Late slip fails to dampen Anorthosis ambition

Anorthosis Famagusta FC still believe they can clinch a place in the knockout stages despite the 2-2 draw with Werder Bremen on Wednesday which allowed Panathinaikos FC to claim second place in Group B.

Win needed
Anorthosis wasted a two-goal lead as they were pegged back by Bremen in Nicosia, while Panathinaikos secured a surprise 1-0 victory against FC Internazionale Milano in Italy. Henk ten Cate's side are now a point and a place ahead of Anorthosis, who must now produce a first away win of the campaign in Athens on 9 December to join Inter in the last 16.

'Got punished'
"We have no choice now," said French midfielder Vincent Laban. "We have to go to Greece and win; it's as simple as that. We need to go into the game and give everything, and try our best one more time." Nikos Nikolaou – who scored his side's first goal after coming off the bench at half-time – also believes in his side's chances, though he admits his team can afford no more mistakes. "There is still hope for us and things, I believe, are still in our hands. A win in the last game will do it, but we need to put in a massive effort," said the 35-year-old, who also conceded the 72nd-minute penalty that allowed Diego to instigate Bremen's comeback before Hugo Almeida levelled three minutes from time. "Today we made mistakes and we paid for them because at this level you get punished. That's football."

'Fighting spirit'
Dutch defender Jeffrey Leiwakabessy also sees light at the end of the tunnel which leads to the Greek capital. "We are a little bit disappointed because we were leading by two goals towards the end and then we conceded twice. The positive thing is that we didn't lose and we are now looking forward to the game with Panathinaikos," he said. "If we play like this – with the same fighting spirit – then anything can happen.

Bewilderment
"I'm not sure how we managed to concede the two goals like this in such a short space of time," continued Leiwakabessy. "I don't know how it happened. We need to look at what we did wrong, and make sure we don't allow it to happen again." Laban was equally baffled at how his side had let two points slip through their grasp. "It's all rather confusing to tell the truth. I do think, overall, the result was fair though, especially when you see the amount of possession that they had. However, when you throw away a two-goal lead like that towards the end, you can't help but feel disappointed."