Monday, February 14, 2011

ANKARAGUCU - THE ZOOKEEPER OF THE ISTANBUL ZOO ..... OR ..... EASETANBUL !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Headline courtesay of Maniac Kanka Harun !

Ankaragucu welcomed Eski Kanka back to Buyuk Baskent last night in the best possible way, ie, with a victoreeeeeeeeee.

ANKARAGUCU 1 Besiktas 0

Team -

Bora
Rajnoch, Zewlakow, Adem and Murat
Adem, Aydin, Gabric and Sapara
Sestak and Serdar

Substitutes - Ozgur, Orhan and Dogan

Maniac Kanka, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and I met up in the Beer Bus Bar and were joined by Gencler Orcan and BJK Serkan. The Beer Bus Bar was full of Ankargucu supporters so we didn't really miss the Stadium too much and we were soon up singing, dancing and hi-fiving !

Only one minute into the match and Ankaragucu broke down the right. Gabric took a pass, carried the ball down to near the goal line, looked up, and crossed a perfect ball in to the unmarked Serdar lurking at the far post. He took it on the volley, swivelled and sent the ball high into the net with Hakan helpless.

What a start ! Can we make it 3 out of 3 agtainst that Istanbul lot I was thinking ?

7 minutes in and it was almost two. Hakan blocked the first effort by Sestak and Serdar fumbled the rebound.

Ankaragucu was looking good at this point and spreading the ball around with panache as they normally do when playing the Istanbul lot.

20 minutes in and Sapara sent in a swerving shot which Hakan did well to save.

At this point in the match, Besiktas was beginning to look dangerous on the break but the Ankaragucu defence was holding firm and looking fairly comfortable.

Gabric almost scored before the half time whistle but was a second too late in connecting with a great pass from Sapara.

A fast and furious first half with both teams on full-out attack. Could they maintain this pace I wondered ?

Into the 2nd half then and the pace didn't slacken. Besiktas was stepping up the pressure but Bora was in fine form denying Besiktas in the opening 10 minutes with two great saves.

60 minutes in and it was all Besiktas now with the Ankaragucu defence under increasing pressure, but dealing with all that was thrown at them.

However, Ankaragucu was making occasional forays into the Besiktas half and Serdar almost scored on 61 minutes but fired into the side netting with Hakan struggling to cover it.

10 minutes later Sapara tried a speculative lob which just went over.

With 15 minutes remaining it was becoming tense in the Ankaragucu defence with Besiktas searching in vain for the equaliser.

In the final 10 minutes Bora proved the saviour making 3 further outstanding saves.

Besiktas appealed for a penalty near the end, but the replay showed that the referee was correct in waving the appeals away.

Maniac's Man of the Match was Adem. However, Battle Damaged and I gave it to Bora for his outstanding second half performance. We should also mention Serdar, who played his best match of the season for Ankaragucu.

So, a great win for Ankaragucu to complete 'the treble', but the question has to be asked .... why can't Ankaragucu play like this EVERY week ?!

It's not the first time I've asked this question on the blog and probably won't be the last ! Consistency is the key, but how to get that message across to the team ???!!!

Let's see if Ankaragucu can confound the critics (and me) next Saturday when they visit bottom club Kasimpasa !!

Probably watching that match in the Beer Bus Bar. I'll give the KO time when known.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

18 comments:

  1. Mountaineering Kanka11:39 am

    I am happy of course, but I have to say that I just do not understand this team.

    ReplyDelete
  2. yessssssss......fuck off easytanbul!!!!!!!!
    sir chalmers..ı ve read the newspapers today and 2 sportswriters choosed the same player as man of the match!!!ADEM !!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mountaineering Kanka3:58 pm

    Just noticed. Only six teams in the league have scored more goals than we have, but only one team has conceded more. DEFENCE you mother@^%@^s!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jim,

    You must have had too many refreshments; "Eagles Sore" was my idea.

    Anyway, fun report to read. It helped me relive the elation that we experienced watching the match yesterday evening.

    So, let's look at the future. The next four matches are against weaker teams: Kasımpasa, Konya, Gencler (sorry guys), and Galatasaray. So really, if we play the way we are capable of playing we could have twelve more points in a month. We shall see.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous5:06 pm

    I dont think people appretiate how important a player Adem Kocek is to our team. He sits in front of our defense and protects the back four so well. Also keeps the ball.

