THERE were mixed results for Cyprus’ three Europa League hopefuls in the first legs of their respective third round qualifiers.

Both Anorthosis and Apollon were on the wrong end of 1-0 scorelines away from home, whilst APOEL earned a narrow 1-0 win over Czech team FK Jablonec at GSP in Nicosia.

Argentinian forward Esteban Solari netted the only goal of the game for APOEL after 55 minutes, ghosting past the defence to finish neatly past goalkeeper Michal Spit from close range.

APOEL restricted their opponents mostly to meagre long-range efforts throughout the game, controlling the midfield with consummate ease.

However, last year’s league runners-up failed to convert this dominance into a comfortable first leg win, struggling in the final third of the pitch against a tightly packed, highly physical Jablonec defensive line.

Doubts will be cast over manager Ivan Jovanovic’s decision to play Solari as a lone striker, opting for a fairly conservative formation against a side who were visibly struggling to cope with the stifling humidity in the capital.

APOEL will take their single goal lead to the return leg in the Czech Republic on August 5.

In Belgium, Anorthosis lost a tight match against Europa League debutants Cercle Brugge. Quality football came at a premium in a fairly bad tempered encounter not helped by an over-involved Ukrainian referee, with Irish veteran forward Dominic Foley’s second half goal the only difference between the sides.

Anorthosis will be buoyed by an encouraging last 20 minutes in which they outclassed the home side, and will hope to continue this form and overturn the deficit in Larnaca next week.

Apollon held out for 74 minutes in distant Siberia against Russian team Sibir Novosibirsk. Captain Aleksei Medvedev finished at the far post after a slick passing move inside the Apollon penalty area.

The goal aside, the Cypriot cup winners put on a resolute defensive performance to restrict Sibir’s advantage, and survived an assault on their goal in the last ten minutes in which the Russians twice struck the crossbar.

Apollon coped well playing on the unfamiliar artificial pitch at the Spartak Stadium, and will be well backed to win in Limassol on Thursday and progress to the next round.