2015–16 Cypriot First Division

The 2015–16 Cypriot First Division was the 77th season of the Cypriot top-level football league. It began on 22 August 2015^[3] and ended on 15 May 2016.^[4] APOEL were the defending champions.

Cyta Championship

Season	2015–16
Champions	APOEL 25th title
Relegated	Enosis Ayia Napa Pafos
Champions League	APOEL
Europa League	AEK Apollon Omonia
Matches played	242
Goals scored	669 (2.76 per match)
Top goalscorer	Fernando Cavenaghi André Alves Dimitar Makriev (19 goals)
Biggest home win	APOEL 6–0 AEL (17 October 2015) Omonia 6–0 Pafos (24 October 2015)
Biggest away win	Salamina 0–9 APOEL (26 October 2015)
Highest scoring	Salamina 0–9 APOEL (26 October 2015)
Longest winning run	12 matches APOEL
Longest unbeaten run	17 matches APOEL
Longest winless run	26 matches Ayia Napa
Longest losing run	10 matches Ayia Napa
Highest attendance	14,379[1] APOEL 2–0 AEK (28 April 2016)
Lowest attendance	4[2] Doxa 2–0 Ayia Napa (25 January 2016)
Total attendance	460,105[1]
Average attendance	1,901[1]
← 2014–15 2016–17 → All statistics correct as of 15 May 2016.

The league expanded from 12 to 14 teams this season, comprised eleven teams from the 2014–15 season and three promoted teams from the 2014–15 Second Division. APOEL were crowned champions for the 25th time and a fourth time in a row, securing the title after beating title rivals AEK Larnaca 2–0 at home on 28 April 2016.^[5][6]

Teams

Promotion and relegation (pre-season)

Othellos Athienou was relegated at the end of the second-phase of the 2014–15 season after finishing in the last place of the relegation group table.

The relegated team was replaced by 2014–15 Second Division champions Enosis Neon Paralimni, runners-up Pafos FC and third-placed team Aris Limassol.

Stadia and locations

AEK
Anorthosis
Nea Salamina

AEL
Apollon
Aris

APOEL
Omonia

Enosis

Ayia Napa

Ermis

Ethnikos

Pafos FC

Doxa

Locations of the 2015–16 Cypriot First Division teams.

Note: Table lists clubs in alphabetical order.

Team	Location	Stadium[7][8]	Capacity
AEK	Larnaca	GSZ Stadium	13,032
AEL	Limassol	Tsirion Stadium	13,331
Anorthosis	Larnaca	Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium	10,230
APOEL	Nicosia	GSP Stadium	22,859
Apollon	Limassol	Tsirion Stadium	13,331
Aris	Limassol	Tsirion Stadium	13,331
Ayia Napa	Ayia Napa	Tasos Markou Stadium	5,800
Doxa	Peristerona	Makario Stadium	16,000
Enosis	Paralimni	Tasos Markou Stadium	5,800
Ermis	Aradippou	Ammochostos Stadium	5,500
Ethnikos	Achna, Famagusta	Dasaki Stadium	7,000
Nea Salamina	Larnaca	Ammochostos Stadium	5,500
Omonia	Nicosia	GSP Stadium	22,859
Pafos	Paphos	Pafiako Stadium	9,394

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players and Managers may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	Head coach	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
AEK	Demetris Demetriou (Caretaker)	David Català	Puma	Cytavision
AEL	Pambos Christodoulou	Marco Airosa	Nike	Cytavision
Anorthosis	Neophytos Larkou	Christos Marangos	Macron	Cytamobile-Vodafone
APOEL	Georgios Kostis (Caretaker)	Constantinos Charalambides	Puma	Mora Thavmata
Apollon	Pedro Emanuel	Giorgos Vasiliou	Puma	Cyta
Aris	Kostas Kaiafas	Christos Charalabous	Legea	Cytanet
Ayia Napa	Panikos Protopapas (Caretaker)	Michael Felgate	Eldera	Cyta
Doxa	Loukas Hadjiloukas	Edmar	Joma	Cytanet
Enosis	Ronny Van Geneugden	Kostadin Bashov	Nike	Cyta
Ermis	Nicos Panayiotou	Paulo Pina	Legea	Cyta
Ethnikos	Danilo Dončić	Christos Poyiatzis	Nike	Cyta
Nea Salamina	Giorgos Lagkaditis (Caretaker)	Giannis Skopelitis	GEMS	Cytamobile-Vodafone
Omonia	Vladan Milojević	Nuno Assis	Nike	Cytamobile-Vodafone
Pafos	Apostolos Makrides	Giorgos Sielis	Pafos FC	Cyta

