The week PAOK B let the summit slip
AE Larisa 1–0 PAOK B for the reserve side in Super League 2, on a day that mattered badly for the table (7). PAOK B conceded early in Larisa and, by the account of their own club site, were the better side as the game wore on but never equalised (7). Three wins in four for the home side, who now sit level on points at the top of Super League 2 (4). That is the shape of a division PAOK B were supposed to be chasing.
This is not the first team's loss. It has nothing to do with the 12 points and the second place. Separate squad, separate competition. But inside a club that has spent a decade selling a pipeline as its competitive edge, the B team dropping points in Larisa is the kind of result that gets noticed at Nea Mesimvria.
The first team is where it should be
Four wins from five: 4–0 at home to Levadiakos on August 23, 2–1 away at Atromitos on August 30, 2–0 at home to Aris on September 13, 3–1 away at Panetolikos on September 20 (1). The only blemish is the 3–1 at Panathinaikos on September 6. Second place, 12 points, +7. That is a title race PAOK are in, not one they are watching.
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So the B team result stays in its own box. The men's side has lost once in five league games and answered the derby win over Aris with a controlled away performance. Whatever is being built in Larisa is not stalling the first team.
Back on the grass, and one face missing
Training restarted at Nea Mesimvria on Sunday, September 27, with Ivan Savvidis present and several new faces in the group (6). The club's own update flagged injuries, with Hatzidiakos, Luchet, Aritz, Giannoulis and Despodov among the names mentioned (6). That is a lot of established bodies on one injury list going into a restart.
The squad is also short of its internationals, who were still away (6). So the first sessions back were about the players who never left, plus the new arrivals, before the full group reassembles. Which of the five is anywhere near a return is the open question.
The Academy keeps winning
PAOK Under-15 won 4–0 in Souroti on Sunday morning (5). Vakoufaris scored in the fifth minute from a Doumbis pass and the youngsters set the tone from the first whistle (5). Next up for them is Panathinaikos at home (5).
Put that next to the B team's afternoon and you have the whole youth picture in one weekend: the Under-15s scoring four, the B team losing 1–0. Both are development sides and both results belong to the academy, not to the first team.
What to watch
The first team's next league game, with Hatzidiakos, Luchet, Aritz, Giannoulis and Despodov all on the injury list from the club's own Sunday update (6). Watch the next training reports for who rejoins full work, because that list covers the spine of the squad.
For the B team, the response matters more than the result. They lost 1–0 in Larisa after conceding early, and the table did not get kinder (4)(7). The Under-15s host Panathinaikos next (5). Three different teams, three different questions, one club.
