Sheridan strike hands APOEL Cypriot title

After an appeal, APOEL FC were awarded a 3-0 default victory in the final game of the season, rendering the result of this game irrelevant. This piece has been left untouched on UEFA.com for archive purposes.

APOEL FC secured a record 23rd Cypriot league title on Saturday, simultaneously completing their first domestic double since 1996, courtesy of a 1-0 win against AEL Limassol FC in Larnaca.

Giorgos Donis's side, who needed to win their league-deciding replay in order to pip Ivaylo Petev's charges on head-to-head record, scored through Cillian Sheridan on the brink of half-time. The match was played behind closed doors at the neutral Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium after the initial fixture had been abandoned due to crowd disturbances.

The rescheduled game was a cagey affair, the only goal coming when Sheridan pounced on the rebound after Karim Fegrouche had parried a Vinicius shot. AEL could have earned a draw in added time, but Dédé's close-range effort was saved by Urko Pardo "This is the most important goal of my career," said 25-year-old Sheridan, who joined APOEL last summer. "Everybody else won it, not me. I was lucky to score the goal."

APOEL will go into next season's UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. "This is the end result of a massive effort," said Donis. "My players have been working very hard and deserve big congratulations. We thank the fans for all their help too. We need to prepare for Europe and to make this squad even better in the summer."