Ankaragucu 2-0 Corum Belediyespor

Ankaragucu are through to the 3rd round of the Turkish Cup after a 2-0 win over Corum Belediyespor. They were made to fight for their win with the game being taken to extra time after the game ended 0-0 at 90 minutes.

Team line up:  Gokhan, Aytac, Metin, Umit, Kaan, Muhammed, Gokhan Erdogan, Artun, Timur, Umut Nayir, Hasan

Subs: Bayram, Sinan, Bilal, Mehmet, Orhan, Enes, Teoman

Goals game from Captain Umit Kurt and Timur Ozgoz. A good win for Ankaragucu and a clean cheet as well. Next up and away match at Adana Demirspor at the weekend.

Gokhan Akkan and Hasan Ayaroglu called up to Turkey U18 team !

Ankaragucu youngsters Gokhan Akkan and Hasan Ayaroglu have been rewarded for their impressive starts to their young careers with a call up to the Turkey U18 International team. Gokhan has been on fine form this season after a spell in the first team in place of the injured Bayram Olgun. The young goalkeeper has a bright career ahead of him and at the age of 17 has caught the eye with some impressive shot stopping.

Forward Hasan has found himself playing out wide on the left this season and after a bright start has found it tough the last couple of games. There is no doubting his ability, just needs to add to the physical and tactical side of his game.

We at the round ball in Ankara would like to congratulate both young players on a terrific achievement and wish them all the best. Its nice to see these young players representing Ankaragucu at international level.

Gencler progress into the third round of Turkish Cup !

Gencler are through to the Third round of the Turkish Cup thanks to a hat trick by Hursut Meric in their 3-1 win over Tepecikspor. The game wasn't on TV and with the early kick off team its doubtful any Gencler Kankas saw the game.

Thats one half of Ankara through, hopefully Ankaragucu can do the same tomorrow at home to Corum Belediyespor. Their will be no match tomorrow as everyone is working, but the score will be updated onto the blog with team information.

Well done Gencler on a good win.

Ankaragucu vs Corum Belediyespor match preview !

Its back to Turkish Cup action on Wednesday afternoon as Ankaragucu host Corum Belediyespor in the Turkish Cup second round. After yesterdays 4-1 drubbing at home to Gaziantep BB the club will be hoping to bounce back with a win over the Lig 3 side.

Corum have been struggling this season but recorded an impressive 4-1 home victory over Diyarbakirspor at the weekend. In the last round of the cup they knocked out high flying Lig 1 side Adana Demirspor out after a 2-1 victory at home.

Ankaragucu progressed after a 5-1 extra time victory over Igdir Universitesi, however this will be a much tougher test and the opposition must be respected otherwise Ankaragucu could find themselves on the end of another embarrassing defeat.

We have spoken the last couple of weeks about how Ankaragucu haven't been at their best, that quick one touch passing, creating lots of chances and high intensity work rate that was there at the start of the season has been missing. Maybe its because the other teams have found their form and sharpness, but this is certainly not the Ankaragucu side that should have beaten both Karsiyaka and Kayseri Erciyesspor who are both sitting at the top of the table.

Mert Erdogan was a big loss during the week and its important to get him back into the team as soon as possible. The likes of Aytac Oden, Orhan Evci, Volkan Geyic, Bilal Gulden and Serkan Sirin need to up their performances. Young Gokhan Erdogan came on as a sub at the weekend and was our best player, he should come back into the starting line up and maybe the likes of Artun and Sinan will be given a chance.

The kick off time for the match will be 1330 on Wednesday afternoon, you have to ask why the Turkish FA have decided to go with this kick off time due to the fact 95% of the fans will either be at work or school. Mind you, this is an organisation that turns a blind eye to corruption and match fixing.

Back to normal as Gencler fail again

Oguz Kanka approves the kofte. Orders seconds.

A guest post this week as I was unable to get to today's away match. Luckily Oguz and Spine decided to make the 200 kilometre hike to Karabuk. I had to follow the match on twitter as I couldn't even find the bloody thing on the radio. I did though get to learn one really cool word from this tweet from @kirmizikara

Dk 60|Kornerden gelen topta kafa vuruşunu Ramazan mükemmel bir plonjonla direk dibinden çıkarıyor 

Plonjon! Brilliant! Apparently it means when a keeper makes a full on parallel stretch to save a shot. That made my miserable day. Now on to @spinesideburn for his report.

