Slight advantage for AEL and APOEL in cup semifinals

CYPRIOT SOCCER CUP - SEMI-FINALS (Leg 1)

The first leg of the Cyprus Coca-Cola Cup semifinals took place on Wednesday with AEL Limassol and APOEL Nicosia gaining an advantage over Apollon Limassol and Enosis Neon Paralimniou, respectively. AEL prevailed in the Limassol derby with a 2:1 scoreline thanks to two goals from Ruben Jurado while in Nicosia, a late goal from Giorgos Merkis gave APOEL a slender 1:0 win. The second leg games are scheduled for April 17th.

Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage from AGONASport.com! 

Apollon hosted AEL at their common ground Tsireio Stadium in Limassol. The two teams balanced each other out for most of the first half as both sides failed to create goal scoring opportunities. While it seemed that the half would end goalless, AEL drew first blood in the 40th minute. Alex Da Silva took the free kick and Jurado’s header beat Bruno Vale to send AEL into the break with the lead.

Apollon came out of the locker rooms looking for an equalizer and within just two minutes, Adrian Sardinero sent a warning when his effort was stopped by Vozinha’s post. Soon after, Emilio Zelaya had a shot blocked, the ball reached Andre Schembri, but Vozinha did well to clear his shot. AEL bounced back and Nils Teixeira missed a big chance to double their lead in the 51st minute as Vale denied his close effort. In the 68th minute, AEL knocked on the door again when Kevin Lafrance’s header from Andreas Avraam’s free kick forced Vale to another big save.

Despite AEL having the upper hand, Apollon struck in the 75th minute. Sardinero fed Psichas nicely and the youngster beat Vozinha with a beautiful shot for the equalizer. The equalizer was short lived as five minutes later, Apollon’s scorer brought down Avraam on the edge of their penalty area, however the referee pointed to the spot. Jurado successfully beat Vale for a second time and gave AEL the 2:1 win ahead of the second leg.

APOEL hosted Paralimni at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia with the visitors returning to the cup semifinals after a 35-year absence to meet the same opponents as back then. The hosts started with the guns blazing as early efforts from Andre Vidigal and Tomas De Vincenti were denied by young goalkeeper Konstantinos Petrou. APOEL locked Paralimni in their third of the pitch as more efforts from Musa Al-Taamari and Lucas Souza went wide. In the 30th minute, Vidigal received a great pass from Al-Taamari, however Petrou impressively denied the goal with his legs. APOEL finished the first half with twelve efforts (five on target) and nine corner kicks, with Paralimni and Petrou managing to keep the hosts goalless in the first half.

APOEL did not start the second half as strong as the first, while Paralimni kept their defensive intentions eager to go into the second leg without conceding a goal. Paralimni had their first effort in the 75th minute with a header from Chigozie Udoji that went out. A minute later, Paolo Tramezzani inserted Stathis Aloneftis into the game with the veteran player energizing APOEL’s efforts for a goal. Right after his entrance, Aloneftis sent a ball to Leo Natel, who got the shot off, but once again Petrou impressively kept it out. In the 78th minute, a penalty was awarded as Merkis’ header from Natel’s corner was handled by Sokratis Fytanidis. De Vincenti took the penalty kick, but Petrou was there once again to deny the hosts an opener.

With six minutes remaining Petrou was finally beaten. De Vincenti sent a long ball into the penalty area and Merkis came from behind the defence to thump a strong header into the back of the net. Three minutes later, APOEL wasted a big chance to double their lead as Aloneftis found Bezjak in a perfect spot, however the Slovenian striker produced a dreadful finish.

APOEL maintained their slender 1:0 lead ahead of the second leg at the Tasos Markou Stadium, as an impressive performance by Petrou and their inability to finish their opportunities gives Paralimni a chance to chase their dream of the final.

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!