Omonia to face Anorthosis in Cyprus Cup

CUP holders Omonia have been handed a tough test against league leaders Anorthosis in the standout tie of the Cyprus Coca Cola Cup quarter-finals, when the draw was made on Thursday.

“We are sure that we have two good matches ahead of us. We have faith in our team and although we trail Anorthosis in the national championship, this will have no influence on our performance in the cup,” said Omonia spokesman Andreas Demetriou immediately after the draw had been conducted.

The first leg will be played at the GSP Stadium in Nicosia on February 13, while the return leg has been scheduled for seven days later at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in Larnaca. The other two dates for the quarter-final matches are February 27, which will be postponed should the country’s presidential elections progress into the second round, as well as March 13.

Apollon meanwhile secured their spot in the draw for the final eight on Wednesday afternoon with another 1-0 victory over Nea Salamina, giving them a 2-0 aggregate win. They will now take on Ayia Napa in the quarter-finals.

“We created many opportunities, but we were not focused enough to convert them into goals. What is important is that we have advanced to the next round. The final score could have been different, but it does not really matter now. We have to concentrate on our next league match this weekend against Doxa Katokopia and hopefully record another victory,” said Apollon coach Nikodimos Papavasiliou.

AEK Larnaca also confirmed their last-eight participation on Wednesday afternoon and, after winning 1-0 at home in the first leg, they battled to a 3-3 draw against Olympiakos in Nicosia.

They were drawn to make the short trip to Paralimni as they face Enosis in the first leg, while Jorge Costa’s AEL were rewarded with a clash against AEP Paphos after surprisingly eliminating APOEL in the previous round.

The Cyprus Mail is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Cyprus. It was established in 1945 and today, with its popular and widely-read website, the Cyprus Mail is among the most trusted news sites in Cyprus. The newspaper is not affiliated with any political parties and has always striven to maintain its independence. Over the past 70-plus years, the Cyprus Mail, with a small dedicated team, has covered momentous events in Cyprus’ modern history, chronicling the last gasps of British colonial rule, Cyprus’ truncated independence, the coup and Turkish invasion, and the decades of negotiations to stitch the divided island back together, plus a myriad of scandals, murders, and human interests stories that capture the island and its -people. Observers describe it as politically conservative.