The Future Falcons Green Team bid farewell to the Al Abtal Cup, after losing in the quarterfinals to Greece’s PAOK FC, by two goals to one.
The match started evenly, with a slight advantage to the Greek team, who threatened Faris Al-Juhani’s goal on several occasions. As the match settled into its rhythm, PAOK started to turn the screw, and in the 32nd minute, Gkidersos controlled the ball on his chest on the edge of the penalty area and drilled a powerful strike into the back of the net.
The Future Falcons tried to get back into the match in the following minutes in an attempt to equalise, but their possession of the ball did not produce any real threat to Nikolakolis’ goal, the first half ending with a 1 goal lead to the Greek team.
The Greens’ attempts to find a way back into the match continued in the second half. In the 55th minute, striker Turki Al-Shehri found the back of the net and equalised the score, taking advantage of a mistake from PAOK’s defence who were left floundering trying to clear a cross. However, the Greek player Giannis Gitersos was able to add to his goal tally and put his team back into the driving seat in the 69th minute, after a great individual effort, picking his spot and slotting the ball calmly past the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.
Despite more chances towards the end of the game and both teams’ best attempts to add to the score line, they did not manage to trouble the scorers anymore. The match ended 2-1 in favour of PAOK, who booked their place in the semi-finals of the Al Abtal Cup, while the Future Falcons Green Team’s journey ended at the quarter-final stage despite some standout performances in the tournament.
