CYP 1st Div. Matchday 14 Recap: Apollon thrash Pafos, Late thrillers for APOEL, AEL & Anorthosis
 

CYPRIOT FIRST DIVISION - MATCHDAY 14

Marios Antoniou from AGONAsport.com brings you a full recap of Matchday 14 in the Cypriot 1st First Division. Full standings and schedule can be found here. Highlights for each match can be found here.

Watch LIVE from AGONAsport as AEK look to book a place in the Last 32 of the UEFA Europa League when they travel to Austria Wien on Thursday, December 7th. Details here.      

APOEL proceeded with two wins over Ermis this week defeating their opposition on Wednesday and Saturday. On Wednesday, the two teams played in a re-scheduled fixture from Matchday 1 where APOEL prevailed 0:2.  Pote opened the scoring for the visitors just before halftime and Aloneftis’ early second half goal gave the Galazokitrini the 0:2 victory. The second encounter between the two teams was more of a nail-bitter as a late goal from Sallai gave the defending Cypriot Champions a 2:1 win. APOEL opened the scoring just five minutes into the match through Ebecilio, however Ermis responded immediately when Damcevski equalised one minute later. Sallai’s winner sent APOEL into third place of the Cypriot League standings, four points behind leaders Anorthosis, while holding two games in hand. 

Apollon crushed the league’s surprise team, Pafos, scoring a half-dozen goals in a one-team show. Papoulis and Da Silva gave the hosts a two-goal advantage in the first half before a Alef, Jakolic, and Zelaya (2) added four second half goals for the emphatic victory. Apollon sit in fourth with 25 points but have three games in hand from leaders Anorthosis.  

Alki came from behind to defeat Ethnikos Achnas 2:1 at home. A 34th minute goal from Enescu gave the visitors a 0:1 lead into the break, however Alki was much-improved in the second half and goals from Fabricio (50) and a stoppage-time winner from Semedo saw the hosts grab an important win in their fight to avoid the drop.

AEL earned a 1:2 win over local rivals Aris in Limassol. AEL’s De Leonco netted two early goals to give the visitors complete control of the game and AEL held their lead comfortably. Aris did, however, pull one back late in the game with Ionita’s goal and after a wasted chance from Pagkalos to steal a point from the match, AEL survived and celebrated victory. 

Doxa moved further away from the danger zone after a 3:1 home win over Olympiakos. Luis Carlos gave the hosts the lead in the 7th minute with Carlos before Sadik’s double (18, 76) put the game to bed. Kapartis scored a late consolation goal for the Nicosia side as they sit just above the relegation zone. 

Anorthosis were 1:0 winners of the Famagusta derby against Nea Salamina. Anorthosis controlled the pace of the game and looked desperately for the goal, while Salamina sat back in defense with hopes of striking on the counter-attack. After 90 minutes of one-way traffic, a spot kick from Joao Victor separated the sides in the dying moments of the game, giving Anorthosis the three points. Anorthosis lead the way with 30 points with AEK Larnakas sitting in second with 29 points and one game in hand. 

by: Marios Antoniou

Thank you for visiting AGONAsport.com, the only English based website for Greek sports fans across the world! Like us on Facebook , follow us on   Instagram, and Twitter  for all the latest news in Greek Sports!