AN early Cillian Sheridan strike inside a packed GSP Stadium on Thursday was enough to see Omonia through to the Europa League third-round against Jagiellonia Bialystok.
Last week’s goalless draw in Poland meant the Nicosia side had to earn victory on home soil to progress to the third-round. A good start would have been the order of the day from manager Costas Kaiafas and that is exactly what he got.
With just eight minutes on the clock, Nuno Assis threaded a neat pass through to Sheridan who then cut back onto his favoured left-foot before unleashing a powerful low strike and, with the help of a slight deflection, found the bottom corner to send the GSP crowd into raptures.
The early goal instilled an air of confidence in the Omonia players, who took control of the game and looked a yard sharper than their opponents in the first half hour. Sheridan was looking lively and had two decent chances soon after but not enough to trouble goalkeeper Bartlomiej Dragowski. The Irishman was then fortunate not to be sent off after seemingly kicking out at his opponent after an aerial tussle.
Young Omonia goalkeeper Constantinos Panayi, who was so impressive in the first leg almost made a costly error late in the second half, completely misjudging an in-swinging cross from a corner but, luckily, the Jagiellonia players failed to react in time. The following minute, from another corner, Panayi made amends with a good save.
In the second-half, the magnitude of the game began to take a toll on both sides; Omonia’s play was absent of any composure as the nerves began to kick in while Jagiellonia lacked the quality to create clear goal-scoring opportunities.
Omonia’s best chance of the second period came in the 73rd minute when Ucha Lobjanidze’s overhead-cross found an unmarked Herold Goulon in the box, but the Frenchman’s attempt of a volley on the turn was a tough ask and lacked any significant power to trouble the keeper.
In the very next move, Dragowski’s long punt up-field brought out a commanding piece of goalkeeping from his opposite number Panayi, who stormed out of his penalty area to bravely cut out the danger and getting a knock in the process, further displaying his potential.
Jagiellonia threw everybody forward in the latter stages of the game in search of that crucial away goal, providing a nail-biting finish for the Omonia fans. Nevertheless, Kaiafas’ men bravely held on to secure a 1-0 win and a third-round spot for the second year running.
In stark contrast, Apollon’s task against Lithuania’s FK Trakai was all but a formality thanks to their convincing 4-0 win in the first leg.
The game was played at a very slow tempo with both sides well aware that the tie was a foregone conclusion. With very few chances for either side inside a deserted Vilniaus Stadium, a drub 0-0 draw was quite fitting of the spectacle as Apollon sealed an easy passage to the next phase.
In next week’s third-round first leg matches, Apollon will face FK Qabala of Azerbaijan while Omonia take on Danish side Brondby.
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