Cold and miserable Ankara

Greetings Kankas from a cold and miserable Ankara. Managed to watch
the match on the Big Screen last night and only missed the first 5
minutes - taxis drive fast in Ankara ! Well, the bottom line is
that Ankaragucu lost 1-4, but sometimes the scoreline doesn't tell the
true story and this is no exception. I'm not saying that Fener
were lucky, but circumstances conspired to assist them !

The match was only 10 minutes old when the referee decided to give
Fener (an assist) - now where have I heard that one before ! Fener
were on the attack and Hakan Kutlu running away from the attacker when
the attacker attempted a pass. Unfortunately, the ball hit Hakan on
the back of his arm as he was trying to anticipate a run down the wing
and the referee gave a free kick for hand ball. I just can't believe
that a Class 1 referee and linesman can be so ignorant of the laws of
the game. It was clear to all that ball played man and that it was
not INTENTIONAL so therefore there was no foul ! From the
resulting free kick Alex curved one in and the moment the ball was
struck Tuncay was clearly in an offside position, however, the same
linesman must have removed his spectacles at that moment because he
didn't lift his flag ! The ball sailed over the rest of the players
in the box and Ibrahim (of Ankaragucu) dived in to head a magnificent
goal past a surprised Serkan in goal !! What a start - or should I
say..... I wonder how much the referee was paid for that one !!!

All credit to Ankaragucu after this setback that they continued to
attack Fener and at the same time they were playing some attractive
footie. Balic and Petrov were holding their own in midfield and
Ankaragucu were looking good. It came as no surprise therefore when
they equalised just before half time. A very good move down the
left wing allowed Balic to cross the ball into the box and there was
Emre running in to smash it into the roof of the net. It was argued
by some of the Fener supporters that it was offside, but as I saw it
(and also the linesman on the far side) it was a cut-back and
therefore was NOT offside.

Into the 2nd half and Jim's 3rd ............. or was it 4th .........
EFES......... and Ankaragucu were continuing to play good footie
albeit at a slower pace than Fener who were picking up the pace and
looking dangerous. The goals eventually came and no excuses either.
A great headed goal from Tuncay, a stunning shot from outside the
box from Alex and a late breakaway goal from Appiah. So, no
complaints or sour grapes - Fener took their chances well and deserved
to win. However, I still remain upbeat about Ankaragucu's
performance. They never stopped trying to play footie and attack
Fener, but they didn't have the guile to compensate for their lack of
speed and this was their undoing. It was also too much to expect
Umut to score when most of the time he was alone up front, although
Ankaragucu's game plan was supposed to be 4-4-2 ! As for the
referee, Cem Deda, well, the least said about him the better.
Hurriyet game him 4 points this morning and I think those were
probably sympathy points.

So, still a lot of water to go under the bridge before we hit the
panic button. Every match now becomes crucial and next week's falls
into that category. A `Six Pointer` against Ankaraspor which is
vital for both clubs. I am going to make every effort to attend
this one and will let you know KO date and time when I have them.

All the best from Mr Optimism Himself, Eski Kanka Jim