Cyprus BXL FC clinch another 3 against Lithuania

Cyprus BXL FC put in another convincing performance last night at the ISB and secured comfortably the three points against Euroleague newcomers Lithuania. The Cypriots have positioned themselves in fourth place in the Euroleague standings, with a game in hand versus the second and third teams. They have  dropped only two points in six games, and conceded only one goal. Their bone crunching defense is by a large margin the best in the League, and they average an impressive three goals per game in attack. 

Last night, for the first time this year, they also had to contend with major absences, missing key players in all areas of the pitch: Anastasiades, G Leontiou, Charalambous were sidelined because of injuries, while Dellopoulos and Fossati were absent for personal reasons.

Yet it could scarcely be noticed, as those that stepped up seemed fully ready for their moment in the spotlight. Coach Nikolian’s changes more than covered up for those missing, and resulted in a starting XI which completely dominated play from the get-go.

This was the second novelty of the night: against Lithuania the Cypriots were at least as convincing playing possession football, as they had been when they executed their wait-and-see strategy in previous games. 

During the first half the passing was truly excellent, flowing confidently from Anastasiou and P Orphanides in the center of midfield to the two wings, where Formosa and Georgakoudis on the right, and Tsangaris-Voudouris on the left were a constant source of trouble for their opponents. They finished the first period with two goals (Anastasiou (pen), Papoutsas) and they could have even had more.

Lithuania seemed demoralised at the beginning of the second half, and loosened up its two-zone marking in front of its box. Philippos Orphanides substituted Tsangaris in left back, and with his attacking style and incisive runs added another element of worry for the opponents' defense. Several good chances for more goals were missed, before Papoutsas sealed the victory with his second goal of the night.

For those two good reasons, Papoutsas fully deserves the title of MVP for the night. Special mention should also go to the three excellent full-backs Formosa, Tsangaris and Ph Orphanides, as well as to the Anastasiou-Patrick Orphanides duo in midfield. The latter put in his most mature and consummated performance for the team last night.

Assistant Coach Ara Proponitian was once again eager to speak to the press, and said that Lithuania was “a good mezedaki before the main courses next week: Netherlands and Spain”

Difficult week indeed ahead for Cyprus BXL FC, with two testing away games on Tuesday and Sunday, at the VUB and Ixelles respectively.