ANKARAGUCU ......... ON FIRE ..... AT LAST !!!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Good news at last…… ANKARAGUCU are now realising their potential. I’m not saying that they are the `finished article` but it is beginning to come together. Today…….

ANKARAGUCU 4 Erciyes of Kayseri 1

The day started out slowly……. in The Chopin Bar. Yours truly, Huso Kanka and Nuri Kanka, met and conversed for over an hour in our broken Turkish and English. We made it though. Perhaps the EFES helped a little ??!! It’s amazing what you can achieve when there isn’t a translator (Oz Kanka) there to make it easy !!! Maniac Kanka was at a Volleyball match with his daughter and couldn’t come and so he was forgiven. However, what about all the other Ankara Kankas who are (were ?) so famous in Ankara ? Where were they today ??!! Marash Kanka Hakan came late and joined us just as we were leaving for the Stadium.

Off we went to Maraton again and met up with Maniac Kanka Harun and his beautiful daughter Hazal, who will NOT be called Little Maniac Kankie ! Her name is Melek (Angel) Kankie and she is now the official Kanka Mascot.. For those of you who have never met an angel before then you need look no more. Just meet Melek Kankie and you will have met your first angel !!

ANKARAGUCU started with the same line up as in the past 2 matches and again their tactics were similar…….. attack …….. attack ! I have to take my hat off to Hikmet Bey. Since his arrival, the team are really all fired up.

The match was only 5 minutes old when Mustafa put ANKARAGUCU into the lead after some nice work down the left wing and a cross ball in which Mustafa met unmarked.

The Gecikondu End was full, Maraton was almost full and Kapali was almost full. So, the volume of the singing increased as the crowd anticipated more……… and it came. Five minutes later and the moment we were all praying for after many weeks……. a goal for Bebbe ! Good passing (Hikmet is NOW reading our blog !!) put Bebbe clear and he struck an unstoppable shot to open his account for the season.

What a start. Could it continue ? Good question. 10 minutes later came the answer and yet another ANKARAGUCU attack down the right wing with Abdulrahman Dereli involved. With everyone expecting a cross, he fired in an angled fierce shot which screamed into the top left hand corner of the goal with the goalkeeper clawing air !

3 – 0 up after 20 minutes and we were all jumping up and down shouting, singing, dancing and kissing each other. Was there more to come we were thinking ???

Actually, no. The pace slowed down a little and Erciyes came more into the match leading up to the half time whistle, but that’s how it stayed.

Into the 2nd half and it was more end to end stuff now and all credit to Erciyes for not throwing in the towel. However, after only 10 minutes came the goal of the match. Ceyhun disposessed the Erciyes full back, who was in half a mind what to do with the ball, and with only the goalkeeper to beat, cut it back for the incoming Bebbe to slot it home for his 2nd goal of the match. The Stadium errupted at this stage and Bebbe’s name was resounding around the Stadium. This must have been sweet music in his ears after so many near misses and frustrations over the past few weeks.

The pace of the game slowed even further as ANKARAGUCU made 3 substitutions with the match well won. However, a bad mistake from the normally reliable Emre gifted a chance to Erciyes in the last few minutes which they took very well.

This was more like the ANKARAGUCU of old. Attacking and scoring, and defending in depth. Running off the ball, passing accurately and playing as a team. An excellent performance which will be leaving Genclerbirligi supporters trembling in fear as next Sunday’s local derby match approaches.

Moving up into the mid-table region now and……… thinking SERIOUSLY about the UEFA Cup next season !!!!

After the match it was to The Cappakokia Bar for celebration drinks and lots of toasts to Bebbe, the hero for the day !!

Details of the Gencler V ANKARAGUCU match next Sunday coming up from Oz Kanka in an email soon.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim……… still on a high !

The goals can be seen here