ECSTATIC APOP Kinyras-Peyias FC, players and supporters celebrated into the early hours yesterday after they secured a place in the finals of the Cypriot cup for the first time ever on Wednesday night.
“It’s an historic moment for Peyia, as it’s the first time a Paphian team has managed to make it to the final,” said club spokesman, Andreas Petrou.
APOP Kinyras-Peyias emerged in 2003, after the clubs of APOP-Peyias and Kinyras-Embas joined forces. Since then they have rarely been out of the limelight, not only for playing high quality football, but also for alleged positive drug testing.
Team coach George Polyviou praised his team saying: “They played with a very strong mid-field and even though they found themselves behind in the first few minutes, they stood their ground well.”
The team lost by 1:0, but got through to the final as they had won the first leg of the cup.
Neofytos Akourshiotis, the mayor of Peyia said history was being made. “And our congratulations to George Polyviou as well as the players. This goes to prove Cypriot managers are not inferior to foreign managers.”
The mayor, who was obviously moved by the moment added: “Peyia is living a unique once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
A DJ playing in the village square and a fireworks display drew out villagers in their hundreds, waiting for the players to return victorious from Nicosia.
Church bells rang out as a party atmosphere settled on the town, whose clubs colours are yellow and blue, and home is the newly upgraded stadium of Peyia, which now meets first division criteria.
“The atmosphere in the square was brilliant,” said James Davidson, a British ex-pat resident.”I couldn’t get to the semis, but I’m definitely going to Nicosia for the finals. This is my home, and Peyia are my team. The feeling among the supporters was amazing, and it’s really nice to feel that we’re all together rooting for the same end.”
Petrou said it was nice to see a lot of British expats follow the team buses to Nicosia and make the effort to support the team.
Celebrations in Peyia broke out as soon as the game ended, and on their return, the team celebrated alongside their fans, until 2.30am in the morning.
Paphos local Fotis Nicolaides travelled up to the semi final because he is a fan of all the football teams in Paphos.
“I went to show my support. The atmosphere in the GSP stadium was electric, it wasn’t full, but there were about 10,000 people there. “I saw many foreign residents who had gone to support Peyia, it’s good to see,” he added. Fans at the match included the mayor of Peyia, and the Minister of Health, Christos Patsalides, who is from Paphos.
“Although I think there would usually be a fifty-fifty chance of Peyia winning the cup, I think they now have more belief in themselves, and because they will be in the final for the first time, the adrenaline will help pump them up.”
The APOP Kinyras spokesman added: “We will now have to be more organised with our celebrations, if we manage to get the cup, and the team are already working on tactics for next year.” The football team will be catapulted onto the European stage if they win the final, and go on to play in the prestigious UEFA cup.
“I want to thank all the people who came with us to Nicosia. The figure was around 1,200, which is a record for our small municipality,” Petrou said. “I invite everyone to support us. We would like to have more foreign residents with us at the final, and other away matches, and not just at the home ones, although many do come every week.”
And to the critics who say the team cost the municipality a lot of money, he added: “ I disagree. It only costs the municipality €170,000 a year towards the football team, and the rest of the required €2.5 million comes from donors, who love football, and from activities we organise.”
The team is up against AEL Limassol in the finals of the Cypriot cup, which will be held in Nicosia on May 16.
