A busy weekend and start to the week for me has led to this post being just a touch late.
Antalyaspor 2 - 2 Genclerbirligi
We had guests over the weekend and I couldn't think of a better place to take them after a session of tobogganing the slopes of Segmenler Park than the Red Lion Club.
Only problem was the kiddy guests weren't all that interested in the Antalya-Gencler match.
I could sort of see why as the football on show wasn't that great.
By the time we started watching Gencler were already 1-0 down but Antalya had had one of their players sent off.
We managed to claw back but then Cem Can was silly enough to earn a second yellow card. We had been controlling the play up until that point but Antalya smelt blood and it wasn't long before they went ahead again.
It was only near the end when Hursut sent in another one of trademark crosses onto the head of Herve Tum who scored his ninth headed goal of the season.
I'm afraid I can't remember much of the match, so I'll just wrap up by saying it was good to see Azofeifa back in the starting 11. I promise to be a bit more detailed after the next match.
The Round Ball in Ankara! Dedicated to football lovers in Ankara (Except for those who follow Osmanlispor)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Ergin Keles and Bora Kork Sign for Karabukspor
So thats now Ugur Ucar, Kagan, Guven Varol, Bora Kork and Ergin Keles all signed for Karabukspor. Time to start preparing for life in Bank Aysa. So many things make me angry about all of this.
First of all, Cemal Aydin and The Gokceks have destroyed this 102 year old club. It is going to take a long long time to get back into the Super Lig if ever. But how can the Turkish FA and the Government just sit back and allow this to happen ? It is so clear there has been coruption and people have been filling there pockets. UEFA have also done nothing except hand out a transfer ban.
I am loosing my passion for Turkish Football, this corrupt FA will at the end of the season refuse to hand out a relegation to clcubs found guilty of match fixing, they even want to change the rules so this doesnt happen.
Disgraceful, shame on you all !!!
First of all, Cemal Aydin and The Gokceks have destroyed this 102 year old club. It is going to take a long long time to get back into the Super Lig if ever. But how can the Turkish FA and the Government just sit back and allow this to happen ? It is so clear there has been coruption and people have been filling there pockets. UEFA have also done nothing except hand out a transfer ban.
I am loosing my passion for Turkish Football, this corrupt FA will at the end of the season refuse to hand out a relegation to clcubs found guilty of match fixing, they even want to change the rules so this doesnt happen.
Disgraceful, shame on you all !!!
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Four seems to be the magic number
O-4...again!
Normally when there is a sinking ship, it is the women and children who are supposed to abandon ship first. In an interesting reversal, however, due to the vulgarity of the chants employed by Ankaragucu fans in recent weeks, the TFF banned the adult males from the stadium. So the men were forced to abandon the sinking ship that Ankaragucu has become this season, and only the women and children were allowed to "stay on board". They managed to fill the left most section of Gecekondu and their chants could be heard throughout the match, so we must all take our hats off to them.
We must also take our hats off to the squad that once more took on a team that was far superior. Though it didn't take Trabzon's Adin long to score. Gucu managed to play respectably well for most of the first half of the match, and occasionally in the second. Nonetheless, in the end, we once again found ourselves looking at a four-nil score.
I'll be back with more details after the Arsenal-Aston Villa match.
After watching the two Premier League clubs go at it, I have to admit that it is difficult to look back on the football we played this afternoon. Had we played either one of the two teams at Emirates Stadium this afternoon, I shudder to think what the score would have been.
Our starting eleven didn't look so different from last week's starting line up. There was one glaring difference however. As Bora left this past week to go to Antalyaspor, there was a new face in goals, a bearded face. This face belongs to one Bayram Olgun, who, it must be said was NOT the weak link in our squad this afternoon. He did rather well actually in his first appearance.
Our team:
Bayram
Mehmet Aydin Ishak Bilal
Ümit Muhammed Veli (79. O. Evci)
Serol (74. Atilla Aybars) Serkan (48. G. Erdoğan)
Ergin
Before the match even began, it was clear that the MKE Ankaragucu was facing hard times. The pitch looked like absolute crap, almost literally since large swathes were brown. Against this backdrop, Trabzonspor were trying to put their passing game together, and Ankaragucu were fighting hard to keep Trabzon from succeeding, and were doing a decent job of it until former Gencler player Serkan Balci managed to pull off a beautiful cross that bypassed the Gucu defense and allowed Adin to slot it in past Bayram.
So Trabzon were up, but we were not out of the match yet. However, the most worrisome indicator of where this match was going was the fact that even though we were able to strip the ball off the Trabzon players fairly regularly, they would almost always manage to get the ball back immediately after. We weren't able to capitalize on the advantage when we had it.
Ergin was a busy man. In the 25th minute he took a shot from well outside the penalty box but blasted over. About four minutes later some nice passing on the part of our boys nearly got the ball to Ergin in front of the Trabzon goal, but Trabzon keeper Tolga was able to pounce on it before Ergin could get to it. Despite all his running, though, Ergin could just not find an opportunity.
Late in the half Ankara had a free kick, but Tolga didn't even break a sweat in handling it.
Things were just starting to look dire towards the end of the first half when during the 41st minute there was a goal mouth melee in front of our goal, and our defense was completely incapable of clearing the ball. Five minutes later, in extra time, Burak acted like he got fouled just outside the penalty box and was awarded the kick. Fortunately he sent the ball straight into Bayram's arms, and the first half came to a merciful end with us still only down by one. We still had a chance.
However, when the second half came it was Trabzon that came out looking like the improved side. Paulo Henrique came on for Volkan Sen and his speed on the right wing seemed to give Trabzon the edge they needed.
And then it happened. In the 56th minute Trabzon's Mustafa Yumlu launched a wonderful long pass and Burak managed to race ahead past Umit Kurt to go one-on-one with Bayram. Just before Bayram could get to it, Burak chipped it over him and into the net.
Around the 64th minute Gucu's attacking prowess began to look a little better when İshak was nearly able to fire off a shot from close range. Before he could take it, though, Balcı broke up the opportunity. Two minutes later, Ergin took a shot from the top of the box only to see it go slightly wide. And then a few minutes later came our best attempt yet when Gökhan made a beautiful cut back to Serol who unfortunately was unable to get it past Tolga.
Not long after that, Adrian who had come in for Colman got deep into the box on the left and ripped a pass across to Enrique who was waiting by the far post. The pass never got to Enrique though. An unfortunate Ishak in an attempt to block the pass sent it into his own goal. Had he not, though, it wouldn't have mattered. Enrique would have done it himself. Trabzon was up by three. Two minutes later Alanzinho sent a brilliant through pass to Burak who didn't hesitate in putting the sword fully in.
The game might as well have ended there, but we sat through another painful thirteen minutes before the ref mercifully ended the match precisely at the ninety minute mark.
And that is when things got sadder still. The Trabzon players gave their jerseys to the Ankaragucu players, but the Gucu players had to keep theirs because (as we all remember from the Sivas match) they don't have enough to even change at halftime.
Another heart breaking day in Ankara. Next week sees us away to Ordu. This is a match we might stand a better chance of winning. Not getting my hopes up though.
BattleDamagedKanka
After watching the two Premier League clubs go at it, I have to admit that it is difficult to look back on the football we played this afternoon. Had we played either one of the two teams at Emirates Stadium this afternoon, I shudder to think what the score would have been.
Our starting eleven didn't look so different from last week's starting line up. There was one glaring difference however. As Bora left this past week to go to Antalyaspor, there was a new face in goals, a bearded face. This face belongs to one Bayram Olgun, who, it must be said was NOT the weak link in our squad this afternoon. He did rather well actually in his first appearance.
Bayram
Mehmet Aydin Ishak Bilal
Ümit Muhammed Veli (79. O. Evci)
Serol (74. Atilla Aybars) Serkan (48. G. Erdoğan)
Ergin
Before the match even began, it was clear that the MKE Ankaragucu was facing hard times. The pitch looked like absolute crap, almost literally since large swathes were brown. Against this backdrop, Trabzonspor were trying to put their passing game together, and Ankaragucu were fighting hard to keep Trabzon from succeeding, and were doing a decent job of it until former Gencler player Serkan Balci managed to pull off a beautiful cross that bypassed the Gucu defense and allowed Adin to slot it in past Bayram.
So Trabzon were up, but we were not out of the match yet. However, the most worrisome indicator of where this match was going was the fact that even though we were able to strip the ball off the Trabzon players fairly regularly, they would almost always manage to get the ball back immediately after. We weren't able to capitalize on the advantage when we had it.
