WILDCARDS AEK of Larnaca clinched their first-ever title on Sunday night, beating AEL 2-1 in the cup final and setting off scenes of wild jubilation in the seaside town.
The celebrations were understandably intense, as fans vented years of pent-up frustration; over the past decade, Larnaca had become something of a backwater on the local football scene. AEK, the only team representing Larnaca in the top division, was formed 10 years ago from a merger between Pezoporikos and EPA.
But in the semis they made people sit up and take notice, after eliminating Nicosia powerhouse and cup favourites Omonia. A team lacking flair and big names, AEK relied instead on solid tactics, provided by their charismatic coach Andreas Mouskallis, who has made it a habit of winning cup trophies.
Nor were they impressive in the final. In fact, it was clear from the outset that both teams were defensively geared and were not prepared to take unnecessary risks. Still, the game had good flow and pace, and produced a number of goalmouth chances, though most resulted from scrambles.
Then 24 minutes into the game AEK’s Makis Papaioannou broke the deadlock, latching onto a corner kick; his header from point-blank range left AEL’s keeper no chance.
Trailing 1-0, AEL tried to mount a counterattack, but their forays into the opposing penalty box lacked the punch; AEK had done their homework, their airtight defence shutting out all danger.
But the equalizer came out of the blue, it seemed, when a bizarre lobbed cross from a free kick found Lisasi, whose even weirder flick wrong-footed everyone. Depending on how you look at it, the play was a stroke of genius or just a lucky break for the AEL striker.
Level at 1-1, the teams each mounted sporadic attacks, without producing any clear-cut chances. It began looking like the game might go into extra time.
But the best was saved for last, as the sides more than made up for the lack of drama in the space of just a few minutes. In the 90th minute, AEK were awarded a contentious corner. After the remonstrations had died down, Sophocleous stepped up to take it; again, the unmarked Papaioannou made contact with the ball, giving AEK a 2-1 lead right at the death.
With time running out fast, AEL had no choice but all-out attack. And they came very close to levelling, but a header wizzed agonizingly past the AEK goalpost. And in stoppage time, Lisasi was arguably brought down in the box, but the referee did not point to the penalty spot.
The final whistle saw AEK players and fans jumping for joy. That was in stark contrast to AEL; this was the second straight year the side made it to the final, only to bow out at the end.
Unfortunately the event was not spared some bouts of hooliganism, with police making four arrests. There were no clashes between the fans, but groups of youths reportedly resisted arrest and assaulted riot squad officers after they were spotted hurling firecrackers on the field. A 33-year-old man from Limassol was arrested on suspicion of setting fire to bushes outside the stadium. Before the match, two people driving to the GSP stadium were slightly injured when unidentified assailants threw rocks at their cars.
Now the sixty million-dollar question is whether AEK, as cup winners, will be joining champions Apoel and runners-up Omonia in European tournaments next season. The FA has ruled that a number of teams—including AEK—do not meet specified UEFA criteria. The Larnaca club have said they intend to appeal the decision. The other candidates for the third European ticket are AEL (cup finalists) and Apollon (third-placed in league championship), but both currently do not satisfy UEFA’s criteria, meaning the slot could go to Ethnikos.
