Top two pick up vital wins in title battle

League leaders AEK cruised to a 3-0 win away to Karmiotissa in Round 16 of the Cyprus football championship on Wednesday evening, while champions Apoel kept up the pressure at the top with a narrow 1-0 victory over Nea Salamina at the GSP stadium in Nicosia.

Ivan Trickovski opened the scoring for AEK in the 16th minute, with the Larnaca side adding two late goals through Andre Alves and Reyes Acoran.

Apoel had Igor de Camargo’s 47th-minute winner to thank for all three points, as the Nicosia giants closed to within two points of AEK at the top of the table.
Elsewhere, Omonia produced a memorable comeback at Doxa, with Matt Derbyshire and Fanos Katelaris both scoring in the final eight minutes as the Greens fought back for a 3-2 win.

Anagennisis Deryneia and Ermis played out an entertaining 2-2 draw, while Apollon registered a 2-1 home win over AEZ.

AEL have a chance to join AEK at the top on 39 points when they travel to Achna to face Ethnikos on Thursday afternoon (4pm), with Anorthosis hosting Aris (5pm) in the day’s other match.

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.