Omonia and Pafos FC played out a battling 1-1 draw at Nicosia’s GSP Stadium on Thursday night in their Europa Conference League knockout phase playoff first leg, taking a commanding aggregate lead into next week’s second leg.
The tie was the first ever all-Cypriot match in European competition, with nothing separating the two sides ahead of next week’s second leg.
It was Pafos FC who had the better of the opening exchanges, though the tie’s first 10 minutes saw no clear-cut chances, and Pafos FC themselves, while enjoying more of the ball, did not create more than a few largely aimless crosses into Omonia’s penalty box, which their hosts comfortably cleared.
On the few occasions when Omonia did make it into their opposition’s final third, however, the away side’s defensive line did look nervy and somewhat perturbed by the hostile atmosphere created by the hosts’ boisterous home support.
It was this nerviness which allowed Omonia to register the night’s first shot on target, with a wayward defensive pass from Pafos FC’s defence landing at the feet of Loizos Loizou, who’s cross found the head of Willy Semedo.
Semedo’s goalward header was saved and caught by Pafos FC goalkeeper Ivica Ivusic, and while Semedo went down claiming a penalty, it appeared he was actually caught from behind by his own teammate Andronikos Kakoulli.
The home fans were less than convinced, however, with deafening boos ringing around the GSP for a minute or two thereafter.
From that point forth, the game settled until the half-hour mark, when Pafos FC once again managed to pen their hosts into their own box for a couple of minutes. However, the pressure once again went to waste when Muamer Tankovic tried a wild shot from 30 yards out which flew high into the sea of emerald-clad Omonia fans in the GSP’s north stand behind Fabiano’s goal.
A minute later, another nervy pass from Ivica Ivusic was cut out Andronikos Kakoulli, but his low, daisy-cutting cross could not find a teammate, and Ivusic’s blushes were spared.
The final five minutes of the first half saw Omonia mount their first period of sustained pressure in their opposition’s half, and with Pafos FC’s skittishness at the back, every time the home side lost the ball, an errant pass quickly saw them regain it.
However, like their hosts, they were unable to create any clear-cut chances from their pressure, and the half ended goalless.
The first act of the second half happened before some in the stands had retaken their seats, with an inch-perfect forty-yard pass from Omonia’s Stevan Jovetic, formerly of Fiorentina and Manchester City, zipping into the path of Loizos Loizou, who was tripped by Jonathan Silva to give the hosts a penalty.
A full three minutes later, Willy Semedo stepped up to send Ivusic the wrong way and find the bottom right-hand corner of Pafos FC’s net, despite slipping as he struck the ball.
The away side immediately went in search of an equaliser, with first a Muamer Tankovic volley and then Jonathan Silva with a header forcing Omonia goalkeeper Fabiano into saves.
Pafos FC’s hunt for a route back into the game did leave them more exposed at the back than they had been in the first half, and this allowed Loizos Loizou to dispossess Muamer Tankovic and try his luck from 35 yards shortly before the hour mark, though the save was easy enough to make for Ivusic.
Minutes later, a half-volley from Andronikos Kakoulli briefly had Ivusic worried, but the shot eventually dribbled past the post.
The next big chance of the game fell to Jovetic, who could only head the ball over the crossbar after getting himself on the end of a lofted cross from Amine Khammas.
The home side seemed to be asserting their authority on the game, with the one-goal advantage giving them a sense of confidence which had deserted them for much of the first half.
They then gave their visitors a penalty of their own, however, with a nothing pass into Muamer Tankovic leading to him being bundled over by Omonia’s Novica Erakovic inside the hosts’ box, and Italian referee Simone Sozza pointing to the spot for the second time of the night.
Tankovic took the penalty himself, but his shot to the goalkeeper’s left was weak and nowhere near in the corner enough to beat Fabiano, who connected a strong left hand to the ball to turn it out for a corner.
The game seemed to be petering out somewhat, with tired legs setting in and more space appearing on the pitch, and neither side able to string more than a couple of passes together.
That was until a mazy run up the left wing from Pafos FC substitute Ken Sema saw him wriggle free from the Omonia defence’s advances, before setting the ball to fellow substitute Mislav Orsic, who side-footed the ball past Fabiano to draw his side level.
The side from the west coast had the chance to win the game late on, with a well-worked move seeing Bruno find Anderson in the box, but the latter’s shot could only find the side netting.
The game finished 1-1, with nothing between the sides heading into next Thursday’s second leg at Limassol’s Alphamega Stadium.
Meanwhile, Apoel, the third Cypriot side playing in the Conference League, drew 2-2 away at Slovenian champions Celje. The return leg will be played at the GSP Stadium next Thursday.
