LIMASSOL- Apollon Limassol on Wednesday defeated arch rivals AEL 2-1 to win the Cyprus Coca-Cola Cup and secure a place in the Europa League.
The narrow victory, the first all-Limassol Cyprus Coca-Cola Cup final since 1989, came in extra time. The game was suspended for eight minutes after fans entered the pitch.
The first 90 minutes ended 0-0 with both teams failing to score. AEL came closest to scoring when Apollon goalkeeper Bruno Walle saved a penalty taken by Vouho in the 85th minute. AEL also had a goal disallowed in the 11th minute.
Apollon went ahead in the 94th minute with Cardosso, while Sourdou made it 2-0 after converting a penalty in the 118th minute.
AEL managed to pull one back in the last few minutes with Vouho.
With both sides having finished outside the top four this season, the only outlet for European football was winning the domestic Cup competition
This was second year in a row that AEL – who were crowned league champions last season for the first time since 1968 – lost a Cup final.This is the seventh Cup victory for Apollon,
The last time two teams from Limassol reached the Cup final was back in 1989 when AEL beat Aris 3-2 in extra time. 1987 marked the last time AEL met Apollon in a major final with AEL emerging 1-0 winners in the game.
Police presence was heavy in the build up to and after the match at the Tsirion Stadium.