Round Ball in Ankara guest reporter @SpineSideburn

Karabukspor 0 - 0 Genclerbirligi

After so many weeks of goals and excitement, the universe restored equilibrium this week by providing a goal-free and deeply undramatic 0-0 draw at Karabuk.

The home side had conceded five a week earlier, and spent the first few minutes utterly determined to make sure that wouldn't happen again. So determined were they to keep a clean sheet, that it took them a while to realise that Gencler were actually rubbish and were not about to score any goals. Once they twigged, Karabuk took the match to the visitors and ought to have scored, but for strong work by the back four and Ramazan.

No one looked good for Gencler. Passes went astray, Hursut was anonymous, Zec unlikely and poorly served. Fuat Capa clearly thought he had better on the bench when he took Jimmy and Zec off in the 58th minute. But his chosen replacements Oktay and Lekic were no better, and the latter looked particularly out of his depth.

The real event was the minor civil war that failed to completely break out between two Gencler camps. The top deck of Karabuk's rather nice stadium was occupied by Sweary Supporters, who were liberal with the "I" word, and directed it at our valued hosts. The lower deck was mainly Alkaralar people, who objected to the swearing. There was almost a fight. Then the police came. Angry men cried "hold me back!". The end.

Even the crowd trouble was a little disappointing. Still, Karabuk is pretty, their ground's a nice one, and we were back in Ankara for supper.

Karabuk Maraton coming shortly. Apologies for inconvenience.

Ankaragucu 1-4 Gaziantep BB match report !

Picture above taken from Amatorunsesi


Today should have been a close game between two teams struggling at the bottom of the Turkish First division. Instead one team turned up and the other didn't and unfortunately for us it was Ankaragucu who didn't turn up. There is a growing concern of late that Ankaragucu are conceding to many goals and not finishing their chances and today was no different.

Team - Bayram, Orhan, Mehmet, Volkan, Umit, Bilal, Aytac, Serkan, Hasan, Timur, Umut Nayir

Subs - Gokhan Akkan, Sinan, Kaan, Gokhan Erdogan, Muhammed, Enes, Artun


Bayram Olgun came into replace Gokhan after returning from injury, Aytac moved into midfield to replace the injured Mert Erdogan and Orhan came in at right back. It was a nice sunny day in Ankara and around 8,000 fans turned up to watch the game.

The first real chance of the game fell for Ankaragucu when Orhan Evci shot was well saved from Onur Bulut. Seconds later Ankaragucu were awarded a penalty, up stepped captain for the day Umit Kurt who sent Onur the wrong way to make it 1-0 Ankaragucu.

Then came what can only be described as the worst Ankaragucu have played since I've been a supporter. Instead of keeping it tight at the back and having some organisation, the defence fell apart and Gaziantep made Ankaragucu pay the price. First up the defence failed to clear the ball in the box, it eventually found its way to Eren Ozen who smashed the ball into the top corner to make it 1-1.

Two minutes later and it was 2-1, Volkan slipped at the back which allowed Gaziantep in, a lovely ball into the back post, the ball was then played across the face of goal which Serdar got onto the end of and made it 2-1. A few minutes later from a corner Bayram failed to deal with the cross, the ball found its way to Serdar again, and the striker smashed the ball through crowded bodies into the back of the net to make it 3-1.

Ankaragucu made a change and brought Gokhan Erdogan on for Orhan Evci. Ankaragucu failed to test Onur for the rest of the half as the teams went in at 3-1 Gaziantep BB. At half time Kaan Kanak came on for Umut Nayir.

Into the second half and it was a better performance from Ankaragucu. A couple of things that have to be noted, the first being the incredible support the Ankaragucu fans showed today, even when 3-1 down they still made a fantastic atmosphere and got behind the players. The other is the amount of space our fullbacks give the opposition, this is something Yilmaz needs to address quick or we will continue to concede goals.

Ankaragucu had a couple of good chances in the second half, the first a golden chance for Timur. The striker got onto the end of a long ball, Onur made a mistake in goal for Gaziantep which left and empty net for Timur, but the striker somehow missed as he hit the crossbar.

Gaziantep had a couple of chances of their own as the Ankaragucu defence continued to gift them chances due to silly mistakes. That man Serdar got his hat trick late on as he took the ball past Mehmet Tasci before a lovely finish into the back of the net to make it 4-1. Timur had another chance but again failed to hit the target.

