Family wedding in Cyprus and so would miss a week of the football season, but a quick check on Soccerway and noticed the Cyprus Super Cup (the Cypriot version of the Charity/Community Shield) was being played less than 50 miles away in Larnaca.
Next hard bit was getting a ticket, never going to be a full house but because of crowd trouble (as witnessed the week earlier in the same ground at the Apollon- Aberdeen game). In the end I managed to get a ticket from the Cyprus FA - the only way to get a ticket for fans of both teams, leading to a crowd of just over 1,000.
The game itself may have lacked a large crowd but both teams were certainly up for the game, APOEL taking an early lead but Limassol managed to miss a few easy chance. The best player for APOEL was Tommy Oar, who had a very short time at Ipswich not long ago.
Some meaty challenges from both teams forced the ref to hand out a few yellow cards and in the second half, the Apollon skipper got his second yellow and his marching orders. With just 10 men and only 12 minutes to go you would have thought Limassol had no hope of getting back into the game, but a fantastic free kick got them on level terms and when I was just preparing myself for extra time, the South West team Apollon, managed to get a winner.
The low crowd maybe down to the strict ticketing rules but those who did go were rewarded with a great game.
The stadium itself was also a great place to visit, all football in Cyprus is linked to politics and with the venue be;longing to a club that takes the name of a town in the Turkish part of the island, this is certainly the case here.
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