Olympiakos Nicosia rally back for surprise draw against AEK Larnaca, AEL see off 10-man Doxa
 

CYPRIOT FIRST DIVISION - MATCHDAY 5

It was a surprise result in Nicosia as Olympiakos Nicosia held AEK Larnaca to a 2-2 draw. AEK got the start they wanted with goals by Nacho Cases and Ivan Trickovski giving them a 2-0 lead, but it didn’t hold up, as Olympiakos answered with goals from Panayiotis Zachariou and Jonathan Ayite. In Limassol, AEL Limassol won 1-0 at home to Doxa Katokopias, with the help of a red card.

Olympiakos Nicosia hosted AEK Larnaca at the Makario Stadio in Nicosia in the Friday game. AEK as heavy favorites got the start they wanted. Ivan Trickovski struck a free kick, Mario Kirev made the save, thought he had the rebound covered, but it was still loose, and Nacho Cases was right there to pick up the loose change, 1-0 for AEK in the 16th minute.

Giorgos Economides looked for a quick answer, but his shot went straight into the arms of Tono Ramirez. Instead, AEK doubled their advantage. Matija Spoljaric was hauled down just inside the box for a penalty, and Trickovski converted, a well-taken penalty which beat Kirev, even though he went the right way, and just ten minutes after Cases scored, it was 2-0 AEK.

Five minutes after that, however, some confusion on the part of the AEK defense let Olympiakos back in the game. A free kick off the boot of Bilal Hamdi caused all the AEK players to try the offside trap, but instead it left three Olympiakos players wide open, and Panayiotis Zachariou did the honors and beat Ramirez, to halve his side’s deficit.

A bad turnover sent Trickovski the other way, but the ensuing shot did not fool Kirev. AEK took a 2-1 lead into the halftime break.

Hamdi looked for an equalizer to begin the second half, but Ramirez tracked it well and made the save. However, Olympiakos got another lifeline when Tete saw a straight red card for a hard foul on Hamdi. Nonetheless, AEK went in for the kill when Trickovski sent Apostolos Giannou off to the races. Giannou tried to chip Kirev, he managed to get the ball over Kirev, but he missed to the far post.

They would come to rue that missed opportunity in the 70th minute, when Zachariou tracked down a ball and crossing for Jonathan Ayite, who unleashed a phenomenal bicycle kick that Tono Ramirez had absolutely no chance of stopping. Ayite’s goal made the extra man count, and it was 2-2.

Olympiakos still thought they had time to produce a winner, and they almost did so when Fabrice Kah set up Vinicius, but he hit the inside of the post. Nonetheless, Olympiakos had a result they could be proud of, they battled back from down 2-0 to earn a point, a 2-2 draw at home to AEK Larnaca, who undoubtedly feel as though they should have been able to close out their lesser opponents on paper. AEK move into second place for now, but several teams behind them have games in hand. Olympiakos remain 11th and in the drop zone, but tied with multiple teams now.

Meanwhile in Limassol, AEL Limassol hosted Doxa Katokopias at the Tsirion Stadio. Doxa worked a nice play in the early going, Luis Carlos played a ball that eventually made its way to Carlao who fed Kostas Mintikkis, but Vozinha at full extension made a fantastic save. At the other end, Ruben Jurado set up a back heeled shot for Minas Antoniou, but for all the flash, it was an easy save for Armin Gremsl. Mintikkis set up Mesca for a chance, but more acrobatics by Vozinha kept it out. Then Antoniou had another go, but once again Gremsl saved with ease. Andreas Avraam struck a free kick, Gremsl made the save and the Doxa defense won the race to the rebound and cleared it. The sides traded chances, but there was still no score at the half.

In the second half, AEL stayed on the front foot, Antoniou found Nils Teixeira, Gremsl made the save for a corner. On the ensuing corner, Andre Teixeira won a free header but again, straight into the arms of Gremsl. At the other end, Mintikkis pounced on a carom, rang it off the post, which then sent the ball off the back of Vozinha, but the keeper from Cape Verde did well to not make any sudden movements, and settled the ball before it crossed the line. The moment that turned the match came when Mesca elbowed Christos Wheeler in the face. The Portuguese winger pleaded his innocence, but he still saw red, and Doxa manager Loukas Hadjiloukas was sent off, as well. Despite being down a man, Mintikkis still managed to play a long ball that found Carlitos alone with Vozinha, but the keeper came out on top again.

Finally, AEL paid off their man advantage exactly as the clock hit 70. Avraam put a header on goal that Gremsl saved, the rebound was loose on the goal line, and Dorian Dervite mishit his clearing attempt, instead directed the ball into his own net for an own goal.

Wheeler who drew the foul that gave his side the extra man, tried to close it out with an insurance marker, but Gremsl got his left arm on it, keeping his side in it. One last chance for Doxa in stoppage time, Carlao found a well-marked Carlitos, but Carlitos still was somehow able to get free and unleash a powerful strike that forced yet another aerodynamic save from Vozinha, but Vozinha would not be beaten on this night, and AEL hung on to defeat Doxa 1-0 at home.

by Andreas Mantzas

Image Source: Sport FM Cyprus

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