Ergin was a busy man. In the 25th minute he took a shot from well outside the penalty box but blasted over. About four minutes later some nice passing on the part of our boys nearly got the ball to Ergin in front of the Trabzon goal, but Trabzon keeper Tolga was able to pounce on it before Ergin could get to it. Despite all his running, though, Ergin could just not find an opportunity.
Late in the half Ankara had a free kick, but Tolga didn't even break a sweat in handling it.
Things were just starting to look dire towards the end of the first half when during the 41st minute there was a goal mouth melee in front of our goal, and our defense was completely incapable of clearing the ball. Five minutes later, in extra time, Burak acted like he got fouled just outside the penalty box and was awarded the kick. Fortunately he sent the ball straight into Bayram's arms, and the first half came to a merciful end with us still only down by one. We still had a chance.
However, when the second half came it was Trabzon that came out looking like the improved side. Paulo Henrique came on for Volkan Sen and his speed on the right wing seemed to give Trabzon the edge they needed.
And then it happened. In the 56th minute Trabzon's Mustafa Yumlu launched a wonderful long pass and Burak managed to race ahead past Umit Kurt to go one-on-one with Bayram. Just before Bayram could get to it, Burak chipped it over him and into the net.
Around the 64th minute Gucu's attacking prowess began to look a little better when İshak was nearly able to fire off a shot from close range. Before he could take it, though, Balcı broke up the opportunity. Two minutes later, Ergin took a shot from the top of the box only to see it go slightly wide. And then a few minutes later came our best attempt yet when Gökhan made a beautiful cut back to Serol who unfortunately was unable to get it past Tolga.
Not long after that, Adrian who had come in for Colman got deep into the box on the left and ripped a pass across to Enrique who was waiting by the far post. The pass never got to Enrique though. An unfortunate Ishak in an attempt to block the pass sent it into his own goal. Had he not, though, it wouldn't have mattered. Enrique would have done it himself. Trabzon was up by three. Two minutes later Alanzinho sent a brilliant through pass to Burak who didn't hesitate in putting the sword fully in.
The game might as well have ended there, but we sat through another painful thirteen minutes before the ref mercifully ended the match precisely at the ninety minute mark.
And that is when things got sadder still. The Trabzon players gave their jerseys to the Ankaragucu players, but the Gucu players had to keep theirs because (as we all remember from the Sivas match) they don't have enough to even change at halftime.
Another heart breaking day in Ankara. Next week sees us away to Ordu. This is a match we might stand a better chance of winning. Not getting my hopes up though.
BattleDamagedKanka
Friday, January 27, 2012
Ankaragucu vs Trabzonspor Match Preview
Ankaragucu host Trabzonspor in the capital on Sunday and the game will be played behind closed doors.
Crowd trouble at the recent Ankaragucu vs Genclerbirligi match has saw Ankaragucu fined and also given a one match stadium ban. Ankaragucu go into the match coming off the back of a 4-0 defeat at Galatasaray.
The last time the two sides met, Ankaragucu twice went ahead through Turgut Dogan Sahin and Theo Weeks only for Trabzonspor to win 3-2 late on. A brave performance in Trabzon for Ankaragucu who were unlucky to come away from the game empty handed.
A lot has changed since then, Ankaragucu have lost there whole first team squad apart from Aydin Toscali, Ergin Keles and Muhammet Turkmen. Trabzonspor have been inconsistent but have started to show some form of late and won 4-1 at home to Eskisehirspor midweek. They have won 7 of there last 8 games with only Karabukspor beating them.
Trabzonspor added Olcan Adin to there squad in the January transfer window in a deal which saw Marek Sapara move to Gaziantepspor. Adin has been excellent and has formed a good partnership with the brilliant Burak Yilmaz. If Ankaragucu are to take anything from the game then Yilmaz, Adin and Andreij will need to be kept quiet.
Ankaragucu will again rely on there remaining experienced players in Aydin, Ergin and Muhammet. The young players will get more valuable experience and will hope to improve on the defensive horror show against Galatasaray midweek.
A huge ask again for this young team, and even more difficult without the backing of the fans.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Gencler claw back to win a point
It wasn't until the very end but Gencler managed to pull off a draw against Bursa Wednesday afternoon. The draw saw us slip a place or two on the table but the hunt is still on.
Genclerbirligi 2 - 2 Bursaspor
With snow everywhere and a kicking off time of 3:30 pm Little Oz Kanka and myself decided to watch the match at the Red Lion Club. We were the only patrons there but we had 11 friends to watch on the telly.
Kick-off and Gencler played their usual possesion game. A couple of chances thanks to good runs down the wings from Hursut and Yasin but the goal just wouldn't come as the Bursaspor keeper kept everything out.
There was a bit of a disaster as Curri got stretchered off after 11 minutes or so after falling awkwardly and with both Ante Kulusich and Aykut Demir still injured (they should be back for the next match) we were down to our third-string defenders.
Bursa's only chances came from counter-attacks but each one of those looked dangerous and it was in the 40th something minute their first goal came. Former Ankaragucu player Sestek sent in a perfect cross from the right which was wonderfully headed by someone. The Red Lion went quiet but Gencler looked like they could get back into it... Oh.
Gencler were given a free-kick for some reason or another somewhere deep in our side of the field. Ergun then inexplicitly kicked it pretty much to a Bursa player who took a shot and ... goal. The Red Lion was so quiet this time as Little Oz Kanka started screaming at the telly. Dear oh dear Ergun, that was just stupid.
Second half seemed to be going along listlessly and I got a call from the missus ordering me to get home at once because we had been summoned by no less than the prime minister to attend dinner and soft drinks. So just as the Gencler coach replaced a defender with midfielder Azofeifa, his first run since being injured about four weeks ago, Little Oz and me trudged off.
As I was getting ready back home Little Oz screamed out "YES!" He had somehow got onto a football scores site and had discovered we had scored. Not long later came another louder scream as we scored again in the depths of injury time. And that's how it finished.
I have no idea how our goals were scored, all I know is that we had the draw. We should have had the win, but to come back from 2-0 down is a pretty good effort.
Off to dinner with the prime minister only to discover that 3,000 others had also been invited. Hmmph.
Genclerbirligi 2 - 2 Bursaspor
With snow everywhere and a kicking off time of 3:30 pm Little Oz Kanka and myself decided to watch the match at the Red Lion Club. We were the only patrons there but we had 11 friends to watch on the telly.
Kick-off and Gencler played their usual possesion game. A couple of chances thanks to good runs down the wings from Hursut and Yasin but the goal just wouldn't come as the Bursaspor keeper kept everything out.
There was a bit of a disaster as Curri got stretchered off after 11 minutes or so after falling awkwardly and with both Ante Kulusich and Aykut Demir still injured (they should be back for the next match) we were down to our third-string defenders.
Bursa's only chances came from counter-attacks but each one of those looked dangerous and it was in the 40th something minute their first goal came. Former Ankaragucu player Sestek sent in a perfect cross from the right which was wonderfully headed by someone. The Red Lion went quiet but Gencler looked like they could get back into it... Oh.
Gencler were given a free-kick for some reason or another somewhere deep in our side of the field. Ergun then inexplicitly kicked it pretty much to a Bursa player who took a shot and ... goal. The Red Lion was so quiet this time as Little Oz Kanka started screaming at the telly. Dear oh dear Ergun, that was just stupid.
Second half seemed to be going along listlessly and I got a call from the missus ordering me to get home at once because we had been summoned by no less than the prime minister to attend dinner and soft drinks. So just as the Gencler coach replaced a defender with midfielder Azofeifa, his first run since being injured about four weeks ago, Little Oz and me trudged off.
As I was getting ready back home Little Oz screamed out "YES!" He had somehow got onto a football scores site and had discovered we had scored. Not long later came another louder scream as we scored again in the depths of injury time. And that's how it finished.
I have no idea how our goals were scored, all I know is that we had the draw. We should have had the win, but to come back from 2-0 down is a pretty good effort.
Off to dinner with the prime minister only to discover that 3,000 others had also been invited. Hmmph.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Dayan Ankaragucu
Photo taken from Webaslan.com
I really have only two comments to make about this match.
1) The result could have been worse. Losing 4-0 to Galatasaray in this case was getting off easy. Our defense fought hard--bless their hearts (tip of the hat to Judy)--but Aydın in particular was struggling. From the lapses in defense came four goals, two of which occurred in the first ten minutes of the match.
2) The Galatasaray fans and players, and Fatih Terim demonstrated an admirable degree of sportsmanship. Even before the match started, the GS fans had hung a banner reading "Dayan Ankaragücü" (Hold on Ankaragucu), and when Ergin Keles came off towards the end of the match, he got applause from Terim and the GS fans. Even the Istanbul crowd shows our team more respect than the criminals in Ankara who have let our team sink to these levels.
