Cyprus Football Round Up

Anorthosis sit on top of the table in Cyprus with maximum six points from two matches after beating Apollon 3-1 on Sunday evening at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in Larnaca.
“The match had two different halves. In the first half I believe that both teams were equally good, but Anorthosis went ahead after scoring two goals from two set pieces.
“In the second half we were better and created many opportunities but their goalkeeper did exceptionally well to deny us, said Apollon coach Christakis Christoforou.
“We conceded the third goal again after a set piece and that was it. We will not dwell on this result as we have to focus on what is ahead of us,” Christoforou added.
Anorthosis took the lead when Roberto Colautti headed home Toni Calvo’s free kick after only 13 minutes and Gonzalo Garcia doubled their lead from the penalty spot on the half hour mark, after Ovidiu Dananae brought down Gaossou Fofana.
“I agree with my colleague, but not one hundred per cent,” said Anorthosis coach Jorge Costa at his post-match press conference.
“I think we were better in the first half as we created many chances to score. They did come back strong in the second half but we managed to soak up their pressure and our third goal naturally came after that. I am proud of my players and their performance, but we still have some things to work on. However, they played with so much passion and desire and that definitely helped us win the match,” Costa concluded.
Greek defender Christos Karipidis pulled one back for the visitors, scoring a header after a corner in the 59th minute, but the home side sealed the win 15 minutes from time when Colautti scored his fourth goal of the campaign, again heading the ball home.
On Saturday evening AEL beat defending champions APOEL 2-1 at the Tsirion Stadium, leaving the Limassol outfit second in the standings, also with six points.
“It was a fantastic match as both teams played really hard. I am sure that those who came to watch the game left satisfied. For many years now our club has failed to beat APOEL at home and this time we gave some joy to our faithful fans,” said AEL coach Lito Vidigal.
“It was very important to have so much support from the stands and I really felt as if they were playing with us,” Vidigal added.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Omonia trounced Enosis Neon Paralimni 4-0, while Nea Salamina defeated AEK Kouklion 3-1 with all four goals coming after the interval.
On Sunday, AEK Larnaca came back from a goal down to beat Ethnikos Achnas, while Aris Limassol and Doxa Katokopia shared the spoils with a 2-2 draw.
In the last match of Round 2, Ermis take on Alki on Monday evening at the Ammochostos Stadium in Larnaca.