CYPRIOT LEAGUE ROUND UP: ROUND 21

CYPRIOT LEAGUE ROUND UP: ROUND 21

By Chrisos Mavromoustakos

This round provided goal fests, upsets, thrills and red cards.


OMONIA V ENP

The home side went into this game with two back to back draws, and a zeal to catch up to league leaders Anorthosis. ENP on the other hand, look to survive in this league, also coming into this game with a draw. That was no match for Omonia who dominated the game by three goals to nil. Derbyshire continues his hot streak, scoring the opener in six minutes. 10 shots would ensue within the first half for Omonia. ENP only had 6 shots, the same amount of shots on target that Omonia had. 2 late goals on the 82nd and 91st minute cemented victory for the home side in the capital.

FINAL SCORE: 3-0

APOLLON V DOXA

Apollon go into this game red hot, winning their last game, whilst Doxa go into the game with a draw, but still have their confidence running high. All attention was too the first half, where 4 goals were scored, 3 for Apollon and 1 for Doxa. Benschop scored a brace for the home side within 25 minutes. Doxa also had one of their men score a brace in Papafotis, but the dominate display of Apollon was too much for Doxa to handle. Their heads stopped even lower once Carlitos was sent his marching orders after a second yellow on the 83rd minute for Doxa. An even game, with both sides taking 11 shots, both sides should be proud of the competitiveness of the game.

FINAL SCORE: 3-2

ETHNIKOS ACHNAS V ANORTHOSIS

League leaders Anorthosis travel to Achnas, who are off the back of two straight losses. However, the home side was prepared to fight, and that is exactly what they did. The home side put three past Anorthosis in the first half! Anorthosis desperately need this win to widen the gap at the top. Ethnikos Achnas however, did not care, they want survival, and they put another 2 goals making it a 5-0 riot. Ultimately the upset of the season thus far, this opens the gap to only one point between first place Anorthosis and second place Omonia. It is game on. Achnas can be thanked for allowing the top of the table clash to be wide open once again.

FINAL SCORE: 5-0

PAFOS FC V APOEL
Pafos FC have had a stellar February, currently undefeated in the month. APOEL look to bounce back after suffering 3 goals at home to FC Basel in their Europa League match. So this game had all to play for. Head to head, it is pretty even, there isn’t a side who stands out in this fixture. Today however this was Pafos FC. After an actionless first half, Pafos FC put their foot on the pedal and scored 2 goals 11 minutes after each other. Thanks to the brace by Valakari. What could ultimately be the blame for APOEL’s lacklustre performance is that they had no shots on target. Pafos FC maintained 4 shots on target, in which half of them ended up in goals. Definitely another upset from the round.

FINAL SCORE: 2-0

AEK LARNACA V NEA SALAMINA

AEK Larnaca go into this game with excellent form. They haven’t lost since the 4th of February. Nea Salamina go into this game off the back of a draw against league leaders Anorthosis, so both sides are roaring to go. This game provided the shots, AEK Larnaca had a total of 15 the whole match, Nea Salamina with 10. Both sides having 9 on target, with Nea Salamina showing how deadly they were maintaining a 90% on target ratio. However, this wasn’t meant to be and both sides struggled to find the back of the net, formulating into two clean sheets as this game ended in a goalless stalemate.

FINAL SCORE: 0-0

OLYMPIAKOS NICOSIA V AEL LEMESOS

Olympiakos Nicosia have not lost since the 2nd of the month, and AEL have had a festival of draws this month. This continued for AEL, as this match provided a share of points. 9 minutes into the match, Godal opened the scoring for the away side, leading to the only action in the half. A 67th equaliser by Zachariou gave Olympiakos Nicosia the much needed and deserved point, being the better side and having triple of AEL’s shots. AEL finished with 2 shots and 2 on target, with Olympiakos having 6 shots and 2 on target. A draw seemed like the most predictable result, with 3 out of the last 5 games between these sides resorted in a draw.

FINAL SCORE: 1-1

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