Thanks to the team for keeping their heads up. Respect.
BattleDamagedKanka
Monday, January 23, 2012
The final Ankara derby?
Could that have been the last Ankara derby? Quite possibly so as Ankaragucu need some sort of miracle to stay in the top flight next season. It was cold, the field was in places waterlogged and the football on show wasn't that great. In any case though it will be a great shame if we don't see another derby match and hopefully Ankaragucu will still be around next season.
Ankaragucu 0 - 1 Genclerbirligi
Sunday afternoon in the Beer Bus and various Kankas were looking the worse for wear after spending Saturday afternoon at the British Beer Festival at the Red Lion. Still nothing an Efes couldn't cure. Gencler kankas Spine, Oguz, Emre, Robin, the Flying Dutchman and your reporter for the day discussed everything from the first 120 years of AKP rule to how Ankaragucu need a Middle Eastern saviour.
One thing we couldn't discuss was how the Ankaragucu fans felt because none of them showed up. Normally the home side has to do the report but looks like I got saddled with it instead.
At the stadium we were surprised to see queues. Yes queues to get tickets for the Gencler end. Gencler don't have a big support base but it was good to see so many come out on such a cold day.
We missed the first five minutes or so and I doubt we missed much. As I said the place was cold and the pitch waterlogged in places, not the best conditions for good football. As Ankaragucu were forced to play their youth team it wasn't much of a surprise that Genclerbirligi controlled most of the play.
The only goal of the match came in the 19th minute when Yasin on the left did extremely well to get around his man and then with players streaming into the box he passed to Hursut who struck it well from just outside the box.
Of course we cheered, but then we just politely clapped. None of the Gencler fans want to see Ankaragucu go down but at the same time we need the three points to keep up our fight for a place in Europe next season.
Genclerbirligi continued to control the ball for the rest of the first half but with Azofeifa still injured we are really looking poor in the midfield. Once again there were a million horizontal passes and no real penetration. I'm not sure that we forced the Ankaragucu keeper to make more than a couple of saves for the whole match.
I had no idea at the time but one Ankaragucu kanka was at the match, namely Cider Kanka John and as he posted on the blog, the Ankaragucu fans were having fun throwing snowballs onto the pitch. It started pretty much as an attack on Hursut for having scored the goal but later on everyone was fair game. It seemed petty at first but later just seemed like fun, after all, snowballs are much better than chairs.
Also weird was the "we share your pain" display by the Ankaragucu fans as thousands of them took off their shirts and threw their atlets/singlets/vests on to the pitch. I might take part in a similar display myself some day, but certainly in January.
Second half and Gencler flaffed around, sent some balls over the top and generally played like they wanted to get off the field as soon as possible. Sensing this the young Ankaragucu players started having a go and they were very unlucky not to equalise late late in the second-half. If it wasn't for Ramazan in goal, the match would have finished one-a-piece.
Match over and very subdued applause from us. During the match the Ankaragucu stands started up various "Hukumet istifa" and "Gokcek istifa" chants, which the Gencler fans of course joined in and so it was slightly annoying that at the end a very small group of Ankaragucu fans sitting to the left us started shouting "you are all sons of disreputable women". We merely applauded them, which only got them more pissed off. Ultimately the police went in and pushed them out of the stadium, after which much larger groups of Ankaragucu fans shouted their appreciation for our support and we started singing Ankaragucu chants.
All very weird.
Thanks to Karabuk beating Trabzon on Saturday, Gencler now go into fourth spot on the ladder. Wow, you could have got very good odds for betting on that at the beginning of the season. Let's see if we can keep it up.
Ankaragucu 0 - 1 Genclerbirligi
Sunday afternoon in the Beer Bus and various Kankas were looking the worse for wear after spending Saturday afternoon at the British Beer Festival at the Red Lion. Still nothing an Efes couldn't cure. Gencler kankas Spine, Oguz, Emre, Robin, the Flying Dutchman and your reporter for the day discussed everything from the first 120 years of AKP rule to how Ankaragucu need a Middle Eastern saviour.
One thing we couldn't discuss was how the Ankaragucu fans felt because none of them showed up. Normally the home side has to do the report but looks like I got saddled with it instead.
At the stadium we were surprised to see queues. Yes queues to get tickets for the Gencler end. Gencler don't have a big support base but it was good to see so many come out on such a cold day.
We missed the first five minutes or so and I doubt we missed much. As I said the place was cold and the pitch waterlogged in places, not the best conditions for good football. As Ankaragucu were forced to play their youth team it wasn't much of a surprise that Genclerbirligi controlled most of the play.
The only goal of the match came in the 19th minute when Yasin on the left did extremely well to get around his man and then with players streaming into the box he passed to Hursut who struck it well from just outside the box.
Of course we cheered, but then we just politely clapped. None of the Gencler fans want to see Ankaragucu go down but at the same time we need the three points to keep up our fight for a place in Europe next season.
Genclerbirligi continued to control the ball for the rest of the first half but with Azofeifa still injured we are really looking poor in the midfield. Once again there were a million horizontal passes and no real penetration. I'm not sure that we forced the Ankaragucu keeper to make more than a couple of saves for the whole match.
I had no idea at the time but one Ankaragucu kanka was at the match, namely Cider Kanka John and as he posted on the blog, the Ankaragucu fans were having fun throwing snowballs onto the pitch. It started pretty much as an attack on Hursut for having scored the goal but later on everyone was fair game. It seemed petty at first but later just seemed like fun, after all, snowballs are much better than chairs.
Also weird was the "we share your pain" display by the Ankaragucu fans as thousands of them took off their shirts and threw their atlets/singlets/vests on to the pitch. I might take part in a similar display myself some day, but certainly in January.
Minus 10 was still too warm for these Ankaragucu fans.
Second half and Gencler flaffed around, sent some balls over the top and generally played like they wanted to get off the field as soon as possible. Sensing this the young Ankaragucu players started having a go and they were very unlucky not to equalise late late in the second-half. If it wasn't for Ramazan in goal, the match would have finished one-a-piece.
Match over and very subdued applause from us. During the match the Ankaragucu stands started up various "Hukumet istifa" and "Gokcek istifa" chants, which the Gencler fans of course joined in and so it was slightly annoying that at the end a very small group of Ankaragucu fans sitting to the left us started shouting "you are all sons of disreputable women". We merely applauded them, which only got them more pissed off. Ultimately the police went in and pushed them out of the stadium, after which much larger groups of Ankaragucu fans shouted their appreciation for our support and we started singing Ankaragucu chants.
All very weird.
Thanks to Karabuk beating Trabzon on Saturday, Gencler now go into fourth spot on the ladder. Wow, you could have got very good odds for betting on that at the beginning of the season. Let's see if we can keep it up.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
A drab Ankara derby but Gencler take the points
A freezing evening in Ankara saw a football match played on a crap pitch with some pretty rubbish football. Gencler scored in the 19th minute after a nice move that left Hursut in front of the goal with no-one but the keeper to beat. The rest of the match... er... rubbish. Ankaragucu almost equalised towards the end but Ramazan in goal saved our blushes. For those of you who weren't there - count your blessings, as for those of you who were there - count your toes as you may have left a few frozen ones behind at the stadium.
More tomorrow.
More tomorrow.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
I think we should be told
Has anyone else noticed the similarity between Douglas Reynholm, son of a meglomaniac Denholm Reynhom who according to Wikipedia was "always ready with new and often ridiculous initiatives", and Ahmet Gokcek, former Ankaragucu chairman and son of I. Melih Gocek whose new and often brilliant initiatives have included recreating Hollywood in Ankara, a Disneyland for the city and the really radical idea that a metro system would be good for the capital. Are they in anyway related? I think we should be told.
Douglas Reynholm Ahmet Gokcek
(You can blame Spine for the idea behind this post)
(You can blame Spine for the idea behind this post)
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
You never know what file photos the papers have
Hurriyet today were reporting on how Gencler fans have been voicing their dismay with the Ankaragucu management and expressing their sympathies with the Ankaragucu fans. An eagle-eyed Spine spotted this interesting little group of Gencler fans in the accompanying photo. Dan the Man in the M-Oil jersey next to Oz Kanka with the Gencler scarf, and who is that Gencler fan in front of them? None other than Sir Eski Kanka!
Click on the photo for a larger version.
The Ankara Derby Match Preview !
Ankaragucu host Genclerbirligi in the Derby on Sunday at the 19 Mayis Stadium.
Genclerbirligi will go into the match as heavy favourites, and another tough game for Ankaragucu. Gencler are currently sitting in the Europa League places while Ankaragucu are rooted to the bottom with only two wins all season.
