Olympiakos Nicosia draw Doxa in First Division return
 

CYPRIOT 1st DIVISION - MATCHDAY 2

Olympiakos Nicosia and Doxa Katokopias played out to a 1:1 draw in Sunday’s Cypriot First Division action.

Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage with Go Greek TV!

Olympiakos Nicosia returned to the Cypriot First Division after spending last season in the Second Division, and earned a 1:1 draw at home to Doxa Katokopias. Doxa struck early through Benjamin Asamoah, but Olympiakos drew level and earned a point after an equalizer by Giorgos Economides.

THE MATCH

Olympiakos Nicosia hosted Doxa Katokopias at the Makario Stadio in the heart of the Cypriot capital, Nicosia. For Olympiakos this was their first game of the season and home opener, as their Week 1 match was postponed. Doxa lost last week at home to Omonoia, this was their first away match(in the stadium they call home).

Doxa gave Olympiakos a rude welcome back to the top flight in just the seventh minute. Benjamin Asamoah was tightly marked by a sea of green and black striped Olympiakos shirts, but somehow still managed to get off a shot that beat Pavol Bajza, and Doxa had an early lead.

More trouble for hosts with a highly dangerous turnover in their own box that Mesca pounced onto. Mesca rounded Bajza and was all set to tuck it in, but Bajza never gave up on the play and dove backwards for an otherworldly save that he should have had no right to make. The Slovakian keeper’s heroics kept his side in it. Olympiakos started to get their legs under them after that, Cypriot international Giorgos Economides fed Rafael Acosta for a point blank chance, but he shanked it wide. Then Kiko served in a corner for Panayiotis Zachariou, but he too missed the target. Azulao muscled through the Doxa defense and had a go from distance, and only the woodwork denied him. Olympiakos got better as the half went on, but still went into halftime trailing 1:0.

The two-way traffic persisted in the second half. Another Olympiakos corner was spilled by the Doxa keeper Armin Gremsl, Fabrice Kah pounced on the loose ball, but he couldn’t get it through the maze of bodies in front of goal. Konstantinos Mintikkis created a chance for Luis Carlos, but his shot never made it all the way to Bajza.

Finally, Olympiakos got the payoff they were looking for. Jonathan Ayite picked up Economides trailing the play got a shot off that deflected past Gremsl for the equalizer. Economides still got credit for the 55th minute goal, and it was now 1:1.

Hoping to restore their lead and snatch a late winner, Mintikkis unleashed a good through ball that connected with Carlao. Carlao rushed his shot, but saw an opportunity to chip Bajza. Bajza was sufficiently out of position, but the ball bounced wide. At the other end, Acosta played a similar ball that found Zachariou, but he too was being rushed, and he lost his balance as he went through the motion of shooting, and the trajectory of the shot was thrown off. One last chance to get a winner for Doxa, Vladimir Boljevic set up a header for Carlao, but the crossbar rejected it, Bajza got to the rebound first, and both sides settled for a 1:1 draw, each earning their first point of the season.

LINEUPS

Olympiakos Nicosia(Pambos Christodoulou): 91. Pavol Bajza(GK), 2. Paris Psaltis, 3. Sambinha, 5. Kiko, 8. Rafael Acosta, 10. Giorgos Economides(Captain), 11. Fabrice Kah(‘79 93. Dylan Duventru), 20. Panayiotis Zachariou, 26. Azulao(‘90 28. Konstantinos Sotiriou), 31. Nani Soares, 66. Andreas Pachipis(‘46 91. Jonathan Ayite)

Doxa Katokopias(Loukas Hadjiloukas): 1. Armin Gremsl(GK), 6. Dorian Dervite, 11. Luis Carlos, 14. Vladimir Boljevic, 17. Benjamin Asamoah(‘85 10. Vasilis Papafotis), 20. Nektarios Alexandrou, 22. Alfonso Artabe(‘75 5. Stefanos Mouktaris), 24. Dushko Trajchevski, 70. Mesca(‘63 95. Lukas Brambilla), 77. Konstantinos Mintikkis, 83. Carlao

HIGHLIGHTS

by Andreas Mantzas

Image Source: sport-fm.com.cy

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!