PAOK put Greek league title party on hold after draw at Larissa

The Thessaloniki club needed a win to clinch their first Greek league title in 34 years and the first to be won by a club outside Athens since 1988.

Dimitris Pelkas scored a 55th-minute goal for the visitors, who have been in a class of their own this season having won 24 and drawn four matches. However, the hosts levelled nine minutes later through Nikola Jakimovski to spoil any planned title party.

PAOK are now on 74 points, with second-placed Olympiakos Pireaus on 66 with a game in hand.

Success-starved PAOK last won the title in 1985 while Larissa are the last club outside Athens to win the league back in 1988.

PAOK missed out on the title last season following crowd trouble in matches against Olympiakos and AEK Athens and with controversial Russian-born businessman Ivan Savvidis storming onto the pitch in the latter game with a gun in his holster.

Savvidis has been banned from football stadiums for three years. (Reporting by Karolos Grohmann Editing by Christian Radnedge)