APOEL fell to a second straight defeat in the Europa League, going down to a 2-0 loss at the hands of Sparta Prague, making the Cypriot side’s aspirations of reaching the next round complicated.
With a notoriously good home record in European competition, Sparta were always going to be a big threat to contend with in front of their own supporters. The Czechs set out their stall early on, laying an early siege to Boy Waterman’s goal.
Despite being the current joint-top scorer in the Cypriot league, Fernando Cavenaghi was again left on the bench as he was against Schalke by Temur Ketsbaia. In the absence of Pieros Soteriou, the Georgian boss instead opted for Mateusz Piatkowski up front.
APOEL’s already tough challenge was made even more difficult due to the absence of Vinicius through injury while Joao Guilherme could only make the bench. The void of Guilherme was filled by a surprise start for 18-year-old Rafael Anastasiou while Giorgos Efrem replaced the suspended Tomas De Vincenti.
On 23 minutes, the home side’s early pressure got its reward. A chipped ball to the angle of the penalty area found David Lafata who then had the time and space to pick out an unmarked Kehinde Fatai to tap the ball in from a few yards out.
APOEL began to come out of their shell in the early stages of the second period and on 59 minutes came a golden opportunity for an equaliser. Stilic, who came on for Vander as a substitute, played a perfectly measured diagonal ball into the box but Efrem’s toe-poke was well saved at the near post by David Bicik.
Football can be a cruel game especially at the top level where failure to take chances is so often punished. Just moments after coming so close to a leveller, Sparta sprung forward in numbers and a far post cross found Jakub Brabec who made no mistake with the finish, putting the game well beyond any reasonable doubt.
The result leaves APOEL with no points after their opening two games, so to do Asteras Tripolis who suffered a 4-0 defeat to group leaders Schalke, who top the group with maximum points.
APOEL’s next European game is on 22 October at home to Asteras where a win is an absolute must if they are to maintain realistic hopes of making the top two of the group.
