Warzycha saves Panathinaikos
Thursday, October 3, 2002
Article summary
Panathinaikos FC 2-1 PFC Litex Lovech aet(Agg: 3-1) Greek hosts sneak through.
Article body
Panathinaikos FC sneaked through to the UEFA Cup second round thanks to two extra-time goals from Polish striker Krzystof Warzycha. The 2-1 victory over PFC Litex Lovech secured a 3-1 aggregate success for the Greek side.
Last-gasp goal
Leading 1-0 from the first leg in Bulgaria, Panathinaikos failed to impress at the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium and were made to pay for their lethargy in front of goal. Litex battled hard throughout the contest and took the game into an additional 30 minutes with a last-gasp goal in normal time.
Graf leveller
Argentinian striker Claudio Graf made the breakthrough to give the visitors hope of pulling off one of the shock results of the night against a team that impressed in last season's UEFA Champions League.
Super sub
However, the shock of going behind on the night proved a wake-up call for Panathinaikos. Veteran forward Warzycha, the club's 37-year-old all-time leading scorer, found the net once in each half of the extra period to save the hosts' blushes. He had only come on the pitch 16 minutes from normal time as a substitute for Michalis Konstantinou.
