Omonia cut gap at the top after Apollon stumble

Apollon Limassol’s away draw at Salamina on Sunday has allowed title rivals Omonia Nicosia to close the gap to a single point at the top of the Cyprus First Division, after the Greens beat Enosis 1-0 in Paralimni.

After their 3-1 victory over Doxa Katokopias on Friday, fierce Limassol rivals and fellow title contenders AEL are now just three points behind Apollon with a game in hand.

Apollon feel that the two points lost at Ammochostos stadium are the result of their own doing, since the Blues failed to kill a game that was there for the taking.

The visitors had various opportunities to take an early lead from open play but managed to break the deadlock through a Nicolas Diguiny penalty after the match official consulted VAR after a handball incident.

Despite the fact that Apollon had ample opportunities to double their lead, particularly in a second-half stint in which homegrown forward Ioannis Pittas twice hit the woodwork in the span of a few minutes, they remained unable to beat Salamina goalkeeper Róbert Veselovsky for a second time.

This was followed by a horrendous section of the game for Apollon where they conceded on the counter by Danilo Oliveira and then had a player sent off when Vassiliou’s clumsy and rash challenge resulted in a direct red card.

Speaking after the game, Apollon manager Giannis Petrakis said that the final result was not an accurate reflection of how the game unfolded, bemoaning the chances his side failed to convert.

“I think that today’s result is a complete injustice to us. We controlled and dominated the game throughout. Excluding a set-piece I do not remember Salamina creating anything else. We hit the post twice, had five to six quality chances to score a second and were very close to creating even more”, Petrakis said.

“These things are important for me. We could have easily won the game but could not do it. I completely trust my players. We have the best attack in the league. These boys have brought us where we are today. At the end we will get what we deserve”, he added.

Earlier on Sunday, Apoel and Anorthosis shared the spoils in a goalless draw in Nicosia.

Although both teams created enough to have merited a goal each, a stalemate seemed like the inevitable conclusion and what both performances reflected.

However, it is Apoel who will have taken more positives from both their display and the result, as they have shown a compactness, positional discipline and composure which had been painfully absent for the vast majority of the current season.

In a message posted to social media after the game, new signing Jack Byrne commented on his home debut.

“Home debut today. Not the result we wanted but we take a point and move on. Really enjoying working with this group of players and this great club. Working hard to try and get back to where this great club should be, at the top”, read Byrne’s post.

Anorthosis are now four points from the top while Apoel are slowly inching towards the top six of the table, with just two points separating them from Doxa while having a game in hand.

Round 21 concluded on Monday evening with Karmiotissa and Paphos FC playing out a goalless draw.