Sinan came on for Hasan who had a disappointing game late on and had a good chance but failed to connect with the ball. Next up is a midweek game in the Turkish Cup at home to Corum. If we play the way we did today there could be a big shock on the cards.

Eid Mubarak from the Round Ball in Ankara !

We would like to wish everyone an Eid Mubarak or Bayraminiz Kutlu Olsen. The team today celebrated Eid at Bestepe training facilities and everyone was in good spirits. Both Mert Erdogan and Serkan Sirin spoke of the game on Sunday against Gaziantep BB.

Mert said the club would do all they can to win the game on Sunday and would like to wish everyone Eid Mubarak. Team mate Serkan added that the last game at home against Bucaspor 10,000 fans turned up to support the team and were let down by the team, they hope they can make up for that with a win on Sunday.

Lets hope for the perfect Eid present, three points for Ankaragucu !!

Next Ankaragucu president to be named next week !

Ankaragucu will hold an emergency General Assembly on the 31st October after Bent Ahlat was sentenced to 8 months in Jail. The current president hasn't been seen since the 14th of October at the clubs facilities and was given the sentence for unlicensed weapons possession.

As if the club hadnt been through enough over the years with the fight for control of the club between Cemal Aydin and the Gokceks. Then came Haluk Illcak and Sami Altinyuva who were both puppets of Cemal Aydin. All of these men have been accused of stealing money from the club and corruption.

Ankaragucu fans and former manager Hakan Kutlu even spoke to Recep Tayip Erdogan the Turkish prime minister to explain the going ons behind the scenes over the years and looking for some help. Instead those pleas for help fell on deaf ears and instead the Turkish FA allowed another corrupt president in Bent Ahlat to gain control of the club.

Something as serious as carrying weapons without a licence should not go unnoticed when you are looking to take control of one of Turkeys oldest clubs. You have to ask if this were an Istanbul club would it have been allowed  ?

The club are also late on a payment owed to former players that they had agreed to pay in order to lift the 6 point deduction, if the club fail to pay it then the deduction could be added as early as next month. Lets hope this mess comes to an end and the next president has the clubs best interests at heart.

Ankaragucu vs Gaziantep BB match preview !

Ankaragucu host Gaziantep BB on Sunday in the 19 Mayis stadium as the club look to get back to winning ways after their latest defeat at 1461 Trabzon. That now leaves Ankaragucu bottom of the league and makes sunday's match a must win encounter.

Its fair to say Ankaragucu haven't been at their best over the last couple of weeks, the one touch pass and move style they showed at the start of the season has been missing and the have found it difficult to create chances as well as conceding to many goals.

Opponents Gaziantep have also found it difficult this season and are only four points ahead. They did however beat karsiyaka 3-0 a few weeks back which shows they must be taken seriously. Last weekend Gaziantep drew 1-1 at home to Sanliurfaspor and will go into this weekends game confident of taking something.

Former Ankaragucu player Ufuk Bayraktar will be in the squad for Gaziantep at the weekend, and Ahmet Devret will be the dangerman who will need to be marked closely. Ankaragucu will have Bayram Olgun back from injury and is set to replace Gokhan Akkan who has done excellent in his absence.

Its difficult to find anything negative to say about Yilmaz Ozlem since he has come in, however he did make a mistake last weekend when moving top scorer Timur Ozgoz out wide for Umut Nayir who was making his debut for the first team. A good move would be to bring Muhammed Turkmen into the team to partner Bilal and Mert in the middle of the park with two attacking wide players in Serkan and Gokhan who can support Timur.

Sundays match is a massive game for the club and a must win. Lets hope the tribunes turn out the way they did against Bucaspor and give the team the backing they deserve.

Round Ball in Ankara and Ankaragucu Iskocya Blogs

Just incase anyone is popping onto the blog. For the next week you may see the Round Ball in Ankara going through some changes, like different backrounds and so on. Me and Chris discussed having 1 blog instead of both and i will be closing down Ankaragucu Iskocya blog and all the followers will come onto The Round Ball in Ankara.

We agreed that it was silly to have two Blogs doing the same thing, plus i started writing about football on the Round Ball in Ankara and wanted to stay loyal. The look of the Round Ball in Ankara was looking a bit dated so we will be making some changes to the look, but still keeping it easy to use.

