Omonia miss chance to catch Apollon after fruitless domination

Omonia were held to a goalless draw in Limassol by title rivals Apollon on Wednesday night despite dominating the vast majority of the game.

This result leaves Apollon alone at the top of the table with 40 points, although they can be overtaken by AEL if they win their game in hand, while Omonia remain in third with 37 points.

Omonia started the game with a clear plan to make the most of their left wing, with Jan Lecjaks making overlapping runs to provide crosses and cut-backs whenever possible.

Apollon were initially more susceptible to letting this happen but negated it somewhat better as the game progressed.

Attacking players from both sides tried to coax some soft fouls in and around the opposition penalty area in the early stages of the game but the referee resisted the urge to award them.

Apollon started the game quite slowly, with no real cohesion in their attacking play. This was a reflection of the somewhat unorthodox starting lineup from manager Giannis Petrakis, who picked two right-backs, one of them as the right-sided centre-back, and played winger Gianniotas at left wingback.

The hosts’ first real chance came in the 23rd minute when Pittas drifted infield to meet a cross from the right hand side. His first time shot went over Fabiano’s bar, however.

Omonia threatened to open the score in the 28th minute when Loizou carried the ball forward through the middle at pace, dancing around defenders and unleashing a shot at the edge of Apollon’s penalty area, with the ball going just wide to Demetriou’s right hand side.

It’s noteworthy to point out that Omonia had 58 per cent of the ball at the half hour mark.

Omonia retreated somewhat in the final minutes of the first half but upped the tempo again in the second half, pinning Apollon back, and winning corner after corner during a wave of sustained attacking attempts.

With Omonia pressing halfway into the attacking third and being patient when in possession, Apollon were restricted to a passive role in the first twenty minutes of the second half, spending most of that time weathering Omonia’s pressure and struggling to retain the ball.

Despite this, Apollon had a huge opportunity to score in the 66th minute when Pedro’s long-range and deflected shot stung Fabiano’s hands after the Omonia goalkeeper dived impressively to his right.

Omonia had a penalty claim in the 71st minute after Loizou went down in Apollon’s penalty area after tight marking by Vasiliou. Referee Timotheos Christofi reportedly advised the youngster to not repeat such a claim and instructed him “to show respect”, according to broadcaster Cytavision.

Petrakis made a change to his team’s shape around the 80th minute, when Katelaris stepped into the midfield, reflecting a formation change to something approaching a 4-4-1-1 in attack. Szalai went to left-back, Pedro became a right-sided midfielder, and Dabo came on in place of Matei.

The game became sloppier in the final ten minutes, with both teams grinding to a screeching halt in terms of attacking fluidity.

Omonia though did come close to grabbing a goal in the 87th minute after a mistake from Szalai gifted the visitors the ball, but the culminating shot was partly blocked by a defender and cooly collected by the Apollon goalkeeper.

In Wednesday’s earlier kick-off, Apoel and AEK also shared the spoils after the two sides drew 1-1 in Nicosia.

Apoel had a mountain to climb after going down to 10 men following Tomás De Vincenti’s 32nd minute sending off and going behind 14 minutes into the second half

Apoel equalised after only a minute though, to bring the game back level.

The hosts had complaints from the referee after a penalty claim in a disputed handball incident.

The result leaves Apoel in 10th place with 20 points and AEK in 5th place with 30 points.