Big Apoel v Omonia derby ends in stalemate

The big Nicosia derby between arch-rivals Apoel and Omonia ended in stalemate on Monday night at the GSP stadium in Nicosia.

Neither side were able to make the all-important breakthrough, meaning Omonia missed out on the chance to join Anorthosis at the top of the Cyprus championship standings.

The point gained in the 0-0 draw means the Greens remain in second place on 22 points, two behind the Famagusta side.

Apoel meanwhile join AEL in third place on 18 points, but the champions have two games in hand over Anorthosis, due to their European commitments earlier in the season.

Over the weekend, Anorthosis beat AEK 2-1 in Larnaca as goals from Nikolaos Kaltsas and Tornike Okriashvili ensured the three points for Temur Ketsbaia’s men.

The other game played on Saturday saw AEL beat Ethnikos Achna 1-0 away thanks to Ruben Jurado’s goal. The high-flying Limassol side face Anorthosis in a crucial game next Saturday.

Apollon played on Sunday and enjoyed an easy 4-1 home win over Nea Salamina thanks to a brace from Serge Gakpe and individual goals scored by Emilio Zelaya and Facundo Pereyra.

The other game played on Sunday saw bottom side Doxa beat fellow strugglers Pafos 1-0 thanks to a goal scored by Dorian Dervite.

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.