Ghana international Baba Abdul Rahman scored a late equaliser to earn PAOK a 1-1 draw against Norwegian side SK Brann in the first leg of their Europa Conference League play-off final on Thursday.
The left-back was introduced into the game in the 65th minute to replace Dimitrios Giannoulis and produced an important contribution in the closing stages to ensure PAOK avoided going into next week’s second leg with a deficit.
On the matchday, PAOK created the better opportunities in the opening half but were unable to convert their chances.
Baptiste Santamaria came close in the 16th minute when he rose to meet a corner, only to see his header narrowly miss the left post.
Four minutes later, Dimitrios Chatsidis also went close after receiving a precise pass inside the penalty area, but his effort drifted just wide of the right post.
The visiting team, SK Brann, eventually broke the deadlock 12 minutes into the second half.
Kristian Eriksen was left unmarked inside the PAOK penalty area after receiving a pass from Joachim Soltvedt and made no mistake, firing into the bottom-left corner to put the Norwegian side 1-0 ahead.
With PAOK facing defeat on home soil, Baba Rahman stepped up in the 80th minute.
The Ghanaian defender found himself in the right position when a corner was delivered into the box and headed the ball underneath the crossbar to level the contest.
His goal ensured PAOK avoided a home defeat and gave the Greek side a good result to take into the decisive second leg in Norway next week
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