Cyprus’ under-21 side head into a crucial 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier tonight away to Northern Ireland knowing they must win if they are to keep alive their dream of reaching a first ever major finals.
Apostolos Makrides’ side head into tonight’s clash at the 5,000-seater Mourneview Park in Lurgan knowing they must win whilst also hoping to at least beat either Belgium at home or Italy away in their final two group matches.
Cyprus secured a heated 2-1 win over Serbia in Achnas in their previous qualifier in a game which saw three Cypriot and two Serbian players sent off at the Dasaki Stadium. Cyprus had convincingly defeated Northern Ireland 3-0 when the two sides met at the Makarios Stadium in Nicosia earlier this year but AEK Larnaca winger Nikos Englezou (left) has warned his team-mates to expect a tougher battle this time around.
“I believe a lot will depend on how we turn up on the day without wanting to belittle our opponents”, commented the 20-year-old. “On the contrary, we need to be very cautious because they have been very improved in their last few games. Every game has its own level of difficulty and we will obviously need to put in a massive shift to get a favourable result. After the success against Serbia, another victory would increase our chances in the group.”
Cyprus’ only wins in the group have come at the expense of Northern Ireland and Serbia at home while their other games against Italy, Belgium and Serbia – away – have all ended in defeat. They will now be seeking to pick up their first points on their travels in Group 9.
But Makrides’ job has been made harder by the notable absences of skipper Alex Konstantinou, Zacharias Theodorou and English-Cypriot striker Michalis Thalassitis – who were all sent off in their 2-1 win over Serbia back in September. Goalkeeper Zannetos Mytides, Andreas Kyriakou and Marios Demetriou, meanwhile, are all out injured.
For this reason, APOEL striker Pieros Sotiriou has been redrafted into the team after previously appearing for the Cyprus senior side while several under-19 players, including APOEL youth team player Christos Djamas, have also been included in the squad. There has also been a calling for Australian-Cypriot forward James Demetriou from Nottingham Forest .

Cyprus weekly