Having not played since October 8th with their Scottish Premiership match at the weekend versus Dundee postponed due to bad weather - Aberdeen had plenty of time to prepare for this encounter.
Quite frankly, they could do with all the help they could get against a side with just one defeat in all competitions this term, a start to the campaign that included victories against HJK Helsinki and Eintracht Frankfurt on the opening two UECL matchdays.
Giannis Konstantelias, PAOK’s bright spark throughout, hit the post shortly before the quarter-hour mark after some deft dribbling inside the penalty area, while similarly quick feet earned him another opportunity, although he was unable to subsequently lob Kelle Roos.
Stefan Schwab also had a header saved but, all in all, Aberdeen deserved to go into the interval on level terms, if only because their defensive solidity limited the Double-Headed Eagle of the North to only a few clear opportunities.
With 15 minutes of the restart, the Dons were reaping the rewards of their hard work, racing into a two-goal lead before the hour mark.
The first came courtesy of Bojan Miovski, who remained composed to control Jack McKenzie’s bobbling cross and fire home for the ninth time this campaign in all competitions.
Then, as PAOK pushed forward in search of an equaliser, the hosts broke quickly, with Miovski this time turning provider for Dante Polvara. One-on-one with Dominik Kotarski, the 23-year-old made no mistake, chipping the ball delicately over the sprawling goalkeeper.
This was never going to be easy, though, and midway through the second period, the away team halved the arrears. Kiril Despodov had yet to touch the ball following his substitution, but his first involvement was to tap Konstantelias’ square pass into an empty net.
That goal gave PAOK something to build upon and, with six minutes left on the clock, they levelled things up to break Aberdeen hearts. Jonny Hayes' poor clearing header from a cross only found Vierinha and, from an angle, the Portuguese fired an effort beyond Roos.
Just as it appeared the two sides would have to settle for a point, salt was rubbed into Aberdeen’s wounds in the final minute of injury time, as PAOK were awarded a penalty following a VAR intervention when Slobodan Rubežić felled Vieirinha just inside the box. From the resulting spot-kick, Schwab sent Roos the wrong way.
A bitter ending to what had been a positive night for Aberdeen, while PAOK are three points clear at the top of the group and are closing in on a place in the knockouts.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bojan Miovski (Aberdeen)
