Without the “motorbike” that hears the name of Rafael Mamas, AEK will line up in Sunday's game with Ethnikos Achnas in the “Arena”.
The 20-year-old international midfielder completed a forbidden number of yellow cards in the derby with Anorthosis and therefore David Katala decided to serve his sentence in the home game of the 8th game with Ethnikos Achnas, in order to be available in the next away game with Mars of Limassol.
Logically, the place of Mama in the axis of the midfield, next to Gustavo, will be taken by the experienced Abraham Gonzalez. Mama's absence is a loss for AEK, since the young player is the pleasant surprise of this year's championship.
For many, the next game with Ethnikos Achnas is more difficult than the away derbies with Apollon and Anorthosis, from which AEK left triumphant. And this, because it is a “must win” match, in which any other result for Larnaca, except the victory, will be considered a failure.
In the match of the 8th round, the yellow-greens are called to show the character of a team that makes a championship, to overcome the pressure they will have for the victory and to take it for granted.
It is a fact that in the derbies with Apollon and Anorthosis, the players of Katala did not have as much pressure to win, since they were triple variant games. Even defeat was in the program. Next Sunday, however, things will be completely different. It is in such games that the teams “build” a championship character, that is, they can avoid the “banana peels”. Only with a victory over Ethnikos will the double at the expense of Anorthosis have greater value.
The ball down
The landing operation started yesterday, with David Katala being called upon to keep his players grounded and fully focused on the next game against an opponent whose scoring position and points collection should not, under any circumstances, be misled. It is recalled that in the last two games, Ethnikos Achnas of Elias Charalambous gritted his teeth at APOEL and AEL. The last appearances of the refugee team should sound like a bell of danger for the leaders of the standings.