Managerial changes

Team	Outgoing manager	Manner of departure	Date of vacancy	Position in table	Incoming manager	Date of appointment
APOEL	Gustavo Manduca	End of tenure as caretaker	End of 2014–15 season	Pre-season	Domingos Paciência	21 May 2015[9]
Aris	Akis Agiomamitis	End of contract	End of 2014–15 season		Jane Nikolovski	3 June 2015[10]
Doxa	Nikos Andreou	End of contract	End of 2014–15 season		Loukas Hadjiloukas	3 June 2015[11]
Nea Salamina	Floros Nicolaou	End of tenure as caretaker	End of 2014–15 season		Jan de Jonge	9 June 2015[12]
Apollon	Ton Caanen	End of contract	End of 2014–15 season		Pedro Emanuel	9 June 2015[13]
Ermis	Michalis Markou	End of tenure as caretaker	End of 2014–15 season		Pavlos Dermitzakis	12 June 2015[14]
Aris	Jane Nikolovski	Resigned	18 July 2015[15]		Akis Agiomamitis	21 July 2015[16]
APOEL	Domingos Paciência	Sacked	28 August 2015[17]	1st	Temur Ketsbaia	28 August 2015[18]
Ermis	Pavlos Dermitzakis	Sacked	3 September 2015[19]	11th	Apostolos Makrides	3 September 2015[20]
Aris	Akis Agiomamitis	Mutual consent	14 September 2015[21]	13th	Eugen Neagoe	15 September 2015[22]
AEL	Christakis Christoforou	Mutual consent	19 October 2015[23]	10th	Makis Chavos	27 October 2015[24]
Ermis	Apostolos Makrides	Resigned	22 October 2015[25]	12th	Nicos Panayiotou	22 October 2015[26]
Omonia	Kostas Kaiafas	Resigned	2 November 2015[27]	5th	Vladan Milojević	11 November 2015[28]
Enosis	Nikos Karageorgiou	Mutual consent	5 November 2015[29]	9th	Ronny Van Geneugden	10 November 2015[30]
Pafos	Sofoklis Sofokleous	Sacked	9 November 2015[31]	9th	José Manuel Roca	17 November 2015[32]
Ethnikos	Borce Gjurev	Resigned	23 November 2015[33]	13th	Danilo Dončić	24 November 2015[34]
Pafos	José Manuel Roca	Mutual consent	14 December 2015[35]	12th	Apostolos Makrides	16 December 2015[36]
Ayia Napa	Giorgos Kosma	Mutual consent	28 January 2016[37]	14th	Antonis Mertakkas	28 January 2016[37]
Aris	Eugen Neagoe	Mutual consent	4 February 2016[38]	8th	Kostas Kaiafas	8 February 2016[39]
AEL	Makis Chavos	Sacked	7 February 2016[40]	10th	Pambos Christodoulou	8 February 2016[41]
Ayia Napa	Antonis Mertakkas	Resigned	14 February 2016[42]	14th	Panikos Protopapas (Caretaker)	16 February 2016[43]
Anorthosis	André Paus	Sacked	18 February 2016[44]	3rd	Zoran Milinković	18 February 2016[45]
Anorthosis	Zoran Milinković	Sacked	23 March 2016[46]	5th	Neophytos Larkou	23 March 2016[47]
APOEL	Temur Ketsbaia	Mutual consent	21 April 2016[48]	1st	Georgios Kostis (Caretaker)	21 April 2016[48]
Nea Salamina	Jan de Jonge	Mutual consent	22 April 2016[49]	6th	Giorgos Lagkaditis (Caretaker)	22 April 2016[49]
AEK	Thomas Christiansen	Sacked	29 April 2016[50]	2nd	Demetris Demetriou (Caretaker)	30 April 2016[51]

Regular season

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	APOEL	26	20	2	4	72	18	+54	62	Qualification for the championship round
2	AEK Larnaca	26	19	4	3	47	17	+30	61
3	Anorthosis Famagusta	26	15	7	4	48	22	+26	52
4	Omonia	26	14	7	5	46	24	+22	49[a]
5	Apollon Limassol	26	14	7	5	41	24	+17	49[a]
6	Nea Salamis Famagusta	26	8	9	9	37	52	−15	33
7	Aris Limassol	26	8	7	11	29	31	−2	31[b]	Qualification for the relegation round
8	AEL Limassol	26	9	4	13	22	32	−10	31[b]
9	Doxa Katokopias	26	7	9	10	31	41	−10	30
10	Pafos FC	26	6	9	11	35	47	−12	27
11	Ethnikos Achna	26	5	9	12	27	43	−16	24[c]
12	Ermis Aradippou	26	6	6	14	22	40	−18	24[c]
13	Enosis Neon Paralimni (R)	26	4	8	14	28	47	−19	20	Relegation to the Cypriot Second Division
14	Ayia Napa (R)	26	0	6	20	17	64	−47	6

Source: UEFA, CFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Play-off (only if deciding championship round, relegation round or relegation).^[52]
(R) Relegated
Notes:

1. Head-to-head record: Omonia 0–0 Apollon, Apollon 0–0 Omonia.
2. Head-to-head record: AEL 1–2 Aris, Aris 0–1 AEL.
3. Head-to-head record: Ethnikos 2–2 Ermis, Ermis 1–2 Ethnikos.