The changes that will be made are the following :

* Round Ball Ankara now has its own twitter page which will be available to all contributors.

* Livescore Turkey has a live feed

* New links to the latest news sources and highlights of Turkish Football matches to be added

* Round Ball in Ankara facebook page where all articles can be shared

* Overall look of the page having a makeover

Please bare with us over the next 7 days as i know it may look a bit messy but with BlogSpot you need a lot of trial and error. Plus i need to make sure all the current information stays and fits in.


Bellshill Kanka

Another falls for Gencler

He hasn't been here long and has only been to one match but already Paddy Spicer Ward (@pspicerward on twitter) has fallen in love with Genclerbirligi. Check out his post here  

Some excerpts:    

Many of you won’t have heard of Genclerbirligi, and I’m sure you would struggle to name a single player in their squad, or even know the colour of their kit. I know I couldn’t a few months ago, but a trip to watch my new local team in Ankara, Turkey, and I was hooked.

I’ve really been sucked into the world of Genclerbirligi fans, from the two blokes with drums instigating the songs (which I’m still somewhat struggling with, in my limited Turkish) to the mountains of sunflower seed shells that crackle under your feet at the end of the match. One thing that particularly struck home, is when after the Kayerispor match, the players came to celebrate with the fans, their home fans, and it was not a pathetic applause from a few players. They sprinted over the pitch and themselves started songs, with two way chants being passed from the players to the thousands of onlooking fans. The players are as passionate about the little club from Ankara as the fans are.  

ANKARAGUCU - SINKING DEEPER INTO THE 'SOAPY BUBBLE' !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Battle Damaged Kanka and I met up yesterday at The Red Lion Club to watch the match, but try and we might, we couldn't access the TRT stream.    Apparently, it was the same with our friends in other tribunes in Ankara who were having the same problem.   Thanks a bunch TRT !!!

So, we ended up watching the first half of Bolu v Konya and then the Ingallish matches with Chelsea and ManYoo.   An enjoyable footie afternoon, apart from the scoreline from Trabzon !

The following report is from Bellshill Kanka's Blog (Ankaragucu/Iskocya) and it was nicked with his persmission !     Amazingly, he could receive the 2nd half of the match and WE in Turkey couldn't ...... grrrrrrr !

QUOTE -

It was men against boys today as Ankaragucu lost 1-0 at 1461 Trabzon. The home side had only lost 1 of their last 32 matches and were strong favourites going into the match. Umit kurt returned to the Ankaragucu defence after suspension and Umut Nayer made his debut up front.
Team - Gokhan, Aytac, Volkan, Umit, Mehmet,  Serkan, Mert, Bilal, Hasan, Timur, Umut Nayer,
Subs - Bayram, Kaan, Muhammed, Orhan
1461 Trabzon are a very talented side, they won promotion from the Turkish Lig 2 last season and are the B team of Trabzonspor. They have a mix of talented young players like Torric Jebrin, Chikeluba Ofoedo and Eren Albayrak on loan from Trabzonspor as well as experienced lower league players.
Although the score was only 1-0 Ankaragucu were today taught a lesson on how to pass and move the ball and the score could have been higher. I missed the first half as both teams went in at 0-0.
In the second half Trabzon were dominating in the wide areas, Serkan Sirin cleared a shot off the line and both Jebrin and Ofoedo were given to much space and their pace was causing all sorts of problems for the Ankaragucu defence. Ankaragucu could have taken the lead when Hasan's throw in was met by Bilal who controlled the ball before a left footed  shot went inches by the post. It was the only change Ankaragucu were to have in the second half.
Torric Jebrin broke down the right hand side before putting in an excellent cross for Mehmet whose header went inches over the crossbar. Next up was Sercan Kaya who cut inside before shooting straight at Gokhan.
The 1461 Trabzon fans could sense the goal coming as they cheered their team on, Ofoedo went past both Volkan and Umit down the left before his shot just went wide of the post with Gokhan beaten. Umit Kurt made a big difference to the Ankaragucu defence and made another clearance off the goal line. From the resulting corner Mustafa Tiryaki who looks and sounds more like a Chinese food than a footballer headed the ball into the back of the net from a cross into the box with only ten minutes remaining.
The homes side hung on for the victory and another defeat for Ankaragucu. Next up is Gaziantep BB at home next Sunday afternoon. A must win match for Ankaragucu as they are in danger of being left behind in the relegation zone.
With the president of Ankaragucu jailed this week for being caught with Guns in his car without a licence, there isn't much hope for the future of Ankaragucu and its going to take a miracle for the club to avoid relegation.

