CYPRUS LEAGUE – GW6 REVIEW

Paralimni 1-2 Pafos

Pafos maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 2-1 away win against newly promoted Paralimni.

The hosts took a surprise lead in the 29th minute through an excellent finish from Evangelos Andreou, who curled a left-footed shot into the top left corner.

It looked like Paralimni would hold on for a shock victory as goalkeeper Adeleye was in fine form, pulling off two fantastic saves from Natel and Goldar. However, a moment of madness from left-back Mendy saw the hosts reduced to ten men. The Guinea-Bissau international, while challenging Pafos defender Correia, swung an elbow and caught his opponent in the face.

Pafos made their man advantage count and equalised with 15 minutes to go when Jaja’s cross was guided in by Jairo. Jaja turned provider again in the 88th minute, setting up Goldar, who rifled in the winner from six yards out.

There was still time for more drama as Paralimni were reduced to nine men when Elisha Sam caught Correia with a flailing arm. To compound Paralimni’s misery, Polish striker Piotr Janczukowicz was shown a second yellow card for a late tackle, leaving the hosts to finish the match with eight men.

Aris 2-0 Omonoia

Aris moved up to second in the table, two points behind Pafos, thanks to a brace from Georgi Kvilitaia.

The Georgian striker opened the scoring in the 25th minute, meeting Mayambela’s cross with a well-placed header that beat Fabiano in the Omonoia goal.

Aris had the chance to double their lead from the penalty spot after a handball by Ioannis Kousoulos, but Fabiano dived to his right to deny Mayambela.

Omonoia struggled to create clear-cut chances and brought on new signing Stevan Jovetic at halftime. However, the former Manchester City striker lacked match sharpness and couldn’t make an impact.

Less than ten minutes into the second half, Aris were awarded a second penalty after a late challenge on Bengtsson by Panayiotou. Kvilitaia calmly converted, securing victory for the hosts.

Aris’ controlled performance was slightly marred by Steeve Yago’s mistimed challenge on Loizou, which saw the defender sent off for a second yellow card.

APOEL 0-1 AEK

AEK secured their first victory at the GSP against APOEL since 2015, courtesy of a 77th-minute winner from Imad Faraj.

Henning Berg’s side came close to opening the scoring in the 12th minute when Artur’s shot from the edge of the box was saved by Belec. Moments later, El Arabi broke through the AEK defense but opted to pass instead of shoot when the latter seemed the better option.

AEK’s relentless pressing and aggression made it a tough evening for the hosts, who looked fatigued following their midweek Conference League commitments.

A momentary lapse in concentration by APOEL allowed Gama and Garcia to combine for a one-two, with Gama’s low cross finding Faraj, who scored the decisive goal.

Anorthosis 3-1 Nea Salamina

Three goals in 14 first-half minutes gave Anorthosis their second win of the season as they cruised past Nea Salamina at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium.

Konstantinos Chrysopoulos opened the scoring in the 24th minute, rifling in a headed pass from Rafa Lopes. Sergio Conceicao doubled the lead in the 35th minute when his cross from the left evaded everyone and nestled into the bottom corner. Captain Artymatas sealed the win two minutes later with a side-footed effort from 20 yards out.

Karmiotissa 2-0 Apollon

Mauro Camoranese began his tenure as Karmiotissa head coach with a home win against top-six contenders Apollon.

Christos Gioussis scored his second goal in as many games, bundling in from six yards. Former Manchester City academy player Jose Angel Pozo continued his impressive start since joining the club, sealing the win with a left-footed shot from just inside the area on the hour mark.

AEL 5-2 Ethnikos

AEL ended their losing streak in a seven-goal thriller at the Alpha Mega Arena.

Ethnikos took an early lead through Pablo Gonzalez, but AEL leveled in the 31st minute with Ouedrago’s header from a corner.

Chris Coleman’s side went into halftime 2-1 up after Stolnik’s deft touch on the edge of the six-yard box beat Flores at his near post. Ethnikos equalised three minutes into the second half with a close-range finish by the in-form Nicolas Andereggen, but a 25-minute hat-trick from captain Andreas Makris secured an emphatic win for AEL.

Omonoia 29M 1-2 Omonoia Aradippou

Newly promoted Omonoia Aradippou climbed to seventh in the table with a 2-1 away win at Omonoia 29M.

The visitors capitalized on their height advantage, scoring two headed goals through Ferrier and Sidonio. On-loan forward Jay Enem pulled one back for Omonoia 29M in the 42nd minute, but it wasn’t enough to avoid defeat.