AEL keep the pace, Anorthosis held to surprise draw by Pafos
CYPRIOT 1st DIVISION - MATCHDAY 13
| Date | Home Team | Score | Away Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15-Dec-18 | Doxa Katokopias | 3 - 4 | AEL Limassol |
| 15-Dec-18 | Ermis Aradippou | 2 - 4 | Alki Oroklini |
| 15-Dec-18 | Anorthosis | 2 - 2 | Pafos |
AEL Limassol earned a high-octane 4:3 win away to Doxa Katokopias, Alki Oroklini took down Ermis Aradippou 4:2, and Anorthosis were held to a surprise 2:2 draw at home to Pafos FC.
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Doxa Katokopias hosted AEL Limassol at the Makario Stadio in Nicosia. The goals flew in early and often in this one. In just the 6th minute, AEL opened the scoring on a corner, as Ruben Jurado’s header beat Armin Gremsl. Doxa didn’t wait long to respond, a good through ball found Luis Carlos who slid a cool finish past Vozinha, and in the 12th minute, all was level again. Luis Carlos also hit the post, and a chance from Nils Teixeira screamed wide as well, and the score remained 1:1 at the half.
This left everything to play for in a furious second half, and Nils Zatl made an impressive series of moves through a maze of yellow AEL shirts, but the labyrinthe only led to Vozinha, who saved his attempt on goal. Zatl was still in a creative mood however, and he played a fine cross that Ioannis Hadjivasilis got his head on, and placed it perfectly past Vozinha to give Doxa their first lead in the 62nd minute. AEK repaid the favor in short order as Andreas Makris somehow beat Gremsl from a bad angle, and just like that, it was back to square one. It didn’t take long for them to build on it either, just two minutes later Kevin Lafrance smashed a header past Gremsl, and it was 3:2 for AEL. The yellow wave continued in the 74th minute as Makris’ second goal was the insurance marker they needed. That proved valuable because Bogdan Mitrea fired a free kick past Vozinha in the 82nd minute to give Doxa a chance late on, but AEL hung on to win a wild 4:3 encounter. AEL are back in first place, 5 points clear of APOEL who have a game in hand, and 6 points clear of fellow Limassol side Apollon who have two games in hand. Doxa remain in 8th.
In Larnaca, Ermis Aradippou hosted Alki Oroklini at the Stadio Ammochostos. The hosts got off to a good start in the 7th minute when Giannis Taralidis beat Urko Pardo, but this advantage was short-lived, as in the 10th minute Matija Spoljaric equalized past Giorgos Papadopoulos for Alki. The comeback was complete shortly after as Alki pulled ahead in the 14th minute through Andreas Stavrou. It just got worse for the hosts in the 23rd minute as El Hedi Belameiri made it 3:1 in favor of the visitors. Ivan Carlos got involved as well with a 29th minute goal to make it 4 goals in less than 20 minutes for the visitors. Giorgos Katsiatis pulled one back in the 78th minute for Ermis, but it was far little, too late. Alki Oroklini walked off with a 4:2 win over Ermis Aradippou. Alki are out of the basement for the first time this season, up into 11th place with room to go up even further. Replacing them in last place is Ermis.
Also in Larnaca, Anorthosis hosted Pafos FC at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium. Things almost started disastrously for the hosts as Erwin Koffi turned the ball over to Adam Nemec, but Dimitris Demetriou cleaned up his mess and made the save. They weren’t as lucky in the 13th minute as Matija Sirok was looking for Nemec, but instead found Gordon Schildenfeld who inadvertently redirected the ball past Demetriou for an own goal. Ruben Rayos had a free kick from the side of the box that Joel Mall was able to get a boot on, but the rebound came right to Nika Kacharava who hit the top of the net, and in the 29th minute it was 1:1. Danijel Pranjic forced a save from Mall at the halftime whistle, and the score remained level at the break.
The hosts were repaid for their early generosity as Pafos were charged with an own goal of their own as a Koffi corner was headed into his own net by Aleksandr Dovbnya, giving the host their first lead of the match in the 50th minute. The visitors tried to respond, Sirok set up a header for Federico Rasic, but Demetriou was there to make the save. Nonetheless, the hosts could not hang on, another cross found Nemec’s head and this time Demetriou couldn’t come up with it, 2:2 in the 67th minute. Demetriou was just a little too hesitant to come off his line as Bryan Angulo played in the cross and Nemec beat him to it. Anorthosis worked a nice play to try to pull back ahead, setting up a cracking strike for Joao Victor, but Mall came up with an even better save. Kacharava and Angulo had near misses for their respective teams, but nothing came of either chance. Anorthosis and Pafos played to a 2:2 stalemate. Anorthosis move into 4th place, but the amount of games they’ve played are not on their side. They’ve played 3 more games than AEK Larnaca and one on Nea Salamina. Pafos remain in 9th.