UNQUOTE

So, Ankaragucu are stuck to the bottom of the league and getting sucked deeper into the brown smelly stuff.

Battle Damaged Kanka will be doing next Sunday's report as I will be in Kusadasi flying down the water slides in the Aqua Park yesssssssssssssss !!!     

C'mon Ankaragucu, give us a home win and three points !!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

What a roller-coaster

Up, up, up. Down, down, down. Up, down arrghhh... my head is spinning.

What a match. A great crowd, plenty of goals, some great individual work. All that and just a draw, which was probably the right result.

Genclerbirligi 3 - 3 Galatasaray

The wonderful autumn weather continues in Ankara and conditions were excellent on Friday night for a good game of football.

Regulars Spine and myself were joined by Little Oz Kanka and his mate Tom and also by Bernard and his mate Jan. Bernard doesn't go too regularly to the football but his history of going to matches certainly stretches well before me. To give you an idea, his first match in Ankara was at the 19 Mayis "sans roof".

 Tom and Little Oz Kanka

Bernard and Oz Kanka

Kofte and refreshments and off to the stadium early. Despite the fact that the tickets were 100tl for Maraton (season tickets cost us the same amount) a big crowd was in for 3rd v 1st. A win for Gencler would have put us top of the table, if only for one day, and hopes were high for both sets of fans.

We even had some entertainment before kick-off with Ais Ezhel singing the kirmizi kara song on the sidelines. Even so, I much prefer rocking up to matches five minutes before kick-off.

Enough grumbling and onto the match and Gencler came  out nicely. No real shots though and it wasn't long before Galatasaray started to dominate possession. We seemed to be holding off them but at the same time though Galatasaray couldn't get much past the defence.

Galatasaray seemed to be on top but we were still in it and then in the 26th Tosic went down the left wing and somehow or other beat his man sent it in to Azofeifa on the edge of the box and the Costa Rican hit it into the far corner with the outstretched Galatasaray goalkeeper having no chance.

Well, well. 1-0 up over Galatasaray. Was this to be a dream night? er.... no, it wasn't but at the time there was hope.

Galatasray stepped up a gear but simply couldn't sort themselves out. Our conversations at half-time were all along the same line... the Galata players are getting frustrated and angry.

Second half though was another matter as Galatasaray upped the tempo yet again. And so it was no surprise when they equalised in the 54th. Then a punch to the guts as they scored again just four minutes later.

Oh well. We had tried.

As a kerfuffle was occurring to our left with a bunch of Gencler fans trying to get security to do their job and kick a Galatasaray fan out of our section, we managed to equalise. Azofeifa took a quick free kick sending it to Hursut, who had an excellent game embarrassing the Galata defenders, sort of lobbed it in near the far post where Aykut went sliding in to score.

Screams and shouts and one minute later we were back on our feet (we hadn't sat down actually). Someone had a shot, saved by the keeper, but the ball went out Jimmy Durmuz who had his go, the ball then took a huge deflection off a Galata player and was in. 3-2 up and the Galata fan near us was escorted out with half of Maraton shouting at him.

Attack, attack, attack from Galatasaray and then finally they got back. I'm not sure who the Galata players involved were but Ramazan made a back mistake when he punched out a ball when he should have held on to it or sent it over the bar. In the end the ball went straight to an opposition player and from there into the back of the net.

A horrible feeling but all up I'd say the result was a fair one. A win would have been brilliant but a draw ain't bad at all.

THE TURKISH CUP - 3rd ROUND

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

The draw for the 3rd Round of the Turkish Cup was made yesterday and Ankaragucu did well to secure another home tie.

At this stage in the competition there are no 'easy' matches, but they will be happy to have avoided the big guns from the Super League.

Ankaragucu v Corum BBS

As Nadeem mentioned in his blog (Ankaragucu/Iskocya), Corum are no mugs, having disposed of the impressive Adana Demirspor in the last round.   So, Ankaragucu will have to treat this match as a 'Cup Final' if they are ever going to reach the group stages.

Gencler have been drawn away again against the 'minnows' of Tepecik.

