Cyprus round-up: APOEL regain top spot

APOEL Nicosia FC moved top of the Cypriot First Division with a comfortable 2-0 victory over AEP Paphos FC while title rivals Omonia Nicosia FC saw their game at Enosis Neon Paralimniou postponed due to crowd safety issues.

Seating unsafe
Omonia's fixture in Paralimni was cancelled after police officials stated that the seating arrangements organized by the Municipal Paralimni stadium for the supporters of both clubs was unsafe.

Georgiou double
Meanwhile, the postponement did little to dampen APOEL's spirits as they comfortably defeated AEP at the GSP stadium, with Stavros Georgiou scoring twice. Georgiou's first goal came after Kostakis Malekkos' free-kick on the half-hour mark with his second arriving on 59 minutes after an error in the Paphos defence.

Nicolaou on target
Anorthosis - who are snapping at the heels of APOEL and Omonia in third place - were also in high spirits as they defeated a gritty Ethnikos Achnas FC side 2-0 at the Antonis Papadopoulos stadium in Larnaca. New signing Vladan Tomic gave Andreas Michaelides' side the lead just before half-time and Nicos Nicolaou added the second in the second minute of stoppage time. Anorthosis have now gone nine games undefeated since the arrival of coach Michaelides.

Derby draw
The local derby between AEL Limassol FC and Apollon Limassol FC finished in a tense 2-2 draw. Brazilian midfield player Luciano de Souza had given AEL the lead on eight minutes but Apollon replied on the stroke of half-time when veteran playmaker Milenko Spoljaric fired beyond Demetris Leoni. Pambos Pittas - a former captain of Apollon - looked to have scored the winner for AEL when he struck in the 83rd minute but Apollon had the last word as Kakos Kyriakou drew the two sides level in added time.

Four for Papandreou
Dighenis Morphou FC enjoyed a memorable night as they recorded their biggest ever league victory with an 8-0 success against Alki Larnaca FC at the Makarios Athletic Centre in Nicosia. Greek striker Georgos Papandreou was on top form, scoring four goals while Alexis Alexandrou scored twice. Further goals from Andreas Nicolaou and an own goal from Christos Manolis completed a miserable afternoon for Alki, who remain second from bottom in the 14-team league.

Olympiakos in the hunt
In the weekend's other games, Nea Salamis FC remain in the relegation zone after suffering a 4-2 defeat at the hands of by AEK Larnaca FC, while Aris Limassol FC - another side pitted deep in the drop zone - were also on the receiving end of a heavy defeat as they fell 4-0 against fourth-placed Olympiakos Nicosia FC.