Stalemate in Nicosia
CYPRIOT FIRST DIVISION - MATCHDAY 5
Leaders Anorthosis and defending champions APOEL played to a goalless draw on Wednesday in the Cypriot First Division.
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APOEL Nicosia hosted Anorthosis Ammochostou in the final postponed league game for both teams and an important matchday five clash between the defending champions and the current league leaders. However, neither team found the back of the net, and the derby ended in a goalless draw.
The result leaves Anorthosis in a better position as they hold a five-point cushion over third-placed APOEL.
THE MATCH
A slow, tough first half saw APOEL enjoy more possession, but they failed to create any threats against an organized Anorthosis, who, in their turn, did not create anything offensively. The rain and the many fouls produced unentertaining gameplay with five yellow cards, while only one shot was recorded (an off-target attempt from Anorthosis’ Nikolas Kaltsas). Hopelessly, the first half ended goalless with neither team looking like they could have made the difference in the opening half.
Anorthosis took over the possession in the second half, trying to create opportunities, while APOEL looked unable to play their game. Kare Ingebrigtsen inserted Tomas De Vincenti and Andre Vidigal to help his team’s creativity in attack. Anorthosis, though, were still the better side, complaining twice in the 72nd and 74th minutes for a penalty. First, a clear handball from Vujadin Savic was dismissed by the referee as unintentional, and then Michal Duris was stopped by Giorgos Merkis in what was surely a close call.
During the final stages of the game and with the time pressing, the game finally opened up. The first real chance came in the 83rd minute for APOEL when Andreas Makris sent the ball, but Andrija Pavlovic’s close header went just wide. In the 88th minute, Giorgi Loria got injured, and that forced a lot of stoppage time.
After the game restarted, Loria came up big, stopping an effort from Merkis with the help of his left post to hold the clean sheet. APOEL went full attack in the dying moments and missed another great chance as a shot from Vidigal was stopped by the crossbar. Timur Ketsbaia’s players managed to hold off the late pressure, and the game ended 0:0, with the two teams sharing a point.
LINEUPS
APOEL Nicosia (Kare Ingebrigtsen): Vid Belec (GK), Dragan Mihajlovic, Giorgos Merkis, Vujadin Savic, Nikolas Ioannou (C), Alef dos Santos (Tomas De Vincenti), Lucas Souza, Uros Matic, Andreas Makris, Antonio Jakolis (Andre Vidigal), Linus Hallenius (Andrija Pavlovic)
Anorthosis Ammochostou (Timur Ketsbaia): Giorgi Loria, Georgios Galitsios, Gordon Schildenfeld, Branko Vrgoc, Yevhen Selin, Kostakis Artymatas, Murtaz Daushvili, Ruben Rayos (Panagiotis Artymatas), Theodoros Vasilakakis, Georgios Manthatis (Michal Duris), Nikolas Kaltsas (Michalis Ioannou)
HIGHLIGHTS
