Ajax Amsterdam and Panathinaikos set a UEFA competition record with 34 penalties needed to decide their shootout in the Europa League third qualifying round on Thursday.
After a marathon shootout lasting 25 minutes, Dutch giants Ajax finally prevailed 13-12 after each team had 17 attempts from the penalty spot.
The previous longest shootout in a UEFA competition came in the final of the 2007 European Under-21 Championship when the Netherlands beat England 13-12 after 32 attempts.
They were still some way short of the world record, however, which was set in Israel’s third tier in May when Dimona and Shimshon Tel Aviv took 56 kicks to decide their shootout.
Ajax’s hero was goalkeeper Remko Pasveer, who made five saves and scored with his own attempt.
Six players shot twice in the shootout. After Brian Brobbey failed to score for the second time, Jordan Henderson was scheduled to go next for Ajax if they stuck to the order from the first round of takers.
However, Anton Gaaei instead stepped up to convert the winning kick after Tonny Vilhena missed for Panathinaikos.
“Anton asked me if he could take the penalty if Panathinaikos missed,” Henderson told Ziggo Sport.
The teams had been deadlocked 1-1 on aggregate after extra time as Panathinaikos’ 1-0 win at the Johan Cruijff Arena in Amsterdam canceled out Ajax’s win by the same margin in Athens a week earlier.
Ajax, which finished a disappointing fifth in the Dutch Eredivisie last year to miss out on the Champions League or even a direct path to the Europa League, will face Polish side Jagiellonia Białystok in the playoff round.
Information from ESPN Stats & Information contributed to this report.
Source Agencies
