Salamina halt Apollon in Limassol
CYPRIOT 1st DIVISION - CHAMPIONSHIPS PLAYOFFS
| Apollon Limassol | 1 - 1 | Nea Salamina |
|---|---|---|
| Yuste 28' | Santos 11' |
Apollon Limassol were held to a 1:1 draw against Nea Salamina and fell four points behind league leaders APOEL in this year’s title race.
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Nea Salamina Ammochostou visited the Tsireio Stadium in Limassol to face Apollon in the final weekend fixture in the championship playoff group. The local side were already under pressure since APOEL prevailed over AEL the previous day on the same ground.
Despite the high stakes for Apollon, Salamina held the Limassol side to a 1:1 draw. The visitors opened the scoring early on with Thiago Ferreira and Hector Yuste equalized for Apollon, in what was a disappointing result for the hosts.
Apollon now see APOEL’s lead increase to four points and with five games remaining, the Limassol side will need the defending champions to drop points in the final fixtures. Salamina, on the other hand, achieved a statement-result proving that they have what it takes to be in the first group.
THE MATCH
Ten minutes into the game, Charles Eloundou led a fast attack for Salamina, his pass for Kingsley Onuegbu was blocked, however the ball reached Thiago who beat Bruno Vale from close range to open the scoring. Apollon looked immediately for the equalizer and that came in the 28th minute, as Yuste headed in a corner kick from Joao Pedro’s corner.
Four minutes later, the hosts came close to the turnaround when Giorgos Vasileiou’s cross was met with a strong header by Emilio Zelaya, but Orfeas Lytras was up to the task with a big save. Salamina picked up the pace towards the end of the first half and in the 41st minute, Eloundou’s effort forced Vale to a save and Yuste deflected Kingsley’s rebound for a corner. During first half stoppage time, Pedro had a good effort however the ball went just wide sending the two teams into the locker rooms with an 1:1 scoreline.
Apollon held the ball for the most of the second half and looked to find ways to penetrate Salamina’s defense. On the other hand, the visitors limited Apollon’s threats with a concentrated defensive tactic and kept the score intact. Apollon not only failed to create a clear scoring opportunity, they almost saw Salamina regain the lead.
In the 82nd minute, Vale denied Kingsley, who was in one-on-one with the keeper. Four minutes later, it was Eloundou, who started his effort from an offside position, that himself alone with Vale, however he sent the ball over the crossbar. During stoppage time, Renato Margaca tried to clear an Apollon cross, however he misdirected the ball towards his own net, Lytras though cleared the danger with a double effort under pressure from the attacking players. The game opened up in the final moments and Kingsley once again was denied by Vale as he was in a perfect goal scoring position. Despite the late attacking play, the two teams shared the points in a 1:1 draw.
.LINEUPS
Apollon: Bruno Vale (GK), Vahid Selimovic (David Faupala), Esteban Sachetti (Kevin Bru), Sasa Markovic, Emilio Zelaya, Joao Pedro, Valentin Roberge (Dylan Ouedraogo), Andre Schembri, Hector Yuste, Adrian Sardinero, Giorgos Vasileiou
Salamina: Orfeas Lytras (GK), Roman Golobart, Ivan Fustar, Kingsley Onuegbu (Daniel Sikorski), Jailson Araujo, David Reynolds, Kypros Christoforou (Ioannis Kosti), Renato Margaca, Thiago Ferreira, Anderson Correia, Charles Eloundou (Tonia Tisdell)
HIGHLIGHTS: APOLLON LIMASSOL - NEA SALAMINA