The last time the two sides met ended in a 1-1 draw. Sahin Aydogdu gave Gencler the lead before a late equaliser from Jan Rajnoch. The Ankaragucu side are unrecognisable from the last game where only Aydin Toscali and Ergin Keles are still with the club.
Faut Capa has done an excellent job at Gencler, they have only lost 1 in there last 7 games and the fans are already talking about European Football returning to Ankara. Last weekend Gencler defeated Euro Rivals Eskisehirspor 2-1 at home.
Key players for the away side will be Hursut Meric who is full of running, Yasin Oztekin who is capable of scoring some wonderful goals and the powerful Herve Tum. Gencler have a fantastic scouting system where year after year they loose top players, but still manage to fine players just as good to replace them. Its a credit to the club that they are run in profit.
Where Gencler have exceeded, Ankaragucu have failed miserably. To many players over the years on big wages who haven't earned the wages given to them, then the players who have given there all to the club but not been paid. The club are in a financial mess at the moment and couldn't even afford a change of strip at the weekend against Sivas. This week the Ankaragucu fans took Water and Food to the training ground due to the club not been able to pay there own chef.
The one thing the club can be proud of is there fans, through these tough times they have shown incredible loyalty and we can only hope for good times to return. Turgut Dogan Sahin has almost certainly played his last game for the club with reports tonight claiming he will sign for Gaziantepspor.
Ankaragucu will now look to there young A2 team to get them through this game. Players like Ishak Dogan, Umut Kurt, Bilal Gulden are now the future of the club and need to step up and show what they can do.
As Oz Kanka and Spine reported yesterday, the Genclerbirligi fans have shown there support to Ankaragucu in the last couple of days, we would like to take the opportunity to thank our Gencler brothers for there support.
Good luck to Ankaragucu on sunday but Gencler will need to have an off day if we are to take anything from them.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Gencler fans in two minds ahead of the derby
I'm not one to do match previews, I'll leave that to Bellshill Kanka, but I have been surprised to see the comments and discussion threads on the Genclerbirligi fan forums and on facebook ahead of the Ankara derby on Sunday.
The normal talk on these sorts of forums is about stuff like "who would make up our best 11". Much lamenting would be had over the fact that Harbuzi and Aykut are out through injury.
But not for this match. The talk on the forums early in the week is all about how we should play our A2 takim, ie the youth team. Why? To help Ankaragucu.
I'm really amazed at how the Gencler fans are feeling the pain that Ankaragucu are going through at the moment.
I don't agree at all with the idea of sending out a second-rate team but I am quite touched that so many hard-core Gencler fans are prepared to possibly lose our place in Europe next season for the across town team.
I'm pretty sure Gencler won't send out their second team, but it is great to see that many of our fans are in real sympathy for the shit that Ankaragucu fans are in at the moment.
One Gencler fan noted, having said that he hoped Ankaragucu will win on Sunday: "I'm sure that if the situation was reversed the Ankaragucu fans wouldn't care at all, but that doesn't matter, we should do the right thing".
I don't agree with that idea, we could be up for massive fines, point reductions etc. if we play an understrength side, but I agree with the sentiment.
All I can do is to wish good luck to both sides.
My sympathies are with all Ankaragucu fans, but this weekend is the derby. Derbies are for the winning. And the winners will surely be Genclerbirligi. See you all at the Beer Bus before the match.
The normal talk on these sorts of forums is about stuff like "who would make up our best 11". Much lamenting would be had over the fact that Harbuzi and Aykut are out through injury.
But not for this match. The talk on the forums early in the week is all about how we should play our A2 takim, ie the youth team. Why? To help Ankaragucu.
I'm really amazed at how the Gencler fans are feeling the pain that Ankaragucu are going through at the moment.
I don't agree at all with the idea of sending out a second-rate team but I am quite touched that so many hard-core Gencler fans are prepared to possibly lose our place in Europe next season for the across town team.
I'm pretty sure Gencler won't send out their second team, but it is great to see that many of our fans are in real sympathy for the shit that Ankaragucu fans are in at the moment.
One Gencler fan noted, having said that he hoped Ankaragucu will win on Sunday: "I'm sure that if the situation was reversed the Ankaragucu fans wouldn't care at all, but that doesn't matter, we should do the right thing".
I don't agree with that idea, we could be up for massive fines, point reductions etc. if we play an understrength side, but I agree with the sentiment.
All I can do is to wish good luck to both sides.
My sympathies are with all Ankaragucu fans, but this weekend is the derby. Derbies are for the winning. And the winners will surely be Genclerbirligi. See you all at the Beer Bus before the match.
Monday, January 16, 2012
ANKARAGUCU - BLOWN AWAY IN A SIVAS BLIZZARD
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
It was an unbelievable sight when the TV cameras showed up the 4 Eylul Stadium prior to KO. It was a total whiteout with the white stuff pissing down, one tractor trying to clear the lines and groundsmen putting some 'black stuff' down on the lines. My question ..... why was this left to the last minute ?! The referee did well to allow the match to proceed, or was it a Digiturk decision (Eski the Cynic !) ??!!
Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and I were joined by some of Eski's students and friends in The Chopin - Abby (from 'upstate' New York !), Gaia (from Michigan - it's in Canada ..... right ??!!), Cody (no relation to Buffalo Bill !) and Max (can't say what he is doing here .... it's very secretive !!).
Team -
Bora
Mehmet, Aydin, Bilal and Ishak
Kaan, Gokhan, Umit and Muhammed
Keles and Turgut
Substitutes - Serkan, Atilla and Mert
Sivasspor 3 Ankaragucu 0
Ankaragucu had their only serious chance of the match in the 10th minute when Atilla (Sivas goalkeeper) made a hash of clearing the ball in the slippery snowy goal area and Keles latched onto it and hit an angled goalbound shot which was cleared off the line by a covering defender.
From that point on it was all Sivas who mastered the atrocious conditions much better than Ankaragucu.
Ankaragucu was blown away in the space of 2 first half minutes. First, in the 14th minute from a Sivas corner, Eneramo was allowed a free header despite the fact that he was surrounded by FOUR Ankaragucu defenders ! 2 minutes later a classic goal. The break on the left, then the cut-back for the impressive Grosicki to score an easy goal.
Bora saved further blushes in the 37th minute when he got down bravely to smother the ball with Grosicki on a one-on-one with Bora.
Ankaragucu was a disorganised rabble with passes going astray, pumping high balls out of defence anywhere and no cohesion in their play. On the other hand, Sivas players were first into the tackle and spreading the ball around - usually down the left wing where most of the damage was done.
Half time came as a relief !
The blizzard relented and after the groundstaff had worked on the pitch, we were able to see green grass for the first time.
I think Digiturk summed-up the way the match was going in the 55th minute ................ 209 passes made by Sivas and ........... 58 by Ankaragucu !
10 minutes later it was all over when from a right wing attack came the inevitable cut-back for Cihan to shoot under Bora's diving body to put the match beyond Ankaragucu.
I don't think Ankaragucu can play as badly as this again, but if they do next Sunday, it will be a punishing afternoon against high flying Gencler.
The bottom 3 Clubs are gradually losing touch with the pack and nothing less than a winning streak will help Ankaragucu's cause now.
I'll be watching Hibs climb up the table next weekend in Edinburgh, so your reporter for the Ankaragucu v Gencler match will be Battle Damaged Kanka Damon.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
It was an unbelievable sight when the TV cameras showed up the 4 Eylul Stadium prior to KO. It was a total whiteout with the white stuff pissing down, one tractor trying to clear the lines and groundsmen putting some 'black stuff' down on the lines. My question ..... why was this left to the last minute ?! The referee did well to allow the match to proceed, or was it a Digiturk decision (Eski the Cynic !) ??!!
Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and I were joined by some of Eski's students and friends in The Chopin - Abby (from 'upstate' New York !), Gaia (from Michigan - it's in Canada ..... right ??!!), Cody (no relation to Buffalo Bill !) and Max (can't say what he is doing here .... it's very secretive !!).
Team -
Bora
Mehmet, Aydin, Bilal and Ishak
Kaan, Gokhan, Umit and Muhammed
Keles and Turgut
Substitutes - Serkan, Atilla and Mert
Sivasspor 3 Ankaragucu 0
Ankaragucu had their only serious chance of the match in the 10th minute when Atilla (Sivas goalkeeper) made a hash of clearing the ball in the slippery snowy goal area and Keles latched onto it and hit an angled goalbound shot which was cleared off the line by a covering defender.
From that point on it was all Sivas who mastered the atrocious conditions much better than Ankaragucu.
Ankaragucu was blown away in the space of 2 first half minutes. First, in the 14th minute from a Sivas corner, Eneramo was allowed a free header despite the fact that he was surrounded by FOUR Ankaragucu defenders ! 2 minutes later a classic goal. The break on the left, then the cut-back for the impressive Grosicki to score an easy goal.
