Leaders AEK for the second week in a row drop points , this time against Nea Salamina, allowing Anorthosis and APOEL to move to within one and two points off the top of the table.
Elsewhere, relegation-threatened Enosis and Paphos FC could only draw while Ermis went down to a last-gasp penalty against Omonia.
In one of the best games of the season , ten-man Anorthosis came back from two goals down to clinch a most unexpected victory against Apollon.
Holgersson scored an own goal to give Apollon a two-goal lead in the 58th minute. Eight minutes earlier, the home side had gone down to ten after Gabriel got sent off for hitting an opponent.
At that point Apollon, who were by far the better team and were cruising and it seemed a matter of time before they got the third.
Anorthosis got the break they needed when Hollgerson pulled one back in the 66th minute and the the game changed completely, and Anorthosis were pushing forward for the equaliser.
which they did when Lafis scored with a shot from the edge of the box in the 70th minute
Now it was both teams full out for a win and then in added time Anorthosis were awarded a penalty which Vale scored from the penalty kick giving Anorthosis a very vital win.
Leaders AEK drew with New Salamis 0-0.
Champions APOEL continue climbing after a 1-0 win over AEL in Limassol.
The only goal of the game came early in the second half from their Portuguese captain Nuno Morais who beat Degra from the just inside the area with a powerful shot..
Ethnikos meanwhile were unable to take advantage of their superiority and even though they took the lead through Pinceli, Paphos fought back and equalized, earning a valuable point in their fight for survival.
Enosis versus Aris ended with a draw 2-2 .
Omonia beat Ermis 1-0 Sheridan hit the winner from a penalty late in the game..
Doxa beat bottom of the table Ayia Napa 2-0 on Monday night, in a match interrupted for 25 minutes due to floodlight failure.