Apollon and AEL shared the points in a six -goal thriller in Sunday’s Limassol derby while Anorthosis continued their good run with a comfortable 2-0 win over high-flying Ermis Aradippou.
Omonia deservedly defeated AEK on Saturday while relegation candidates Doxa Katokopias and Othellos Athienou played out a goalless draw.
Unfortunately the ‘star’ of the Limassol derby was referee Giorgos Nicolaou who was unable to stamp his authority on the game. He showed a second yellow card for simulation when in fact the player was upended, just a yellow for a player spitting at an opponent, missed a couple of penalties and was extremely lenient towards a couple of more players who should have seen a red card.
AEL’s president Andreas Sofocleous was especially critical directing his venom towards the much maligned Cyprus Football Association (CFA) claiming that either match officials are given instructions to ‘harm’ his team or they are totally inept. Either way he said “the CFA is at fault.”
It’s fair to say that the referee had a very bad game but he was not helped at all by the players who failed to show any respect towards their fellow professionals nor towards the fans who watched the game.
The game itself was action-packed with AEL taking the lead on the half-hour mark when summer signing Tagbanjumi netted his first goal of the season. Bebe was rightly given his marching orders for a second bookable offence a few minutes later while Apollonas midfielder Stoyianovitch was left flabbergasted when he was also shown a second yellow for simulation when he was clearly fouled.
With ten players each, the game was bound to open up and it was AEL’s Tagbanjumi who found space and cooly slotted the ball past Apollonas keeper Bruno Vale just before the hour mark.
Ten minutes from time Thuram scored from the edge of the box to give Apollonas a lifeline but Stavrou restored AEL’s two-goal lead in the 86th minute. Gyuie headed in Apollonas’ second goal in the last minute of normal play and captain Merkis slided in the equaliser in the last minute of added time to earn his team an unexpected point.
In Larnaca, Anorthosis defeated Ermis Aradippou with two first-half goals. Calvo opened the score in the 17th minute from the penalty spot when Zarcovic blocked Nuhu. Three minutes before the break Garcia sidefooted the ball into the net after some great play from Nuhu and Makris.
The win consolidates Anorthosis’ place in the top six and they are now only three points behind fourth place.
Omonia left behind their defensive woes and defeated AEK Larnaca with relative ease. Leading scorer Pote and Nuno Asis gave the visitors a two-goal lead before Colautti pulled a goal back with a sublime finish but the Larnaca team looked unable to equalize. Pote yet again made sure of the points with another deadly finish a few minutes from the end.
Doxa Katokopias and Othellos Athienou were unable to find the net with both managers saying at the end of the game that they need more firepower up front in they want to avoid the drop.
In Sunday’s late game, Valdo grabbed a point for Ethnikos Achnas with a late equaliser after his team was outplayed for most of the match. Nea Salamina will be ruing their luck as they should have made the game safe in the first half. January signing Gringalasvili had given them the lead towards the end of the first half.
Weekend Results and League table
AEK Larnaca – Omonia Nicosia 1-3
Doxa Katokopias – Othellos Athienou 0-0
Apollon Limassol – AEL Limassol 3-3
Anorthosis – Ermis 2-0
Ethnikos Achnas – Nea Salamina 1-1
Standings
1 APOLLON LIMASSOL 15 32
2 APOEL NICOSIA 14 31
3 ERMIS ARADIPPOU 15 26
4 OMONIA NICOSIA 15 25
5 A.E.K.LARNACAS 15 25
6 ANORTHOSIS FAMAGUSTA 15 22
7 ETHNIKOS ACHNAS 15 20
8 AEL LIMASSOL 15 19
9 NEA SALAMINA FAMAGUSTA 15 14
10 OTHELLOS ATHIENOU 15 12
11 DOXA KATOKOPIAS 15 11
12 AYIA NAPA 14 8
Cyprus Mail