OMONOIA HELD TO FRUSTRATING DRAW IN PRISTINA

Omonoia thoroughly dominated this UEFA Conference League fixture against FC Drita from Kosovo, but only get a point to show for it in a 1-1 draw in Pristina. Drita struck first on what was probably their only real chance of the match, off the head of Arb Manaj. Omonoia were eventually able to hit back on their own header from Giannis Masouras, but the home side were able to hold Omonoia in the second half.

This was Omonoia’s first time facing opposition from Kosovo and their first trip to Kosovo. Omonoia have still never won an away fixture in the group stage of a European competition. Omonoia will next play Monday at home to Pafos FC. Their next European match will be on the 6^th of November as they visit Swiss side Lausanne Sport.

Omonoia visited FC Drita at the Stadiumi Fadil Vokrri in Pristina, as Giljan City Stadium in Giljan, Kosovo does not meet UEFA standards. Omonoia dominated the early minutes, but the best chance they could muster was a Fotis Kitsos header that went wide.

Instead, much against the run of play, the home side struck first. On their first rush towards the Omonoia goal, Besnik Krasniqi played in a cross for Arb Manaj, and what seemed like a harmless header took a wild bounce off the pitch, off the inside of the post and eventually past a surprised Fabiano, and in the twelfth minute, it was 1-0 for Drita.

Omonoia continued to push, but for all their possession struggled to create chances. Kitsos put one on goal that Faton Maloku turned aside, but the play was offside anyway. Then it appeared that Senou Coulibaly as he so often does in European play, might score on a set piece header, but that effort went over the net.

On another set piece, it looked like Omonoia would find what they were looking for, a free kick found Stevan Jovetic in space, and he did very well to get it past Maloku but the offside flag went up. VAR looked at it, but stuck with the original call. Captain Ioannis Kousoulos hit a tame, but well-placed strike that Maloku just got enough of for a corner. On the ensuing corner, the ball came to Jovetic, but he shanked it wide. Later, Jovetic put a header on net, Maloku made the save, and the rebound was just out of the reach of Evangelos Andreou.

Finally just before halftime, all the pressure paid off. Omonoia got a corner which was well delivered by Ewandro Costa, Maloku hesitated slightly and that’s what allowed Giannis Masouras to head the ball past him and into the net, and the equalizer finally came, the halftime score was 1-1.

Omonoia opened the second half certainly smelling blood. Jovetic found himself with plenty of space and time, but ultimately his shot was straight at Maloku. Krasniqi at the other end tried to chip Fabiano, but the Brazilian-Cypriot keeper got back to tip it over the bar. Tasos Chatzigiovanis almost made an immediate impact when he entered, but his first touch just buzzed the outside of the post. Omonoia continued to press, but failed to convert that possession into chances, and they ran out of time, settling for a 1-1 draw.

Drita(Zekirija Ramadani): 1. Faton Maloku(GK), 2. Besnik Krasniqi, 15. Egzon Bejtulai, 32. Jorgo Pellumbi, 26. Raddy Ovouka, 14. Albert Dabiqaj, 4. Rron Broja(Captain)(’65 8. Vesel Limaj), 3. Blerton Sheji, 20. Mamadou Soumahoro(’65 7. Alamir Ajzeraj), 10. Liridon Balaj(’72 36. Ilir Mustafa), 9. Arb Manaj(’86 77. Kristal Abazaj)

Omonoia(Henning Berg): 40. Fabiano(GK), 3. Fotis Kitsos, 30. Nikolas Panayiotou, 5. Senou Coulibaly(’53 17. Saad Agouzoul), 21. Giannis Masouras, 14. Mateo Maric, 31. Ioannis Kousoulos(Captain)(’79 44. Novica Erakovic), 11. Ewandro Costa, 7. Willy Semedo(’79 85. Angelos Neophytou), 20. Evangelos Andreou(’79 10. Tasos Chatzigiovanis), 8. Stevan Jovetic(’65 19. Ryan Mmaee)

Andrew Mantzas

Twitter: @MantzasNC