Bora saved further blushes in the 37th minute when he got down bravely to smother the ball with Grosicki on a one-on-one with Bora.
Ankaragucu was a disorganised rabble with passes going astray, pumping high balls out of defence anywhere and no cohesion in their play. On the other hand, Sivas players were first into the tackle and spreading the ball around - usually down the left wing where most of the damage was done.
Half time came as a relief !
The blizzard relented and after the groundstaff had worked on the pitch, we were able to see green grass for the first time.
I think Digiturk summed-up the way the match was going in the 55th minute ................ 209 passes made by Sivas and ........... 58 by Ankaragucu !
10 minutes later it was all over when from a right wing attack came the inevitable cut-back for Cihan to shoot under Bora's diving body to put the match beyond Ankaragucu.
I don't think Ankaragucu can play as badly as this again, but if they do next Sunday, it will be a punishing afternoon against high flying Gencler.
The bottom 3 Clubs are gradually losing touch with the pack and nothing less than a winning streak will help Ankaragucu's cause now.
I'll be watching Hibs climb up the table next weekend in Edinburgh, so your reporter for the Ankaragucu v Gencler match will be Battle Damaged Kanka Damon.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Yeah! A win for Gencler Whooo Hoooooo*
Going into this one I wasn't all that confident. Since the half-season break We had drawn against Samsun. Samsunspor! Then we lost away to Karabuk. Karabukspor! Then earlier this week we were knocked out of the Turkish Cup by Boluspor. Boluspor! What chance did we have against a half decent team such as Eskisehirspor who have been sitting in the top five or so for most of the season? I assumed bugger all.
Genclerbirligi 2 - 1 Eskisehirspor
I didn't realise but I put in the wrong bar for our meeting point and so today the Chopin got our custom. Admittedly it wasn't much custom as it was just Spine, Little Oz Kanka and myself who showed up for pre-match drinks. Have to admit though the kofte was very yummy.
Made it in just in time for the national anthem.
Kick off and it was a bit of this, a bit of that. Neither team was outstanding but Gencler were looking okay. A few scary moments but ultimately no real shots on goal from either side except for one shot from former Gencler player Burhan. I think it hit the post and then out but I'm not sure.
Then in the 23rd Cem Can had the ball on the right and sent in a perfect cross right onto the head of Herve Tum who is becoming a real header specialist. The keeper had no chance. According to a tweet by @sayinumit this was Tum's ninth goal this season, eight of them coming from headers.
All joy in the stands and then almost immediately we threw it away with some crap defence, especially in the midfield/final third. Argh.
1-1 at half time and actually I wasn't too upset. We had played okay, not brilliantly, but we were still in it.
Second half and Gencler again played well. I particularly liked Ergun at the back. He was not just good at some last minute tackles but also got himself forward and almost got an assist for his troubles.
The winning goal finally came from a corner.
It was played short and (I have to look up a report of the match here) Ergun sent it in to the box and Oktay Delibalta headed it in. --- so I guess Ergun did get his assist.
Great stuff. plenty of time left in the match though and Eskisehir went all out for the equaliser. They played like mad but couldn't really set up many good chances. Those they did set up they sent them miles wide.
Then .... drama!!!!
87th minute, a scramble of sorts in the box and my hero of the match, Ergun, made a schoolboy mistake by holding on to the arm of an attacker. There was absolutely no need for it and the referee pulled out a yellow card and pointed to the spot.
Fingers were crossed, Little Oz Kanka's legs and arms were crossed as well. Damn lucky they were as the Eskisehir player sent the penalty wide.
Cue celebrations in the stadium.
And that was it really. We had a few more chances in the last minutes but didn't take them. I don't care. This was a huge win for Genclerbirligi and for the briefest of moments we go into fourth spot (this may change before the end of the weekend).
All up, Gencler are looking okay, not brilliant, but winning ugly is better than losing beautifully.
* Headline provided by Little Oz Kanka
EDIT: I forgot to add the very last seconds of the match. Ermin Zec was fouled within millimetres of the box. The decision was a free kick outside the box. For my mind it should have been a penalty. In any case, we had the shot and then the referee blew it up.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Ankaragucu vs Sivasspor Match Preview
Ankaragucu travel to Sivas on Sunday in yet another vital match in the clubs fight against relegation.
Ankaragucu will be hoping to take something from Sundays match after the humiliating 6-2 defeat at home to Kasimpasa in the Cup on Wednesday night. Ankaragucu have been showing signs of improvement of late with a 2-1 win at Mersin and 0-0 draw at home to Besiktas.
Sivasspor are a very difficult side to beat at home though, They are currently 9 games unbeaten at home with Eskisehirspor the last team to beat them in Sivas. They are also unbeaten in there last 8 games in all competitions. Last week they drew 1-1 away at Eskisehirspor despite playing a big part of the game with ten men. They also won 3-1 against Mersin in the Turkish Cup in midweek.
The two sides met earlier this season in Ankara in which Sivasspor won 2-1. They took the lead through Jan Navratil before Kagan equalised with an excellent strike. Sivas dominated the game and Morten Rasmussen scored the winner.
Jan Rajnoch will be in the Sivas squad and will play against his former employers. Rajnoch left Ankaragucu after the last game between the two sides. Sivas have some very talented players in the powerful Michael Eneramo, Kamil Grosicki who is a tricky winger and Bolivian Striker Ricardo Pedriel.
Ankaragucu will be hoping Turgut Dogan Sahin will be available. The player has been at the centre of a bizarre transfer row between Ankaragucu, Gaziantepspor and Bursaspor. He returned to Ankaragucu today and Hakan Kutlu will be hoping he will be in his team on Sunday.
Another huge game for Ankaragucu who will have to give the performance of there lives to take anything from this game. The elections are been held tomorrow and Erdal Sanli is the leading candidate. I've been informed by our friend Bugra Mete that he is a friend of Ahment Gokcek.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
ANKARAGUCU - LAMBS TO THE SLAUGHTER !
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
There is very little to be said about last night's match !
Hakan Kutlu decided to rest his 'regulars' and play a team which was totally unrecognisable from last season. His philosophy being that 3 points in Sivas on Sunday is preferable to a run in the Turkish Cup. We may agree or disagree with this, but the fact was that Ankaragucu is going nowhere, especially if they keep leaking players. Cider Kankas John's comment about Keles joining Bursa being a point in case !
No shame on the Ankaragucu 'boys' last night. They played their hearts out, but, as Nadeem mentioned in a previous post, Kasimpasa is a strong team and that was proved last night. They totally dominated the 2nd half and gave Ankaragucu a torrid time. A case of men against boys !
Ankaragucu 2 Kasimpasa 6
Only Cider Kanka John and I turned-up last night and it was into an eerily emptyish Stadium we entered. However, Gecikondu did their best to create an atmosphere.
I don't intend to catalogue all the goals. Suffice to say that Ankaragucu was like a ship without a Captain on the Bridge, or ....... for that matter, a rudder !!
I also don't want to be a defeatist, but, if any more 'leaves fall off the tree' Ankaragucu can definitely say bye-bye to the Super League. Even with the 'leaves' remaining, it is going to be a long hard struggle until May/June.
Every match grows in significance now, but Sunday's match in Sivas takes on giant proportions if Ankaragucu is going to stay in touch with the other relegation candidates above them.
Watching in The Chopin on Sunday KO 1pm.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
There is very little to be said about last night's match !
Hakan Kutlu decided to rest his 'regulars' and play a team which was totally unrecognisable from last season. His philosophy being that 3 points in Sivas on Sunday is preferable to a run in the Turkish Cup. We may agree or disagree with this, but the fact was that Ankaragucu is going nowhere, especially if they keep leaking players. Cider Kankas John's comment about Keles joining Bursa being a point in case !
No shame on the Ankaragucu 'boys' last night. They played their hearts out, but, as Nadeem mentioned in a previous post, Kasimpasa is a strong team and that was proved last night. They totally dominated the 2nd half and gave Ankaragucu a torrid time. A case of men against boys !
Ankaragucu 2 Kasimpasa 6
Only Cider Kanka John and I turned-up last night and it was into an eerily emptyish Stadium we entered. However, Gecikondu did their best to create an atmosphere.
I don't intend to catalogue all the goals. Suffice to say that Ankaragucu was like a ship without a Captain on the Bridge, or ....... for that matter, a rudder !!
I also don't want to be a defeatist, but, if any more 'leaves fall off the tree' Ankaragucu can definitely say bye-bye to the Super League. Even with the 'leaves' remaining, it is going to be a long hard struggle until May/June.
