner from inside his 6 yard box.
Amrabat’s trickery continued as a superb ball down the right-hand touchline enabled Garcia to run past Coulibaly, but from a tight angle the shot ended up in the side netting. Garcia appeared to injure himself in the process and after some lengthy treatment, which enabled both sides to have a drinks break, he was unable to continue and was replaced by Ponce.
Another AEK attack saw Amrabat feed Zuber but the return pass was cut-out by the diving Coulibaly. Antwerp though were still capable of creating their own danger and a flowing move and a smart dummy by Ekkelenkamp enabled Balikwisha to make a strong run from his own half deep into AEK territory, and his pass behind the visitor’s backline released Janssen, but his low cross from the by-line went just behind Ondrejka near the penalty spot. The ball made its way to De Laet, and his 25- yard thunderbolt was headed away from goal by Moukoudi.
The last action of the first half belonged to AEK. Sidibe’s pass found Zuber down the right wing and his pull-back was dummied by Gacinovic to give Pineda a sight of goal, but the shot from the edge of the area hit Vermeeren to deflect for a corner.
Antwerp probably just deserved their half-time lead but with the influence of Amrabat, AEK were far from being out of the game.
AEK made a change at the interval, with Jonsson surprisingly coming on for Szymanski, who had looked to be one of AEK’s better players in the first half, and the visitors had the first chance of the second period as an intricate move released Haj Safi, but Butez made an excellent save from the close-range drive from a tight angle.
The pivotal moment of the match occurred in the 50th minute. Keita spoilt an otherwise excellent performance with a sloppy pass towards Bataille, who dived in to prevent Gacinovic taking possession, but only succeeded in bringing down the Serbian. The referee immediately brandished the red card, which initially looked harsh, but the TV replay showed that there was a nasty contact on the ankle, and it was actually a good decision by French referee Letexier.
It was Antwerp that actually created the next chance in the match, but after Ekkelenkamp headed down for Janssen to take aim, the shot was high, wide and handsome. Antwerp though soon signalled their intent by bringing on two defenders, setting out their stall with the aim of holding onto their lead and looking to counter at pace.
Ponce was able to get ahead of Coulibaly to meet a cross from Haj Safi, but his header went comfortably over the bar.
Antwerp’s counter attacking approach was soon visible as Balikwisha was able to maintain possession and cut-inside from the left, but his shot for just outside the area was easily saved by Athanasiadis.
Vermeeren’s smart pass then gave De Laet the opportunity to race into the AEK area, but after attempting to cut-back inside he collapsed to the floor holding his ankle. The TV replay showed there was no contact and it was not a penalty, but De Laet remained on the ground, leaving his 9 team-mates to defend the ensuing AEK attack. Quite frankly, it looked pretty embarrassing and could have proven costly for his side.
AEK made a triple substitution in the 67th minute, meaning they had used up all of their options. Interestingly, Amrabat, who had looked less threatening in the second period, and perhaps tiring had been kept on, with the coach hoping maybe for one more piece of brilliance to conjure up an equaliser. As a result of the changes, Amrabat moved to the left side of midfield.
AEK continued to dominate but the Antwerp defence stood firm and appeared to be unduly troubled. Neat passing regularly saw them take play back into the AEK half. Coulibaly again produced another fine tackle to deny Araujo, and Jonsson was crowded out by a combination of Coulibaly and Vermeeren.
Keeper Butez was called into action again in the 77th minute, producing a fine diving save to keep out a 20-yard effort from Mantalos. Petulant behaviour from the Greek side then denied them a good chance in the 83rd minute, when Araujo was found in space, but an unnecessary shirt pull by Eliasson on Vines to stop a potential challenge was spotted by the officials and the opportunity wasted.
Antwerp nearly added a second goal as Coulibaly burst through the off-side trap to be clear on goal, but the centre-back could only prod the ball past the keeper and the wrong side of the far post.
Amrabat produced a last flicker and his sweet chip into the danger zone was met by Ponce, but the header produced another good save from Butez. The Greek side’s frustrations continued when Alderweireld headed off for a corner, but the referee awarded a goal-kick.
AEK continued to press, but Butez confidently dealt with another cross into his area, and in the 4th minute of added time, a good ball played in by Amrabat found Moukoudi, but the centre-back on the stretch couldn’t make a decent contact and pushed the ball wide, and probably took the ball off the toes of Araujo.
The final whistle went shortly after, and Antwerp deserved to hold onto the one goal margin as they were not particularly troubled after being reduced to 10 men. Still, it is all to play for in the second leg in Athens next week.
Highlights : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pjaOsOfQ0Y
Royal Antwerp : Butez – De Laet, Alderweireld, Coulibaly, Bataille – Keita, Ekkelenkamp ( Vines ), Vermeeren – Ondrejka ( Van Den Bosch ), Janssen ( Muja ), Balikwisha
AEK Athens : Athanasiadis – Sidibe ( Eliasson ), Vida, Moukoudi, Haj Safi – Amrabat, Pineda, Zuber ( Araujo ), Szymanski ( Jonsson ), Gacinovic ( Manatolos ) – Garcia ( Ponce )
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