Pressure on Omonia mounting

By Iacovos Constantinou

THE fifth round of the Cyprus football league begins on Saturday with Omonia’s tough home fixture against Ermis Aradippou and Ethnikos Achna’s seemingly easy game against lowly Doxa Katokopias.

In five games so far, Omonia have failed to impress managing just two wins, with the pressure on coach Kostas Kaiafas mounting.
Milan Stepanov is still not available through suspension but Omonia’s organised fans (Gate 9) will be back as they responded positively to their coach’s plea for them to return after staying away from Omonia’s last home game.

If last season is anything to go by, the home team will need their fans as last year they failed to beat Ermis Aradippou on four occasions.

Ermis will be without Demetriou, Zarkovic and Christophi but Onilo is fit and may be recalled to the starting line-up.
Ethnikos Achnas, buoyed by their last win against Omonia, will be hoping to put another three points in the bag.

However, their opponents Doxa Katokopias, managed to pick up an unlikely point against Nea Salamina last week and should they show further improvement, they will be a tough opponent.

Third-placed AEL entertain Anorthosis in Limassol on Sunday with both sides looking for the win.
AEL will be without their leading Polish striker Gigiewitz for the first time this season while central defenders Cantou and Shellis are expected to be passed fit despite niggling injuries.

Despite being at the wrong end of the table, Anorthosis are at times a joy to watch and should they manage to get some consistency in their play they may leave the Tsirion with all three points.

AEK Larnaca will travel as favourites to the Tasos Markou stadium to face first division newcomers Ayia Napa who are finding life at the top frightening.

They have so far collected just one point and are currently also in search of a new coach having sacked Nicos Andronikou earlier this week.

Cyprus’ two ‘Europeans’ and current table toppers, APOEL and Apollon, play on Monday against Othellos Athienou and Nea Salamina respectively.

APOEL, just one point clear of Apollon, know that tough tackling Othellos will not throw in the towel without a fight while Apollon will have to be at their best if they want to leave the Ammochostos stadium with all three points against Nea Salamina.

Saturday, October 4th
Omonia vs Ermis Aradippou, Ethnikos Achnas vs Doxa (Both at 18.00)
Sunday, October 5th
AEL vs Anorthosis (18.00), Agia Napa vs AEK (19.00)
Monday, October 5th
Othellos Athienou vs APOEL (18.30), Nea Salamina vs Apollonas (20.00)

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.