Every match grows in significance now, but Sunday's match in Sivas takes on giant proportions if Ankaragucu is going to stay in touch with the other relegation candidates above them.
Watching in The Chopin on Sunday KO 1pm.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Gencler knocked out of Turkish Cup
Oh dear. Wasn't what I was expecting.
Boluspor 3-2 Genclerbirligi (1-1 after full time)
No radio broadcast of the match so all I could do was follow mackolik.com which merely had the scores, the goals who go yellow cards and a small comments sections below which was overtaken by trolls confusing the hell out of me.
So again, no real match report from me. All I can say that the game was played deep in snow (kick-off was delayed by 40 minutes as they tried to clear the pitch).
With a few key players injured, namely Azofeifa and Aykut, and the coach deciding to let a few fringe players a run, including new signing from Ankaragucu Duruer, Gencler were certainly not fielding their best team.
So it's no surprise that we ended up losing.
The game:
Bolu went ahead in the 49th. (1-0)
Bolu score first in extra time (2-1)
Herve Tum scores in 112th (2-2)
126th minute and trolls take over mackolik forum. Goals are being reported for both sides. I have no idea what is happening.
127th minute and Bolu scores (3-2)
Back to the league for us then.
Monday, January 09, 2012
Ankaragucu vs Kasimpasa Match Preview !
Ankaragucu take on Kasimpasa in the Turkish Cup on Wednesday night !
Another excellent performance from Ankaragucu last night as they held Besiktas 0-0 at home in the Turkish Super Lig. The Youth team have now taken four points from there two games played.
Kasimpasa were relegated from the Turkish Super Lig last season and will be hoping to cause an upset. The visitors are in 4th Position in the Bank Aysa and only two points behind leaders Elazigspor.
Last season they met twice, the first in Ankara where Ankaragucu won 3-0, and the second game in Kasimpasa where the home side won 2-1. Although Kasimpasa are in the lower league, they must be considered favourites for this game. Can Ankaragucu Youth team pull off yet another shock ?
There will be a return to Ankara for former Ankaragucu defender Luiz Henrique. The Brazilian defender has been a key player for Kasimpasa this season. Ankaragucu will be hoping for big performances again from the likes of Aydin Toscali, Bora Kork and Ergin Keles. A big question remains over weather Turgut Dogan will still be here.
Lets hope for another good turnout from the crowd.
Gencler back down to earth
Karabukspor 2 - 1 Genclerbirligi
I'm afraid this is a very short report as I didn't see the match on the telly, nor was I able to listen to it on the radio. I can't actually remember the last time I missed a Genclerbirligi match entirely. This really is bad of me as I even managed to radio blog a Gencler match against Fenerbahce a few years ago, from the lounge room of my parent's house in Sydney in the wee hours of the morning.
Karabuk went 1-0 up first. Herve Tum equalled things before half-time and then Karabuk got the winner in the second half.... er.... that's it.
It does seem as if the wheels have come off after Gencler had such a great run at the end of 2011. Just one point after playing two relegation-threatened teams is not great.
You never know though. We could bounce back.
I'm afraid this is a very short report as I didn't see the match on the telly, nor was I able to listen to it on the radio. I can't actually remember the last time I missed a Genclerbirligi match entirely. This really is bad of me as I even managed to radio blog a Gencler match against Fenerbahce a few years ago, from the lounge room of my parent's house in Sydney in the wee hours of the morning.
Karabuk went 1-0 up first. Herve Tum equalled things before half-time and then Karabuk got the winner in the second half.... er.... that's it.
It does seem as if the wheels have come off after Gencler had such a great run at the end of 2011. Just one point after playing two relegation-threatened teams is not great.
You never know though. We could bounce back.
Ankaragucu confirms the Kankas designation ..... beshikTRASH !
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
I shudder to think of the damage which Ankaragucu could have inflicted on Beshiktrash last night if they had all the 'leaves on the tree' available. As it is, with the few recognised 'leaves' remaining, Ankaragucu can be proud of their evening's efforts. All the players gave 100% and I only single-out Bora as Man of the Match due to his heroics between the sticks and getting up to clear potential danger from the 'giant' Ameida at corners and free kicks which saved a few certain goals.
Ankaragucu 0 Besiktas 0
Team -
Bora
Mehmet, Aydin, Umit and Ishak
Muhammed, Bilal, Abdullah and Gokhan
Keles and Turgut
Substitutes used - Mehmet, Atilla and Gurkan
Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and I met up at The Chopin and we were joined by Cider Kanka John and 'still no name kanka' Simon in the Stadium. Almost a full-house with Gecikondu and Maraton in fine voice pre and during the entire match.
Ankaragucu went for the early goal and were unlucky in the 8th minute when, first, Keles had a chance, and then from the ensuing corner, Turgut blasted over.
However, as the match settled down it was Beshiktrash looking the likelier team to score with Ankaragucu having problems getting out of their own half and defending desperately at times.
25 minutes in and the best chance of the match fell to Turgut who went on one of his mazy runs down the left wing, cut inside into the penalty box and let fly with a 'curver' which was heading for the top right hand corner. Unfortunately, Cenk made a world class save and touched the ball over for a corner.
Ankaragucu was being restricted to breakaway attacks, and from one of those, Keles scored a great 'offside goal' on the half hour mark. He was buzzing, but getting caught offside too often !
Approaching half time and a reflection of the 1st half was Bora dealing competently with everything thrown at him and the defence standing firm, although it has to be said ....... with a fair measure of luck !
Into the 2nd half and Bora was again the busiest player on the pitch. Almeida had been causing problems for most of the match with his head-flicks as he towered over the diminutive Ankaragucu defenders. Fortunately, Bora was able to deal with the high balls into Almeida who's fellow strikers were unable to feed off his good work.
Fernandes was causing all sorts of problems for the Ankaragucu defence with his probing runs and astute passing, and he came in for some stick from supporters above where we were in Maraton. On one occasion he was bombarded with plastic/metal cigarette lighters while taking a corner. Fortunately none connected, or if they did, he chose not to 'make a meal of it' and go down feigning injury which could have had serious repercussions !
65 minutes in and Keles scored his 2nd 'offside goal' but this time he also received a yellow for following through after the whistle !
5 minutes later and Beshiktrash almost made the break through from a well taken free kick, which was heading low into the bottom right hand corner, but Bora got down smartish to pull off another great save.
Into the final stages of the match and Ankaragucu was holding on desperately under extreme pressure from Beshiktrash, then .......... almost on the final whistle and a great chance came for a 'bent referee' to give Beshiktrash the 3 points when Edu made a spectacular swallow dive in the box from an innocuous tackle. Well done Mr Muftuoglu for giving that cheating 'bassa' an immediate yellow !!
So, another valuable point for the Ankaragucu 'B' Team who are now looking not a bad side, considering the haemorrhaging of players over the past 5 months. The burning question is though ............. can they hang on to Bora, Aydin, Turgut and Keles during the January Transfer Window ? If so, all is not lost me thinks !!
The next league match is away to mid-table Sivas on Sunday 15 January (probably the early KO) and it will be interesting to see if they play Rajnoch against his old club !
However, first up is the Cup match against Kasimpasa at home on Wednesday KO 6pm. This is another of those 'must win' matches to give Ankaragucu the chance to enter the group stage and earn some extra dosh for the Club !
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
I shudder to think of the damage which Ankaragucu could have inflicted on Beshiktrash last night if they had all the 'leaves on the tree' available. As it is, with the few recognised 'leaves' remaining, Ankaragucu can be proud of their evening's efforts. All the players gave 100% and I only single-out Bora as Man of the Match due to his heroics between the sticks and getting up to clear potential danger from the 'giant' Ameida at corners and free kicks which saved a few certain goals.
Ankaragucu 0 Besiktas 0
Team -
Bora
Mehmet, Aydin, Umit and Ishak
Muhammed, Bilal, Abdullah and Gokhan
Keles and Turgut
Substitutes used - Mehmet, Atilla and Gurkan
Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and I met up at The Chopin and we were joined by Cider Kanka John and 'still no name kanka' Simon in the Stadium. Almost a full-house with Gecikondu and Maraton in fine voice pre and during the entire match.
Ankaragucu went for the early goal and were unlucky in the 8th minute when, first, Keles had a chance, and then from the ensuing corner, Turgut blasted over.
However, as the match settled down it was Beshiktrash looking the likelier team to score with Ankaragucu having problems getting out of their own half and defending desperately at times.
25 minutes in and the best chance of the match fell to Turgut who went on one of his mazy runs down the left wing, cut inside into the penalty box and let fly with a 'curver' which was heading for the top right hand corner. Unfortunately, Cenk made a world class save and touched the ball over for a corner.
