ALKI coach Itzhak Shum was delighted with his side’s 2-1 victory over league leaders APOEL on Sunday at the Antonis Papadopoulos stadium in Larnaca.
“This is a very good night for everyone within the club because we were able to win. Not only did we take the three points but we beat APOEL who are a very big team,” he said.
“My team played some great football and although we had many players missing, we managed to win.
“When they all return to the squad we will show what we are really capable of as, in my opinion, we belong among the top six teams in this league.
Now, we must forget this game and approach the next one with exactly the same levels of seriousness,” Shum added.
For beaten APOEL, coach Ivan Jovanovic couldn’t hide his disappointment at the post-match press conference.
“The unwritten laws of football clearly state that when you do not convert your chances you could lose,” he said.
“Two consecutive defeats at this point of the season generate an immense concern for us. We must try to correct some things in our systems, but we are still looking to achieve our pre-set objectives,” he added.
“Again, the criticism directed towards us is a bit over-the top however, we are still the league leaders and pretty much everything is still in our hands,” concluded Jovanovic.
Sinisa Dobrasinovic put the hosts ahead with a second minute penalty, while Boban Grncarov leveled the scores ten minutes into the second half.
Despite having the initiative, the visitors could not find the net for a second time and it was Antonio Semedo who set up the final score against the run of play to bring the Larnaca side an unlikely victory.
Elsewhere, Anorthosis recorded their third consecutive victory after a 2-1 win over AEP Paphos at the Paphiako stadium.
Vincent Laban and Mark Fotheringham both scored for the visitors in the first half, while Portuguese international Bernardo Vasconcelos pulled one back for the hosts in the second.
AEK and Apollon Limassol meanwhile both failed to take advantage of their opportunities to cut the deficit to APOEL as they could only manage home draws against AEL Limassol and Ermis Aradippou. At the GSZ stadium it was 1-1, while there were no goals at the Tsirion stadium.
“We decided to play without a classic striker but rather with two attacking midfielders and although we had plenty of good final passes, we clearly lacked a player to finish the chances off in front of goal,” AEK coach Ton Caanen said afterwards.
Doxa Katokopia topped APOP Kinyras Peyias 4-3, while Olympiakos Nicosia celebrated against Ethnikos in Achna 1-0.
In the final game of Round 22, Omonia hosted Enosis Neon Paralimni at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia last night.
