Asteras sees off PAOK to face Olympiakos in Cup final
Asteras Tripolis and Olympiakos will contest this season’s Greek Cup final in soccer after sealing their ticket for the May 11 showpiece during the weekend.
And while the elimination of Panthrakikos was a mere formality for Olympiakos, Asteras Tripolis managed to overcome mighty PAOK to reach the first cup final in its history.
Having lost 2-1 in the first leg at Thessaloniki, Asteras needed a home win by 1-0 or two clear goals, and secured a 2-0 victory on Saturday courtesy of two second-half goals by Spanish midfielder Fernando Usero.
PAOK has reportedly decided to part ways with coach Giorgos Donis, and it is only the issue of his compensation that is delaying the official announcement of the departure of the Greek manager ahead of the Super League playoffs.
Costas Mitroglou scored a brace in the first half at Komotini to lead Olympikos to a 2-1 win over Panthrakikos, with the Reds advancing on an 8-3 aggregate score. Dimitris Papadopoulos pulled one back for Panthrakikos six minutes from the end from the penalty spot.
The elimination of Panthrakikos means that all four teams that have entered the Super League playoffs will get a European ticket for next season, provided they get licensed by UEFA to do so.
The Super League has decided to stage a play-off between Panathinaikos and Xanthi on May 9 at Larissa that will decide which of the two teams – that finished level on points and goals between them – will take the sixth spot and benefit from the possible refusal by UEFA to issue a license to any of the teams in the playoffs.