Ankaragucu was being restricted to breakaway attacks, and from one of those, Keles scored a great 'offside goal' on the half hour mark. He was buzzing, but getting caught offside too often !
Approaching half time and a reflection of the 1st half was Bora dealing competently with everything thrown at him and the defence standing firm, although it has to be said ....... with a fair measure of luck !
Into the 2nd half and Bora was again the busiest player on the pitch. Almeida had been causing problems for most of the match with his head-flicks as he towered over the diminutive Ankaragucu defenders. Fortunately, Bora was able to deal with the high balls into Almeida who's fellow strikers were unable to feed off his good work.
Fernandes was causing all sorts of problems for the Ankaragucu defence with his probing runs and astute passing, and he came in for some stick from supporters above where we were in Maraton. On one occasion he was bombarded with plastic/metal cigarette lighters while taking a corner. Fortunately none connected, or if they did, he chose not to 'make a meal of it' and go down feigning injury which could have had serious repercussions !
65 minutes in and Keles scored his 2nd 'offside goal' but this time he also received a yellow for following through after the whistle !
5 minutes later and Beshiktrash almost made the break through from a well taken free kick, which was heading low into the bottom right hand corner, but Bora got down smartish to pull off another great save.
Into the final stages of the match and Ankaragucu was holding on desperately under extreme pressure from Beshiktrash, then .......... almost on the final whistle and a great chance came for a 'bent referee' to give Beshiktrash the 3 points when Edu made a spectacular swallow dive in the box from an innocuous tackle. Well done Mr Muftuoglu for giving that cheating 'bassa' an immediate yellow !!
So, another valuable point for the Ankaragucu 'B' Team who are now looking not a bad side, considering the haemorrhaging of players over the past 5 months. The burning question is though ............. can they hang on to Bora, Aydin, Turgut and Keles during the January Transfer Window ? If so, all is not lost me thinks !!
The next league match is away to mid-table Sivas on Sunday 15 January (probably the early KO) and it will be interesting to see if they play Rajnoch against his old club !
However, first up is the Cup match against Kasimpasa at home on Wednesday KO 6pm. This is another of those 'must win' matches to give Ankaragucu the chance to enter the group stage and earn some extra dosh for the Club !
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Sunday, January 08, 2012
THE TURKISH CUP
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
Surprise surprise ........ no live blogging from Oz Kanka today. Anyway, I'm sure Gencler will see off Karabuk. Ooooops ......... I hope I didn't put the kiss of death on it ??!!
Now to the Turkish Cup and the last of the knock-out rounds before going into the Group Stage.
Ankaragucu and Gencler will both be in action on Wednesday -
Boluspor v Gencler - KO 1pm
Ankaragucu v Kasimpasa - KO 6pm
Of course, these matches will depend on the weather, especially the Gencler match. Heavy snow is forecast for tomorrow and who knows how long it will last. If it continues into Tuesday then the Gencler's match will definitely be the first to be postponed.
As for the Ankaragucu match, if it goes ahead, I will be going direct from work to The Chopin and then to the Stadium at about 5ish.
Watch this space for further updates.
For now, it's off to the Stadium in a few hours to see if Ankaragucu Youth/B Team can do a Gencler to Beshiktrash !
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Surprise surprise ........ no live blogging from Oz Kanka today. Anyway, I'm sure Gencler will see off Karabuk. Ooooops ......... I hope I didn't put the kiss of death on it ??!!
Now to the Turkish Cup and the last of the knock-out rounds before going into the Group Stage.
Ankaragucu and Gencler will both be in action on Wednesday -
Boluspor v Gencler - KO 1pm
Ankaragucu v Kasimpasa - KO 6pm
Of course, these matches will depend on the weather, especially the Gencler match. Heavy snow is forecast for tomorrow and who knows how long it will last. If it continues into Tuesday then the Gencler's match will definitely be the first to be postponed.
As for the Ankaragucu match, if it goes ahead, I will be going direct from work to The Chopin and then to the Stadium at about 5ish.
Watch this space for further updates.
For now, it's off to the Stadium in a few hours to see if Ankaragucu Youth/B Team can do a Gencler to Beshiktrash !
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Thursday, January 05, 2012
Frustratingly freezing football
It was a frustrating evening freezing Ankara last night. Gencler must have had something like 70 percent of the possesion but only on a few occassions did they really look like converting that into goals.
Genclerbirligi 1 - 1 Samsunspor
Wrapped up in our Artic gear Little Oz Kanka and myself headed off to the 19 Mayis full of hope. Genclerbirligi have had a great run of late and their style of play has been fantastic to watch. Until Wednesday night that is.
After being joined by Oguz and not too many other fans, Gencler started off in great fashion and had the ball in the back of the net after just two minutes. Problem was a foul had been called. I didn't see it but as there isn't much complaining happening on the Gencler forums I guess it must have been the right decision.
It was unlucky though. I'm not sure who was doing the heading, but the first header bounced back off the upright and the second was sent in. A brief cheer from us until we realised the ref had blown his whistle.
Then it was... ergh. boring, boring stuff. For some reason Azofeifa wasn't in the starting line up and it showed. Without a decent midfielder to direct traffic all Gencler seemed to do with the massive amount of time we had on the ball was to pass horizontally all night. We had a few chances to score but they were either blown or saved. All very frustrating. One of our key defenders Aykut then managed to get himself injured and had to be replaced just 30 minutes into the game.
Then in the 40th-odd minute disaster struck.
A Samsun player seemed to get away from his defender and bang, a shot from distance that our keeper Ramazan had no chance to stop as it hit the post and went in.
Arggh. Gencler piled on the pressure though and the reward came just a few minutes later when Hursut sent in a cross which found the head of a Samsun player and into the back of the net.
Half-time and I was still pretty sure we would win it but Gencler played without much imagination in the second half. We might have been unlucky on a couple of occassions but this was not the Gencler of the last few weeks. We need Azofeifa back in the midfield... or at least someone who knows how to direct traffic.
Genclerbirligi 1 - 1 Samsunspor
Wrapped up in our Artic gear Little Oz Kanka and myself headed off to the 19 Mayis full of hope. Genclerbirligi have had a great run of late and their style of play has been fantastic to watch. Until Wednesday night that is.
After being joined by Oguz and not too many other fans, Gencler started off in great fashion and had the ball in the back of the net after just two minutes. Problem was a foul had been called. I didn't see it but as there isn't much complaining happening on the Gencler forums I guess it must have been the right decision.
It was unlucky though. I'm not sure who was doing the heading, but the first header bounced back off the upright and the second was sent in. A brief cheer from us until we realised the ref had blown his whistle.
Then it was... ergh. boring, boring stuff. For some reason Azofeifa wasn't in the starting line up and it showed. Without a decent midfielder to direct traffic all Gencler seemed to do with the massive amount of time we had on the ball was to pass horizontally all night. We had a few chances to score but they were either blown or saved. All very frustrating. One of our key defenders Aykut then managed to get himself injured and had to be replaced just 30 minutes into the game.
Then in the 40th-odd minute disaster struck.
A Samsun player seemed to get away from his defender and bang, a shot from distance that our keeper Ramazan had no chance to stop as it hit the post and went in.
Arggh. Gencler piled on the pressure though and the reward came just a few minutes later when Hursut sent in a cross which found the head of a Samsun player and into the back of the net.
Half-time and I was still pretty sure we would win it but Gencler played without much imagination in the second half. We might have been unlucky on a couple of occassions but this was not the Gencler of the last few weeks. We need Azofeifa back in the midfield... or at least someone who knows how to direct traffic.
Wednesday, January 04, 2012
Try as they might, Genclerbirligi fail to secure the full three points
Re-read headline for my summary of the match.
Genclerbirligi 1 - 1 Samsunspor
I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't get the win, especially after seeing that the two extra points would have put us into fourth place.
A slightly more detailed report will be appearing on the blog on Thursday.
Genclerbirligi 1 - 1 Samsunspor
I'm a bit disappointed that we didn't get the win, especially after seeing that the two extra points would have put us into fourth place.
A slightly more detailed report will be appearing on the blog on Thursday.
ANKARAGUCU - A BELATED CHRISTMAS PRESENT FROM 'HE' WHO DWELLS ABOVE !!
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
Ankaragucu, having won their 2nd league match of the season last night, I suppose we should be jumping up and down with glee. However, we should not get carried-away and believe that Ankaragucu has 'turned the corner'. True enough, there were 2 excellent goals from Keles, but it should be borne in mind that had it not been for the heroics of Man of the Match, Bora, it could easily have been a different story !