Results

Home \ Away	AEK	AEL	ANO	APOE	APOL	ARI	AYN	DOX	ENP	ERM	ETH	NSL	OMO	PAF
AEK Larnaca		0–2	1–0	2–2	6–1	2–1	3–1	2–0	2–1	2–0	1–0	1–2	2–1	3–0
AEL Limassol	0–1		0–1	0–1	0–2	1–2	1–0	4–0	0–2	1–0	1–0	0–2	2–1	0–0
Anorthosis Famagusta	1–1	2–0		1–2	3–2	2–1	2–2	2–1	2–0	4–0	3–0	2–1	0–0	5–1
APOEL	1–2	6–0	0–2		0–1	4–0	3–0	1–2	3–0	2–0	3–0	6–1	2–0	6–2
Apollon Limassol	0–0	1–0	3–0	0–1		2–1	4–0	2–1	2–1	0–0	5–2	3–0	0–0	3–1
Aris Limassol	0–1	0–1	0–0	1–2	2–2		2–0	1–1	2–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–1	1–0
Ayia Napa	1–3	0–1	1–7	0–1	0–3	0–4		2–2	0–2	0–1	2–3	1–3	1–2	1–1
Doxa Katokopias	0–3	2–1	1–1	0–1	1–3	2–1	2–0		2–1	2–1	1–1	1–2	0–1	1–3
Enosis Neon Paralimni	0–1	2–2	0–2	0–5	0–0	2–2	2–2	0–1		0–1	2–1	2–2	1–4	2–1
Ermis Aradippou	0–3	2–1	2–0	1–5	1–2	0–0	0–0	2–2	2–1		1–2	1–2	0–1	2–1
Ethnikos Achna	0–2	0–0	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–2	2–0	2–2	0–0	2–2		2–2	1–0	1–1
Nea Salamis Famagusta	0–0	1–2	1–3	0–9	2–0	0–0	2–2	0–0	3–1	3–2	2–2		0–2	1–1
Omonia Nicosia	3–1	4–2	0–0	2–2	0–0	2–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	1–0	2–1	5–3		6–0
Pafos FC	0–2	0–0	1–2	0–1	0–0	3–0	4–1	3–3	3–3	2–0	3–0	2–2	2–1

Source: CFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Championship round

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	APOEL (C)	36	26	5	5	91	26	+65	83	Qualification for the Champions League second qualifying round
2	AEK Larnaca	36	23	6	7	61	34	+27	75	Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
3	Apollon Limassol	36	19	11	6	61	36	+25	68	Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[a]
4	Omonia	36	20	7	9	63	34	+29	67	Qualification for the Europa League first qualifying round
5	Anorthosis Famagusta	36	16	11	9	57	41	+16	59
6	Nea Salamis Famagusta	36	9	10	17	44	72	−28	37

Source: UEFA, CFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Play-off (only if deciding champion or UEFA competitions).^[53]
(C) Champions
Notes:

1. Apollon Limassol qualified for the Europa League third qualifying round by winning the 2015–16 Cypriot Cup.

Results

Home \ Away	AEK	ANO	APOE	APOL	NSL	OMO
AEK Larnaca		3–2	0–3	2–2	2–0	1–3
Anorthosis Famagusta	0–1		1–1	1–1	1–1	0–3
APOEL	2–0	2–2		2–2	4–1	2–1
Apollon Limassol	2–2	4–1	1–0		2–1	1–2
Nea Salamis Famagusta	3–2	0–1	0–1	0–3		1–2
Omonia Nicosia	0–1	3–0	0–2	1–2	2–0

Source: CFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Relegation round

Table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Relegation
7	AEL Limassol[a]	36	14	7	15	38	43	−5	47
8	Ermis Aradippou	36	11	9	16	36	52	−16	42
9	Doxa Katokopias	36	10	11	15	46	59	−13	41[b]
10	Aris Limassol	36	10	11	15	43	46	−3	41[b]
11	Ethnikos Achna	36	9	12	15	43	57	−14	39
12	Pafos FC (R)	36	8	12	16	41	58	−17	36	Relegation to the Cypriot Second Division

Source: UEFA, CFA, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head points; 3) Head-to-head goal difference; 4) Head-to-head goals scored; 5) Head-to-head away goals scored (only if two teams); 6) Goal difference; 7) Goals scored; 8) Play-off (only if deciding relegation).^[55]
(R) Relegated
Notes:

1. On 8 April 2016, AEL Limassol were deducted two points by Cyprus Football Association after failing to meet the financial criteria of UEFA.^[54]
2. Doxa ahead of Aris on head-to-head away goals scored: Doxa–Aris 2–1, Aris–Doxa 1–1, Doxa–Aris 1–1, Aris–Doxa 4–3.

