Trickovski scores hat-trick as APOEL hammer AEK

 

Ivan Trickovski scored his first hat-trick of the season as APOEL secured a crushing 3-0 victory over AEK Larnaca, to keep hold of the top spot ahead of Omonia and AEL on Monday night at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia.

“This was a very difficult game for us as we had many players out. I think that the final score does not reflect the actual proceedings on the pitch. In my opinion AEK player really well; however, I also think that we deservedly won,” said APOEL’s manager Ivan Jovanovic.

“We have a week or so to rest now and finish this amazing year in a best possible way. Although I have some concerns in regards if this break will hurt our continuity – we definitely need to get everyone back to full fitness, because this is the only way we could stay competitive in both Cyprus and Champions League,” Jovanovic added.

APOEL will finish the calendar year with 32 points at the top of the national championship, while Omonia and AEL are both at 31 points, with the Nicosia team being currently in the second place on the better head-to-head record.

Omonia also recorded a comprehensive 3-0 victory on Monday night as they travelled to Larnaca where they took on Alki. Having their manager Neophytos Larkou still serving the ban, his assistant Sophocles Sophocleous dedicated this win to his boss.

“We wanted to take all three points from this away game and boost our team morale after three consecutive negative results. We managed to stick to the game plan and deservedly won. Now we will have some time to rest and regroup and hopefully return in 2012 much stronger. This victory is dedicated to our fans, but especially our manager Neophytos Larkou,” Sophocleous said.

Elsewhere, Aris beat Enosis Neon Paralimni 1-0 at the Tsirion Stadium through Claudiu Ionescu’s tenth-minute penalty, while Apollon Limassol beat Ermis Aradippou 2-0 away from home. 

 

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