Return of the Moufflons as Cyprus trounce Hungary

By Alexander McCowan

WHEN Cyprus turned out against the Magyars at the ‘home ground’ of Paphiakos Stadium on Saturday they knew that no mercy would be shown by their opponents. Whoever lost was destined for relegation and the Cypriots were certain it wasn’t going to be them.

The mercurial Turgot romped past four defenders and touched down for the first try giving the Moufflons a 5-0 cover. Zavallis, the division’s top scorer, made some penetrating runs culminating in frustration when his kicks through failed to achieve a score.

Moufflons left the field at half-time 8-0 up due to a penalty from Matt King 35m out and into a fierce Paphos wind. Better management in the second half led to a converted try by King from a tactical kick through by the excellent Zavallis. Drop out led to a penalty for visitors.

The final score: Cyprus 15-Hungary 3.

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.