Apollon and APOEL play to stalemate
CYPRIOT FIRST DIVISION - MATCHDAY 9
Apollon Limassol and APOEL played to a 1-1 draw in Limassol with the hosts fighting back from a goal down.
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Last year, APOEL won all four meetings with Apollon, which was the main reason APOEL won the championship over the Limassol side. Less on the line this time, but Apollon at least ended their losing streak against APOEL, as the two sides played to a 1-1 draw in Limassol.
Giorgos Merkis struck first for APOEL, but that goal was canceled out by Serge Gakpe. As a result, APOEL are in fourth place, although still with some games in hand on the teams ahead due to their rescheduled games. Apollon, last year’s runners-up, are in danger of missing the playoff group as they are in seventh place.
THE MATCH
Apollon hosted APOEL at the Tsirion Stadio in Limassol. Apollon came out hard, and Fotis Papoulis eventually found himself alone with Vid Belec, and Belec came out on top, sprawling out to deny the Apollon Captain. Then, Sasa Markovic curled a strike that Belec stopped and he did well to cover up the rebound with Papoulis lurking.
APOEL eventually gained their bearings and started to create some chances at the other end. Andre Vidigal had a go, but Joel Mall was there to make the save. Dragan Mihajlovic did well to elude the Apollon defense to get a shot off, but Mall was in good position to stop that one, as well.
The sides continued to trade chances as Papoulis sent a bicycle kick that only barely missed, and then Mall made his best save to that point on Andrija Pavlovic. Neither side could find the back of the net in the first half, and it ended 0-0.
APOEL struck first in the second half. They earned a free-kick, which Vidigal took. Mall made the save, but Giorgos Merkis was right there to put the rebound home, and in the 54th minute, APOEL took a 1-0 lead.
APOEL looked to double their advantage and came very close to doing so, as the ball came to Alef, who beat Mall, but not the woodwork. Giannis Gianniotas looked to level the match with a free-kick, but he missed wide.
Apollon did eventually level the match in the 87th minute with their number 87. After a long sequence working the ball around the perimeter of the APOEL box, it was Serge Gakpe who finally finished the play, beating Belec and making the score 1-1. From then on, neither side could threaten a winner and so, both sides settled for a 1-1 draw.
LINEUPS
Apollon (Sofronis Avgousti): 36. Joel Mall(GK), 2. Emilio Nsue, 10. Sasa Markovic, 14. Facundo Pereyra(‘55 20. Giannis Gianniotas), 17. Joao Pedro, 18. Diego Aguirre, 25. Chambos Kyriakou, 26. Fotis Papoulis(Captain)(‘80 94. Daniel Carr), 41. Attila Szalai(‘70 11. Emilio Zelaya), 44. Hector Yuste, 87. Serge Gakpe
APOEL (Thomas Doll): 27. Vid Belec(GK), 8. Lucas Souza, 11. Musa Al-Taamari(‘80 89. Roman Bezjak), 20. Andrija Pavlovic(‘71 14. Uros Matic), 29. Praxitelis Vouros, 30. Giorgos Merkis, 44. Nikolas Ioannou(Captain), 71. Andre Vidigal(‘86 7. Giorgos Efraim), 90. Vujadin Savic, 91. Dragan Mihajlovic, 95. Alef
HIGHLIGHTS