    I thought Rajnoch was excellent in midfield, did well at the back to. If we can just bring in a quality centre half then we can do well. Our problem is playing against the poor teams, we dont do se well

    nadeem

    ReplyDelete
  6. For Maniac. It has been said so often that I feel reluctant to repeat what everyone who is anybody knows ...... The Round Ball in Ankara is the most prestigeous football authority in Turkey. Therefore, all Man of the Match awards MUST be accepted as correct !!!

    For Battle Damaged. Well done for noticing Eski's deliberate mistake. As you know, he does this to ensure that his reports are read properly. I'll give you your reward on Saturday !!!

    ReplyDelete
  7. @Jim: I kind had the feeling I was being set up but fell for it nonetheless.

    The question going into next week is this: did we succeed yesterday due to the changes made in the lineup or was it just us raising our game as we always seem to do against the big teams? In other words, Nadeem, Jim, Neil or any of you guys who have football running through your veins, if you were the coach, what lessons would you take away from that match?

    ReplyDelete
  8. Good question Damon, and as far as I'm concerned it was clearly a case of us raising our game, and the defence (especially Bora) playing out of their skins.

    It should be borne in mind that 3 regulars from the defence were absent, ie, Ugur, Klukowski and Guven. True enough, Guven can play in midfield, but I feel his best position is as an attacking full back.

    If I was the coach, I would be confident that the players at my disposal had the wherewithal to deliver, and as I said in my report, I would instill an ethos of consistency into their performances, irrespective of who the opposition was.

    I always prefer to be optimistic and I will expect Ankaragucu to perform and produce a win next Saturday. The fact that Kasimpasa had an away win in Karabuk at the weekend should not be a consideration !

    ReplyDelete
  9. Mountaineering Kanka6:59 pm

    Holy Shit! I mispelled defense!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Aaaaahaaaa Robbie ...... so they do sell luvvlie yummy Efes in Dubai ...... hence the mental block ??!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous8:57 pm

    Ankaragucu reminding me a bit of Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premiership this season.A team that has beaten the top sides at home but lost points to the others sides around them in the table.Can we honestly say that it would be a major surprise if Ankaragucu lost to Kasimpasa next time out, after the way the season has gone so far?
    Hopefully that wont happen but you take my point guys.
    To answer Battled Damaged's question re yesterday,
    Against the top teams is there an element of having nothing to lose as we'd be the underdogs before a ball is kicked and so the players throw off the shackles a bit and play with a bit more freedom.
    Also, would the behind-closed-doors nature of things yesterday have had an effect on the Ankaragucu players in terms of feeling less pressure to perform and being less afraid to make mistakes in front of empty tribunes?You guys would know the answer to this one better than me.

    Dublin Neil.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Anonymous10:13 pm

    Damon to answer your question - Dublin Neil has already said it but the fans not been there could have been a plus, they dont feal like the crowd is on there back if they make a mistake. Having said that we have won three other istanbul games with the crowd there.

    As i said Adem makes a big difference, we have a weak deffence and he protects it. Ive been dissapointed with Sapara of late, but thats not his fault, hes done so much for the team that he looks tired and in need of a rest. He doesnt look at his sharpest. We have a good side and can climb the table but need to find concistency


    nadeem

    ReplyDelete
  13. Here are the KO times for Saturday's matches -

    Kasimpasa v Ankaragucu - 2pm
    Gencler v Karabuk - 5pm

    I'll be at The Beer Bus Bar at about 1.30pm.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Connect Kanka5:34 pm

    What the fuck?! I will never get this team.

    ReplyDelete
  15. James,

    I just thought of something that might give you a good belly laugh. Remember that guy Stephan, the Sheffield Wednesday fan from Bilkent, who first came to a couple of Ankaragücü matches, then decided he was more of a Gençler fan, and finally became a Besiktas supporter because of his Turkish girlfriend?

    Well, last we talked, he said one of the reasons he wanted to support Besiktas is because he wanted to support a team that played good football and won.

    It just makes me smile. On account of him, I'd almost like to see Fener win next wknd., and you know how I feel about them.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Ho ho ho ha ha ha ..... nice one BD !

    After last Sunday's performance perhaps Stephan will do another 'turn' and decide to support Barcelona ??!!

    ReplyDelete
  17. And just imagine how he is feeling this evening after watching Shevcenko & Co. bitch slap Besiktas.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yesssssssssssssss !!

    Maybe he should do another 'turn' and start supporting The Mighty Raith Rovers ??!!

    ReplyDelete