The matches will be played on the 30th and 31st of October and 1st of November.

More details here when the timings of the fixtures are announced.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU - A FLAIR (FLARE) FOR THE DRAMATIC !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Headline courtesy of Battle Damaged Kanka Damon !

It all went wrong for Ankaragucu tonight and we can standby for another Stadium Ban (not just for one match in my opinion, but for perhaps two).     In the 6th minute Right Kapali started to throw lit flares to Protokol (VIP Section), and then towards the end, flares were thrown onto to playing surface which held the match up for a few minutes till they were extinguished.   So, Nadeem's visit one week earlier was just in time !!!

Anyway, this will be a quick report because it is all doom and gloom again.

Ankaragucu  1    Bucaspor   5

We met up in The Chopin as usual - Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Maniac Kanka and friend Elif, Apple Kanka Erman (back for his first match of the season !), Muco Kanka and yours truly.

We decided to go to Maraton and ........ surprise surprise ...... it was almost full !   Gecikondu was three quarters full (as usual) and L Kapali was full, so a larger crowd than last week.

We only had to wait until the 7th minute before Bucu made their intentions clear.   A cross came in from the left over the heads of the Ankaragucu defence and it was an easy tap-in for the unmarked attacker to open the scoring.

16th minute and the Bursa Song was sung by ALL tribunes - at last !

20 minutes in and Buca was arrogantly keeping possession with ease and really taking the piss out of Ankaragucu.   The writing was on the wall !

However, against the run of play, Ankaragucu hit back from a free kick on the right.  The ball came over and Timur was first to it to head in for the equaliser.   All up cheering like mad and thinking ........... could this be a come-back ???  

Half time came and although Ankaragucu pressed hard after the equaliser, it was still Buca looking the stronger team.

It only took 4 minutes into the 2nd half for Buca to hit the post.    2 minutes later, Gokhan saved bravely at a forward's feet to prevent a certain goal.

However, one minute later he had to look smart to do the same but brought the attacker down in the process.   Penalty and a yellow.   Penalty well taken and Buca were on a roll.

Further goals came in the 60th, 66th and 81st minutes, all from sloppy defending, and for the most part, leaving their No7 free to run riot down the right wing with lots of inviting assists.

I should point out that in between time, Gokhan made some great saves and in the process saved Ankaragucu from an even more embarrassing result !

I also reserve criticism for the referee who was quite blatant in his one-sided decisions against Ankaragucu.  However, having said that, Buca was too hot for Ankaragucu to handle tonight and ran out well deserved winners.

Back to the drawing board for Yilmaz and he will have to fire his young team up for the next trip into enemy territory !

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

FURTHER MUSINGS ON THE PTT LEAGUE

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Having watched Rizespor on two occasions this season I have to make them one of my favourites for promotion to the Super League.

Ankaragucu's win last Sunday against Kartalspor puts their narrow victory into perspective after today's result and all credit to Kartal for keeping the score 'respectable' !

Kartalspor  0    Rizespor   1

Rize is a well organised and powerful team who play fast, one-touch footie.   Also, in the tall and speedy African striker, Jallow, and the African winger, Kalu, they have two players who are predators capable of scoring and also making assists.   I should also mention the impressive burly defender Sezer who brings the ball out of defence with good distribution instead of hoofing it out.  

I'm sure Yilmaz will have Ankaragucu well prepared for the Rize match - it will certainly not be a picnic for Ankaragucu against formidable opponents.

Rize's goal today came in the 83rd minute from Kalu.  After a great run down the left, he slipped the defender and struck the ball with the outside of his right foot to deceive the goalkeeper.  

However, first up is the Ankaragucu v Buca match tomorrow KO 7pm.   Meeting in The Chopin as usual and going to the Stadium at about 6pm.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

The Kankas are having a party !!

Some videos from the Ankaragucu vs Kartalspor match. We see Jim staring at the front with Bugra showing their Turkish Dance moves !

ANKARAGUCU REPAYS BELLSHILL KANKA NADEEM'S LOYALTY

The Kankas off to the Stadium sporting Nadeem's Scottish Saltire !

The Kankas in Gecikondu making their precence felt !

The Kankas all fired up (with Sutas Ayran !!) and ready to take off to the Stadium !

The Kankas celebrating Timur's winning goal yesssssssssssssssssssss !!!!


Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

What a weekend !!

