Wins for APOEL, Ermis and Anorthosis
Wins for APOEL, Ermis and Anorthosis
CYPRIOT FIRST DIVISION - MATCHDAY 8
APOEL won 3:0 at home to Enosis Neon Paralimni, while Ermis Aradippou won by the same count over Pafos FC, and Anorthosis gutted out a 1:0 win at home to Nea Salamina.
APOEL hosted Enosis Neon Paralimni at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia. APOEL dominated the early play, and a good early chance was created as Ghayas Zahid did well to dribble through a maze of defenders, only to have his shot turned aside by Boris Klaiman. Klaiman also made saves on Reza Ghoochannejhad and Nuno Morais, but finally the hosts broke down the door when Ghoochannejhad made a drop pass to Leo Natel with a well-placed strike in the 26th minute. The visitors tried to answer through a powerful strike, but Rafael Romo acrobatically denied Gonzalo Zarate at the near post. A momentum save for sure, especially since APOEL struck again in stoppage time with a free kick from the side that set up Giorgos Efraim for a 2:0 halftime lead for APOEL.
The second half was a little more even with both sides trading chances and possession, but Romo and Klaiman had all the answers until the 88th minute when Tomas De Vincenti played a ball that Nikolas Ioannou somehow headed past Klaiman for the goal that made it 3:0. Ioannou was surrounded by white shirts and still managed to win the header. Poor defending did the visitors in, and APOEL won it 3:0 over Enosis Neon Paralimni. APOEL improve to 2nd place in the league, just 2 points behind AEL Limassol for the lead, though AEL have played one match fewer. Enosis Neon Paralimni are still in 9th place.
Ermis Aradippou hosted Pafos FC at Stadio Ammochostos in Larnaca. A bizarre goal opened the scoring in the 19th minute as a Giannis Taralidis free kick from a great distance bounced twice off the pitch and then off the inside of the post for a shock goal. Joel Mall simply reacted far too late and will be ashamed to have been beaten by an innocent shot from that particular distance. Mall’s confidence was clearly affected after that, because in the 38th minute, Sekou Keita also beat him to make it 2:0. Keita made an impressive move to create space for himself to have a shot, but from the angle he got the shot off, it’s another one that Mall should have had. Just a minute later, Keita wreaked more havoc on the visitors using his speed to draw a penalty. Yaroslav Martynyuk converted, and the 40th minute penalty gave Ermis the 3:0 halftime advantage.
Pafos tried to restore their pride in the second half as Bryan Angulo played a good ball for Adam Nemec, but Giannis Arabatzis was there to make the save. The visitors continued to carry the play with the hosts playing conservatively to preserve their big lead, and Nemec found himself open again, but Arabatzis was in good position to stop him again. They played much better, but Pafos had nothing to show for their second half, and it was an easy 3:0 win for Ermis Aradippou over Pafos FC. This was the first win for Ermis since Matchday 2, and their first home win of the season, and they rise out of last place into 10th. Pafos fall to 11th, just one point ahead of last place Alki Oroklini.
Elsewhere in Larnaca, Anorthosis hosted Nea Salamina at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium. Anorthosis dominated the early play, but just kept failing at the final moments having trouble hitting the net. Finally Nika Kacharava got one on net from a bad angle, and Robert Veselovsky made the save. Another chance was actually headed twice, first off Kacharava and then off Michal Duris, and Veselovsky did well to track it and make the save. For all the hosts’ pressure, there was no score at the half.
Salamina tried to steal a goal against the run of play and a chance fell to Farshad Noor that Dimitris Demetriou had to be alert to stop. Renato Margaca found himself some space, but failed to test Demetriou as the chance went begging wide. On the stroke of 90, the icebreaker finally came for the hosts as Ruben Rayos found Joao Victor who placed a header into the top corner, no chance for Veselovsky. With only stoppage time to go, Anorthosis were able to see it through and win it 1:0 over Nea Salamina. Anorthosis improve to 6th place, Salamina are in 4th.
by Andreas Mantzas
Image Source: Sport FM Cyprus
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