Neck and neck in Cyprus

By John Leonidou

APOEL FC and Anorthosis Famagusta FC are neck and neck at the top of the Cypriot First Division with both teams unbeaten after ten games.

Kinkladze strike
The clubs met on 21 November and played out a thrilling 1-1 draw in front of a capacity crowd in Larnaca. Former Manchester City FC player Georgi Kinkladze gave hosts Anorthosis the lead with a sweet strike before a deflected Marios Neophytou free-kick levelled matters.

Easy win
Ivan Jovanovic's APOEL dropped two more points in their next match, drawing 1-1 at home to Ethnikos Achnas FC, but a 3-0 win at AEP Paphos FC on 4 December, with goals from youngsters Nektarios Alexandrou and Konstantinos Makrides and a late third from Konstantinos Charalambides, restored confidence.

Season aims
"We showed again today what a strong team we have and how we can play when we put our minds to it," said APOEL defender Stelios Okkarides. "However, we will have to prove it again and again in all of our upcoming games if we want to achieve our goal."

Ricard move
APOEL could be further strengthened if ex-Middlesbrough FC striker and Colombian international Hamilton Ricard's proposed move to the club happens. However, the champions will face stern competition from Anorthosis, who have been in fine form under player-coach Timuri Ketsbaia.

Anorthosis form
Following the draw with APOEL, Noordin Wooter's goal gave them a 1-0 win at Apollon Limassol FC, which moved them level with APOEL on points, and they helped their goal difference with a 5-0 home victory against Olympiakos Nicosia FC in the following game, with a Nicos Froussos double and strikes from Wooter, Kinkladze and Ketsbaia.

Kosdov exit
That match proved to be Nikolai Kosdov's last as Olympiakos coach. Club president Christoforos Tornarites was reportedly so unhappy with Olympiakos's performance that he immediately fired Kosdov and replaced him with his old assistant Andros Kouloumbris.

Omonia recovering
Elsewhere, AC Omonia appear to have recovered from their poor start, with consecutive wins against Alki Larnaca FC, Nea Salamis FC and Enosis Neon Paralimni FC taking Vesko Mihajlovic's team into third place. However, things have gone from bad to worse for cup holders AEK Larnaca FC, who despite sacking coach Andreas Mouskallis and installing Neophytos Larkou, have just seven points after losing the local derby against Alki.