Final curtain for Omonia, AEK, and Apollon

All three games involving Cypriot teams on Thursday will represent the final curtain on their European ambitions for this season.

Despite a sense of veiled optimism at the start of the campaign and a few good displays, Omonia, Aek and Apollon have all crashed out of their Europa League and Conference League groups and will now turn their attention to domestic endeavours.

Omonia will face Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova’s capital Chisinau to try and earn the first point of their European campaign. The Greens lost their first encounter against Sheriff 3-0 at home, before putting in some good displays against giants Real Sociedad and Manchester United, especially at Old Trafford, where only a last-minute goal scored by Scott McTominay denied them their first point of the season.

New manager Yannick Ferreira, who has replaced the sacked Neil Lennon, said the team is in good spirits after the convincing league win against Anorthosis at GSP Stadium on Monday.
“The last game proved we can step up on big occasions,” he said. “More importantly, we did not concede, which has been a big issue for us throughout the season so far.
“We are confident we can do well against Sheriff also, even though it will not be easy. We need to control the tempo of the game from the start,” the Belgian manager added.

AEK meanwhile will face Rennes away, and they will try to avenge the loss suffered in the reverse fixture, when a 94th minute goal scored by Lorenz Assignon gave the French team the win.
“Our games against Rennes and Dynamo Kyiv and our four points in the group speak volumes of how well we did in Europe this season,” AEK’s press officer Kyriakos Dimitriou said on Wednesday.

“Our manager (José Luis Oltra) successfully managed to pass his message to the team that the goal is to be competitive both in the league and in Europe.
“Rennes are in good form and are one of the best teams in France, but we are not scared, we will play our game.”
Kyriakou added that around 200 AEK fans will travel to Rennes for the game.

“We need to do well for them, they deserve an unforgettable experience,” he said.

Israeli forward Omri Altman, who scored with a wonderful volley to give his team the lead against Dynamo Kyiv last week, is currently dealing with a knock but he will travel to France for the game, whereas French striker Imad Faraj remains unavailable. Finally, current league champions Apollon will host minnows Vaduz at the GSP Stadium. David Catala’s team are currently ahead of Vaduz with four points in their Conference League group table, but too far from Dnipro, in second place with ten points.

The team from Liechtenstein have already arrived on the island for what will be their first ever game played on Cypriot soil. The reverse fixture ended in a goalless draw.

There is currently drama surrounding the Limassol club following incidents involving Apollon and Apoel supporters on Sunday.
Soon after the match began, an estimated 30 fans from both teams got into a fight on the pitch, throwing stones, flares and advertising hoardings. Anti-riot police, who had been stationed outside the stadium, entered and broke up the brawls, arresting three people, aged 17, 23 and 25.