Results

Home \ Away	AEL	ARI	DOX	ERM	ETH	PAF
AEL Limassol		2–2	0–1	3–1	5–2	1–0
Aris Limassol	0–1		4–3	3–0	2–2	0–0
Doxa Katokopias	1–2	1–1		2–2	1–2	3–1
Ermis Aradippou	1–1	3–1	3–1		1–1	1–0
Ethnikos Achna	2–0	2–1	1–2	0–1		3–0
Pafos FC	1–1	1–0	2–0	0–1	1–1

Source: CFA
Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Including matches played on 15 May 2016; Source: Cyprus Football Association

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Fernando Cavenaghi	APOEL	19
	André Alves	AEK
	Dimitar Makriev	Nea Salamina
4	Dino Ndlovu	Anorthosis	17
5	Tomás De Vincenti	APOEL	15
	Cillian Sheridan	Omonia
	André Schembri	Omonia
8	Alhassane Keita	Ermis	13
9	Georgios Efrem	APOEL	11
	Nassir Maachi	Pafos

Hat-tricks

#	Player	For	Against	Result	Date
1.	Dino Ndlovu	Anorthosis	Nea Salamina	1–3	29 August 2015
2.	Fernando Cavenaghi	APOEL	AEL Limassol	6–0	17 October 2015
3.	Anton Maglica	Apollon	Pafos	3–1	20 February 2016

Scoring

• First goal of the season: 2 minutes and 40 seconds – Koullis Pavlou (Nea Salamina) against Omonia (19:02 EET, 22 August 2015)
• Fastest goal of the season: 0 minutes and 34 seconds – Nikos Englezou (AEK) against Enosis (26 September 2015)
• Latest goal of the season: 96 minutes and 20 seconds – Joël Damahou (Pafos) against Nea Salamina (18 January 2016)
• First scored penalty kick of the season: 93 minutes and 38 seconds – Cillian Sheridan (Omonia) against Nea Salamina (20:48 EET, 22 August 2015)
• First own goal of the season: 73 minutes and 8 seconds – Aritz López Garai (Doxa) for Ethnikos (20:28 EET, 23 August 2015)
• Most goals scored in a match by one player: 3 goals
  • Dino Ndlovu (Anorthosis) against Nea Salamina (29 August 2015)
  • Fernando Cavenaghi (APOEL) against AEL (17 October 2015)
  • Anton Maglica (Apollon) against Pafos (20 February 2016)
• Most scored goals in a single fixture – 30 goals (Fixture 8)
  • Fixture 8 results: Ayia Napa 0–3 Apollon, Omonia 6–0 Pafos, Anorthosis 4–0 Ermis, Ethnikos 0–2 AEK, Doxa 2–1 Enosis, AEL 1–2 Aris, Nea Salamina 0–9 APOEL.
• Highest scoring game: 9 goals
  • Nea Salamina 0–9 APOEL (26 October 2015)
• Largest winning margin: 9 goals
  • Nea Salamina 0–9 APOEL (26 October 2015)
• Most goals scored in a match by a single team: 9 goals
  • Nea Salamina 0–9 APOEL (26 October 2015)
• Most goals scored by a losing team: 3 goals
  • Omonia 5–3 Nea Salamina (22 August 2015)
  • Aris 4–3 Doxa (15 May 2016)

Discipline

• First yellow card of the season: 6 minutes – Ivan Ćurjurić for Nea Salamina against Omonia (19:06 EET, 22 August 2015)
• First red card of the season: 70 minutes – Levan Khmaladze for Pafos against AEK (20:25 EET, 22 August 2015)
• Most yellow cards in a single match: 12
  • AEK 1–2 Nea Salamina – 5 for AEK (Toño Ramírez (2), Albert Serrán (2), Jorge Monteiro) and 7 for Nea Salamina (Marko Andić, Aldo Adorno, China (2), Ioannis Kousoulos, Giannis Skopelitis, Dimitar Makriev) (19 October 2015)
  • Omonia 0–2 APOEL – 6 for Omonia (Ivan Runje, Giorgos Economides, Renato Margaça, Nuno Assis, George Florescu, Carlitos) and 6 for APOEL (Iñaki Astiz, Nuno Morais, Tomás De Vincenti (2), Constantinos Charalambides, Giannis Gianniotas) (23 April 2016)
• Most red cards in a single match: 3
  • AEK 1–2 Nea Salamina – 2 for AEK (Albert Serrán, Toño Ramírez) and 1 for Nea Salamina (China) (19 October 2015)