Manisa 1 Ankaragucu 2
Team -
Bora
Mehmet, Aydin, Umit and Ishak
Bilal, Abdullah and Muhammed
Atilla and Turgut
Keles
Substitutes used - Gokhan E and Gurhan
Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Cider Kanka John, Oz Kanka Chris and I met up in The Red Lion Club more in curiosity than expectation. Could the Ankaragucu 'B' Team and 'Youth Team' deal with the pressure ? It didn't take long for that question to be answered.
The match was just one minute old when we were all stunned with the opening goal. The ball was cleared from defence and fed to Turgut on the left who went on one of his now famous surging runs. He looked up, saw Keles in the middle in support and sent over a great cross which Keles volleyed in with Sehic wrong footed and motionless.
It took about a second or two to sink-in and then we were all high-fiving !
For the remainder of the 1st half it was mainly one way traffic towards Bora who pulled off some great saves to deny Mersin. Also, Ishak cleared off the line when Bora made his only mistake of the match.
Approaching half time and it flashed up on the screen that Mersin had 72% of the possession, but as I said to Oz Kanka (more in hope than anything else !) ...... 'possession doesn't win a game' !
Into the 2nd half and Mersin was still taking the match to Ankaragucu, but the defence was still holding firm. However, the inevitable equaliser came in the 66th minute when a cross came in from the left and the unmarked Erman gave Bora no chance. Lots of knowing looks between the kankas expecting the flood gates to open !!
But ................ that man Keles had other ideas ! 3 minutes later came a candidate for goal of the season. A long ball was sent upfield to Keles, and with Sehic racing out of his goal area to intercept, Keles deftly lobbed the ball over him, beat a covering defender and walked the ball in for a truly memorable goal.
It was round about this time when another memorable event occurred. Battle Damaged Kanka, who had arrived in his 'school uniform' decided to take his tie off to the cheers of the assembled throng ! Perhaps the excitement was too much for him ??!!
I interrupt my report to give the following statment from Oz Kanka ............
10 minutes to go and Ankaragucu was awarded a free kick just outside the box, near the goal line. The ball was kicked at least 20 metres away for anyone from either team. The most stupid free kick I've ever seen !!
Who was the perpetrator ? Can't remember !!! My comment now ..... come back Sapara ..... all is forgiven !
So, Ankaragucu ran the clock down with some desperate defending and we were able to celebrate an unbelievable victory and 3 valuable points.
Ankaragucu can consider themselves rather fortunate to take the 3 points, but at this stage in the season all the crumbs of luck are gratefully received !
Whether Ankaragucu's luck will hold for the visit of Beshiktrash on Sunday is debatable, so we must be realistic and not go to the Stadium expecting more 'presents' !
Meeting in The Chopin on Sunday from 4.30pm for the 7pm KO.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Ankaragucu, having won their 2nd league match of the season last night, I suppose we should be jumping up and down with glee. However, we should not get carried-away and believe that Ankaragucu has 'turned the corner'. True enough, there were 2 excellent goals from Keles, but it should be borne in mind that had it not been for the heroics of Man of the Match, Bora, it could easily have been a different story !
Manisa 1 Ankaragucu 2
Team -
Bora
Mehmet, Aydin, Umit and Ishak
Bilal, Abdullah and Muhammed
Atilla and Turgut
Keles
Substitutes used - Gokhan E and Gurhan
Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Cider Kanka John, Oz Kanka Chris and I met up in The Red Lion Club more in curiosity than expectation. Could the Ankaragucu 'B' Team and 'Youth Team' deal with the pressure ? It didn't take long for that question to be answered.
The match was just one minute old when we were all stunned with the opening goal. The ball was cleared from defence and fed to Turgut on the left who went on one of his now famous surging runs. He looked up, saw Keles in the middle in support and sent over a great cross which Keles volleyed in with Sehic wrong footed and motionless.
It took about a second or two to sink-in and then we were all high-fiving !
For the remainder of the 1st half it was mainly one way traffic towards Bora who pulled off some great saves to deny Mersin. Also, Ishak cleared off the line when Bora made his only mistake of the match.
Approaching half time and it flashed up on the screen that Mersin had 72% of the possession, but as I said to Oz Kanka (more in hope than anything else !) ...... 'possession doesn't win a game' !
Into the 2nd half and Mersin was still taking the match to Ankaragucu, but the defence was still holding firm. However, the inevitable equaliser came in the 66th minute when a cross came in from the left and the unmarked Erman gave Bora no chance. Lots of knowing looks between the kankas expecting the flood gates to open !!
But ................ that man Keles had other ideas ! 3 minutes later came a candidate for goal of the season. A long ball was sent upfield to Keles, and with Sehic racing out of his goal area to intercept, Keles deftly lobbed the ball over him, beat a covering defender and walked the ball in for a truly memorable goal.
It was round about this time when another memorable event occurred. Battle Damaged Kanka, who had arrived in his 'school uniform' decided to take his tie off to the cheers of the assembled throng ! Perhaps the excitement was too much for him ??!!
I interrupt my report to give the following statment from Oz Kanka ............
10 minutes to go and Ankaragucu was awarded a free kick just outside the box, near the goal line. The ball was kicked at least 20 metres away for anyone from either team. The most stupid free kick I've ever seen !!
Who was the perpetrator ? Can't remember !!! My comment now ..... come back Sapara ..... all is forgiven !
So, Ankaragucu ran the clock down with some desperate defending and we were able to celebrate an unbelievable victory and 3 valuable points.
Ankaragucu can consider themselves rather fortunate to take the 3 points, but at this stage in the season all the crumbs of luck are gratefully received !
Whether Ankaragucu's luck will hold for the visit of Beshiktrash on Sunday is debatable, so we must be realistic and not go to the Stadium expecting more 'presents' !
Meeting in The Chopin on Sunday from 4.30pm for the 7pm KO.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Monday, January 02, 2012
Ankaragucu vs Mersin match preview !
Ankaragucu travel to Mersin tomorrow night knowing they have it all to do if they are to take anything from the game.
Ankaragucu have lost Key players such as Theo Weeks, Hurriyet Gucer, Ozden Ongun, Serdar Ozkan, Ediz, Murat Duruer and Kagan to name a few. The team tomorrow will be made up of the A2 Team and the remaining players who have decided to stay.
Aydin Toscali is set to captain the side now that Hurriyet has left the club to sign for Eskisehirspor. Mersin marked there return to the Super Lig with a 2-1 win over Ankaragucu in Ankara the last time the two sides met. Mert Nobre scored both goals while Serdar Ozkan pulled one back for Ankaragucu late on.
Ankaragucu key players in this match will be the experienced players like Aydin Toscali, Turgut Sahin, Mehmet Cogum and Bora Kork. They will need to perform and help the youngsters who come into the side. The youngsters now have a chance to show what they can do and make a name for themselves in the Turkish Super Lig.
Mersin have performed above all expectations this season and find themselves in the Europa League places. They have some good players and Ankaragucu will need to watch out for the pacey Nduka Ozukwo and his strike partner Mert Nobre. They also have talented midfielder's in Wassim Ben Yahia and Andre Moritz.
Last time out Mersin drew 0-0 at home to Eskisehirspor, while Ankaragucu lost 3-0 at Kayserispor. Another tough game for Ankaragucu but they have nothing to loose. Expectations are on Mersin to win the game, can the Ankaragucu youth come out and cause an upset? Lets hope so
Sunday, January 01, 2012
FIXTURES THIS WEEK
Greetings Kankas and Kankies on this snowy New Year's Day in Ankara.
There has been a change to the fixtures for this week.
According to TRT, the Ankaragucu match will be played on Tuesday and not Wednesday as previously announced.
Mersin v Ankaragucu (YOUTH TEAM !!!) - 3 January - KO 8.30pm
Gencler v Samsun - 4 January - KO 6pm
In view of the fact that the Galata....spit....saray match has the same KO time as the Ankaragucu match, Oz Kanka is going to let me know if we can watch the Ankaragucu match in The Red Lion Club. Failing that, we may be stymied for a venue ! Watch this space for further.
Oz Kanka will no doubt be meeting in The Beer Bus for the Gencler match and he will confirm that in due course.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
There has been a change to the fixtures for this week.
According to TRT, the Ankaragucu match will be played on Tuesday and not Wednesday as previously announced.
Mersin v Ankaragucu (YOUTH TEAM !!!) - 3 January - KO 8.30pm
Gencler v Samsun - 4 January - KO 6pm
In view of the fact that the Galata....spit....saray match has the same KO time as the Ankaragucu match, Oz Kanka is going to let me know if we can watch the Ankaragucu match in The Red Lion Club. Failing that, we may be stymied for a venue ! Watch this space for further.
Oz Kanka will no doubt be meeting in The Beer Bus for the Gencler match and he will confirm that in due course.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
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