Apollon and APOEL draw in Limassol
CYPRIOT FIRST DIVISION - CHAMPIONSHIP GROUP (MATCHDAY 1)
Apollon Limassol and APOEL played to a 1-1 draw on Sunday, a result that benefits neither side.
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Both Apollon and APOEL scored, however, both lost as the two clubs played to a 1:1 draw at the Tsireio Stadio in Limassol. The result saw Omonoia and Anorthosis move further away atop the standings, six points clear of APOEL, and seven points clear of Apollon.
Emilio Nsue punished his former team to give Apollon the half-time lead, with Mike Jensen equalizing from a rebound from his penalty kick to form the final scoreline.
THE MATCH
The game was open from the beginning as pressure for a win from both clubs forced the two teams to look for an early goal. In the 12th minute, Apollon did just that as Adrian Sardinero sent the ball from the right side, Emilio Nsue took the strong header to beat Vid Belec and give hosts the lead.
Seven minutes later, Nsue scored again, however it was correctly called back as Attila Szalai, who provided the assist, was in an offsides position. APOEL tried to respond but failed to create a big chance in the opening half. Fouls from both sides broke the pace of the game, and the hosts took their one-goal lead into half-time.
Seven minutes into the second half, Charlison Benschop provided the run and cross from the right, however, Vujadin Savic’s important block allowed Belec to clear the ball away.
In the 61st minute, Musa Al-Taamari made the run for a pass, Dimitris Dimitriou attempted to get the ball first, however, he brought him down, and a penalty was awarded to APOEL. Mike Jensen took the effort, Dimitriou almost corrected his mistake by stopping the kick, but Jensen, with the rebound, leveled the game.
In the 83rd minute, Benschop had a shot from close range, forcing Belec to deny him with a double effort in the final good chance of the game. Neither team was able to find a winner, and the final whistle saw both sides share the spoils from a disappointing draw.
LINEUPS
Apollon (Sofronis Avgousti): Dimitris Dimitriou (GK), Emilio Nsue, Esteban Sacchetti (Sasa Markovic), Joao Pedro, Hector Yuste, Attila Szalai, Dorde Denic, Diego Aguirre, Fotis Papoulis © (Florentin Matei), Charlison Benschop, Adrian Sardinero (Ioannis Pittas)
APOEL (Marinos Ouzounidis): Vid Belec (GK), Praxitelis Vouros, Vujadin Savic, Giorgos Merkis, Nikolas Ioannou ©, Dragan Mihajlovic (Uros Matic), Mike Jensen, Alef dos Santos, Tomas De Vincenti (Stathis Aloneftis), Giorgos Efraim (Andrija Pavlovic), Musa Al-Taamari
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