Panserrikos – Lamia 1-1: Draw in Serres with Penalty and Disallowed Goal

The teams ended up drawing 1-1 in Serres during their first competitive playoff match of the Super League. The home team opened the score, but the visitors equalized, securing the crucial point in their fight to stay in the league. Lamia remained alive in Serres thanks to a Vlahometros penalty, while Panserrikos failed to hold onto the lead given by Salazar. Notably, the referee disallowed a Betancour goal for a 2-1 lead due to a foul. Both teams started the game cautiously, reflecting its importance. Around the 20th minute, phases began to develop more frequently. Lamia threatened first with Mazar Bilal hitting the post. Panserrikos responded and had their significant moment at the 26th minute when Ivan Kostits had to push Salazar’s shot into a corner. At the 34th minute, Kostits intervened again to stop Betancour’s diagonal shot after a pass from Salazar. The first half concluded with an impressive individual effort by Carlos Soria who overcame two defenders but was stopped at the last second by Volney Feltes. The second half began with a key moment for the ‘lions.’ Betancour and Hatzipavlos exchanged the ball, leading to Salazar finding himself diagonally opposite Kostits but his shot missed the target. Thanasis Staiakos was forced to make another substitution after Vasileios Sourlis left due to injury, followed by Giannis Doiranlis. Lamia pushed harder on offense but left many gaps. Serres came close to scoring again in the 61st minute with a counterattack involving three attackers against one defender, but Betancour chose to shoot instead of passing – missing the target. In the 65th minute, Panserrikos had another chance through Bergstrom’s header from a foul execution, stopping at Kostits’ left post before hitting the Serbian goalkeeper’s leg. Eventually, Juan Fernando’s team scored deservedly in the 67th minute as Betancour delivered a beautiful vertical pass to Salazar, who outran Salvadore Santos and assisted perfectly for the 1-0 lead. Two minutes later, Soria threatened Gughasasvili’s goal with a strong shot but without success. However, in the 75th minute, the visitors earned a penalty when Tosio Leek’s center-shot hit Stefan Omegong’s hand. Angelos Evangelou initially missed it but was informed by VAR, leading to the spot kick which Vlahometros converted for 1-1. Ten minutes later, Panserrikos believed they regained the lead through Salazar’s assist to Betancour, who beat Kostits ideally. However, VAR called Evangelou for a foul favoring Lamia at the start of the phase, which he didn’t originally log but after reviewing the monitor, disallowed the goal, sparking intense reactions from the home side. The 1-1 draw held until the end, with Panserrikos climbing to 29 points, returning to +7 from the penultimate Athens Kallithea FC. Lamia remains seven points away from Volos, currently in a safe position.