THE CYPRUS WEEKLY NOVEMBER 12 - 18, 2010 57 Omonia await Anorthosis challenge HAVING BOTH LOST TO LEAGUE LEADERS APOEL, THERE IS NO ROOM FOR ERROR N either title holders Omonia nor second place Anorthosis Famagusta can afford to slip up as they prepare to meet each other in tomorrow’s big game. Both teams currently trail league leaders APOEL, who will be looking to increase the gap at the top with a victory away to APOP Kinyras/Peyias. Last weekend, Anorthosis dropped points for a third time in succession after a late Pedro Moutinho goal salvaged a 1-1 draw for AEP at the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium. That allowed Omonia, who recently unveiled Dusan Bajevic as their new coach, to go within one point of the refugee club after an early strike from Andreas Avraam away to Enosis Neon Paralimniou gifted them all three points. Bajevic followed up that success in Paralimni when his makeshift Omonia side had an easy afternoon in midweek defeating second division Halkanoras 4-0 in a Cup game at Dhali. “The players were focused and sharp”, commented Bajevic, who added that his team lineup in the game was not a dress rehearsal for the game against Anorthosis. “They didn’t show any signs of underestimating our opponent. Now we look towards the game with Anorthosis.” Bajevic is expected to be missing four players in the game against Anorthosis – namely Noel Kaseke, skipper Elias Charalambous, Lomana LuaLua and Jose Rueda. Anorthosis coach Guillermo Hoyo has been distracted of late after being informed by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA) that he didn’t have the necessary credentials to coach a first division club in Cyprus. This prompted Anorthosis to sign on Bulgarian coach Emile Simov possessing the necessary UEFA licence, although the Argentine will remain the man in charge despite losing his post in an official capacity. The ongoing saga over Hoyo’s qualifications has coincided with a run of three consecutive draws – Anorthosis dropping six points and surrendering first place to APOEL at the top of the league standings. Fans were again left frustrated last weekend, when bottom club AEP pinched an unlikely point against them. French midfielder Vincent Laban appeared to get things going when he converted a penalty on 65 minutes before Moutinho came off the bench on 82 minutes to draw his side level after the Anorthosis defence failed to clear a long ball. APOEL kept their hold on first place with a 1-0 victory courtesy of a first half goal from Brazilian midfielder Gustavo Manduca. Ivan Jovanovic’s side who have now gone 461 minutes without conceding a goal, celebrated their club’s 84 years birthday with their win over Alki. This year’s surprise packages AEK Larnaca continued their impressive form with a 2-1 victory away to troubled AEL. Freddy had given the hosts the lead on 15 minutes but the Larnaca club rallied and sealed the victory at the end through Spaniard Arnal (78) and Greek substitute George Lambropoulos (90). Elsewhere, second division side Adonis Idaliou provided the only upset on an otherwise one-side day of Cyprus Coca-Cola Cup football on Wednesday after coming back from behind to beat first division outfits Ermis Aradippou. The two sides will meet again in two weeks in Aradippou for the second leg with Christakis Kassianos’ side expected to overturn the deficit. Evandro Roncatto had given Ermis the lead on 23 minutes but the hosts struck back through George Loizou. Adonis’ hopes of going into halftime with a 1-1 draw were dashed just before the interval when another Brazilian Fabinho made it 2-1. Adonis came out fighting in the second half and took a deserved victory through Pantelis Tavrou before former Anorthosis Famagusta trainee Savvas Parmakkis hit the winner 18 minutes before the end. Meanwhile, Cyprus boss Angelos Anastasiades has called up 21 players for the upcoming friendly against Jordan in Amman on Tuesday. The Greek coach, who has come under fire recently following disappointing defeats to Norway and Denmark in Euro2012 qualifying group, has called up a familiar line-up which includes a call-up for APOEL’s Anthos Solomou. Anorthosis boss Guillermo Hoyo