AEK Larnaca lost 0:1 to Pafos in the third round of the Cypriot First Division at AEK Arena on September 13th. The visitors took all three points with a single goal in the second half, moving them to the top of the table while AEK dropped to second place.
The first half produced nothing of note beyond two bookings. D. Quina picked up a yellow card in the twelfth minute and I. Sunjic followed in the thirty-second. By then, neither side had threatened much and the match had settled into a midfield battle with few clear chances on either side.
The turning point came after the break. Both teams made triple substitutions around the fifty-ninth and sixtieth minutes, bringing on fresh legs. K. Pileas, D. Ivanovic and J. Repas went off for AEK while K. Sema, Lele and another guest arrived for Pafos. The changes had immediate effect.
V. Dragomir netted the winner in the sixty-second minute, capitalising on a moment that decided the contest. AEK pushed for an equaliser but could not find the route through. More substitutions followed, including A. Trica at sixty-eight, N. Ioannou at seventy-three, and a double change at seventy-six. Miramon received a late yellow card in ninety-two.
The statistics told the story of a game Pafos controlled without necessarily dominating. They registered 74 attacks to AEK's 63 and enjoyed 63 per cent possession. Shots on target ran at 5 for the visitors against 2 for the hosts, though accuracy was low across the board at 25 per cent for Pafos and just 14 per cent for AEK.
The result leaves Pafos one point clear at the summit with seven points from three matches. AEK sit second on six points, their two wins from three now followed by this first defeat of the season. They are running out of games to recover ground if they want to stay in touch.