APOEL frustrated in Champions League opener

APOEL were unable to break the deadlock in the first leg of their Champions League second round qualifier, drawing 0-0 away to The New Saints on Tuesday night.
The Cypriot side looked rusty at the start of what was their first official game of the campaign, and it was the Welsh side who had the first good chance of the match, as an unmarked Scott Quigley headed high and wide on 13 minutes.
However, APOEL eventually clicked into gear and grew livelier as the game wore on. De Vincenti drilled a shot wide on 23 minutes before Vinicius volleyed over from close range moments later.
In the second half, APOEL dominated possession and had their opponents penned in their own half but Thomas Christiansen’s men failed to muster any clear-cut opportunities to win the game.
Efrem and Morais went close with long-range efforts, while Vander proved a constant threat cutting on the wing, but lack of match-sharpness was evident on the Nicosia club’s part.
The return leg will take place next Tuesday at the GSP Stadium, where the Cypriot champions will have to put in a much better display if they are to reach the next 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.