Cup reunites APOEL and Omonia

A Cypriot Cup semi-final first leg against Marinos Ouzounides' APOEL FC on Wednesday will give AC Omonia a chance to deny their traditional rivals a league and cup double.

Two-legged tie
With APOEL already within touching distance of taking the league title for the first time since 2003/04, second-placed Omonia can steal back some kudos with victory in front of what is sure to be a sell-out crowd at the new GSP Stadium in Nicosia in one of the island's games of the season. The rivalry between the two clubs - backed by opposing political parties - is without doubt the fiercest in Cyprus. Hardly surprising, then, that former APOEL and Olympiacos CFP midfielder Leonidas Leonidou remembers well his 33rd-minute winner in 1969, the first cup final between the two sides.

'Bitter pill'
"Scoring that goal was one of the biggest moments of my career," Leonidou told uefa.com. "I was only 19 and the expectation was phenomenal. Things haven't really changed and the pressure is always on, especially in the cup. Losing in the cup is bad enough but for APOEL or Omonia to lose to each other is always a much more bitter pill to swallow." APOEL and Omonia met in two subsequent cup finals, with APOEL winning 2-0 in 1997 and Omonia gaining revenge with a 4-2 victory in the 2000 showpiece, but the most memorable recent meeting remains the 1991/92 quarter-final between the two sides at the Makarios Athletic Centre.

Classic encounter
APOEL and Omonia drew the first leg 1-1 and in the return APOEL led 2-1. Omonia managed to fight back to equalise - a result which still favoured APOEL due to their two away goals - until Hungarian striker Jozef Juriac's strike in the third minute of added time sealed a famous win for Omonia. Despite their success against APOEL, however, Omonia failed to lift the trophy that season, losing 1-0 in the final to Apollon Limassol FC.

Tight lips
Ahead of the latest instalment of their rivalry, injuries have troubled both sides as APOEL's top scorer Esteban Solari is a doubt while Omonia coach Yiannis Mantzourakis is unlikely to have Portuguese midfielder Edgar Marcelino available. Players from both teams have been keeping quiet about the tie to come. "We will do our talking on the pitch," said Omonia defender Nelson Vega. The talk will begin in earnest after the second leg on 25 April.