Ketsbaia proud of plucky Anorthosis

Cypriot UEFA Cup representatives Anorthosis Famagusta FC are once again hoping to be giant-killers in Europe after a 3-1 win at CFR 1907 Cluj last night.

Deadly combination
Clinical finishing and iron-clad defending yesterday saw the refugee side beat the Romanian hopefuls and take a giant stride towards the first round of the UEFA Cup with goals from Anton Zlogar, William Boaventura and new Polish signing Lukasz Sosin doing the damage. In the previous round Anorthosis knocked out Macedonian Cup winners FK Vardar with 1-0 wins home and away.

Proud coach
Anorthosis coach Timuri Ketsbaia couldn't hide his delight after the final whistle. "We played well, smart but most of all we showed our worth," said the Georgian. "Today we showed on the pitch that there are no easy games for anyone, only difficult games. I believe that the second game at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium will be even more difficult."

Cautious approach
Despite the healthy lead, the former Newcastle United FC and AEK Athens FC midfielder remains cautious and warned his players that the tie is still not over. "Of course we have a big lead but that doesn't mean that the job is done. We will be aiming to finish the job in the return leg," he said.

European upsets
Anorthosis are no strangers to causing upsets in European football. Although they may not have as many titles as Nicosia giants APOEL FC and AC Omonia, they have a history in European competitions rich enough to make all Cypriots proud. In the past, they have defeated teams like Atlético Club Bilbao and K. Lierse SK in UEFA Champions League qualifying and also took Rangers FC down to the wire in 1994.

Trabzonspor triumph
Their crowning achievement in recent seasons saw them dump Turkish side Trabzonspor out of the UEFA Champions League second qualifying round in 2005 while their biggest UEFA Cup coup to date saw them oust Greek side Iraklis FC.