A fantastic night out at The Beyzade Restaurant on Friday night was the prelude to what was to come.

Last night we all met up at The Chopin Bar for the 'main event' and we weren't disappointed.   It was 3rd time lucky for Nadeem with Ankaragucu deservedly securing their 1st league win of the season, although having said that, it was not a 'walk in the park'.   It was a hard fought win against a useful Kartal team who threatened throughout the match (especially in the 1st half) to spoil our party !

Ankaragucu  1     Kartal   0

We all arrived at the Stadium and entered Gecikondu for the first time in a long while.   Bellshill Kanka Nadeem, Gecikondu Kanka Bugra, Maniac Kanka Harun, Basak Kankie, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Muco Kanka and his wife Natalie, Cider Kanka John, Lila Kankie and yours truly.

As I predicted on facebook, Nadeem was whisked straight away to the Platform used by The Leader of Gecikondu where he unfurled his Scottish Saltire Flag and then he was 'serenaded' by the Gecikondu Chorus.   I've never seen him looking so bewildered, but he was given a rowsing VIP welcome by all the Gecikondu Boyz.

Gecikondu was three quarters full, Maraton a poor quarter full and Right Kapali half full, so a disappointing attendance, but the noise level coming out of Gecikondu compensated for the empty spaces in the Stadium.

Bugra did his best to teach us the 'Ey Valla' song which we sang along with the Gecikondu (some of us better than others !!).   A great atmosphere and great occasion for Nadeem.

The match began with both teams feeling each other out and it took until the 20th minute for the first real goal scoring opportunity.   Kartal's No52 received a long ball pass, which eluded the Ankaragucu defence, to fire in a goalbound shot but Gokhan got down well to smother and save his effort.

2 minutes later and Gokhan was called into action again to punch a goalbound shot out which was then cleared.

Half and hour gone and it was Kartal looking the likelier team to score with Ankaragucu failing to make any headway in the final quarter against a strong and resolute Kartal defence.   Kartal was playing long balls over the Ankaragucu defence for their speedy wingers to chase but Ankaragucu's defence had settled by this time and Gokhan was showing safe hands in goal.

Some heavy challenges were coming in from the Kartal defence and from one such challenge Ankaragucu had a free kick just outside the box but failed to cause any damage.

Then, just on the half time whistle came the best chance of the match when a Kartal free kick came in which was going in at the corner, but somehow Gokhan made the save of the match to dive to his right and push the ball around the post for a corner.

Half time and Ankaragucu was perhaps fortunate to be going in all square, but kicking into Gecikondu in the 2nd half we were all still full of optimism.

Ankaragucu came out for the 2nd half and started to trouble Kartal.   10 minutes in and we were all on our feet, but the Ankaragucu free kick whizzed past the post.

However, 3 minutes later and we were all up high-fiving and celebrating.   A corner from Mert was met on the near post and the backheader reached Timur who was lurking on the back post.   Great header from him with the goalkeeper helpless.

Ankaragucu was fired-up now and beginning to look dangerous for the first time in the match.   Mert and Serkan went close, and then with 15 minutes left the 2nd goal almost arrived.

Timur was put through on the right and off he went like a whippet, but he was blatantly brought down by the last Kartal defender.   Red card was the obvious decision but the inconsistent referee brought out the yellow.   Chicken Shit referee !!

It was all Ankaragucu in the last 10 minutes with shots coming in but going past the post or being saved.   Ankaragucu was still attacking during the 4 minutes added on and the final whistle saw us dancing around in wild celebration.,

The players came over to Gecikondu to receive the well deserved plaudits and Nadeem was able to give his Scottish Saltire Flag to Umit who wrapped it around himself.   Hopefully it will end up in a place of honour ?!

So, 3 valuable points for Ankaragucu to keep the show on the road.   Another victory at home next Sunday against Buca could see them move out of the relegation zone and into mid-table.

As I said at the beginning, a truly memorable weekend and as Nadeem flies out of Ankara tonight he will take lots of happy memories of a great Kanka and Ankaragucu weekend.

No doubt he will soon be planning his next visit ??!!   Bring it on !!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Gencler go third after defeating Istanbul BBS

Istanbul BBS 0 - 2 Genclerbirligi

I was playing and then umpiring out at Kecioren on Saturday afternoon, so I didn't get to see the match. Spine thankfully kept me informed by text messages.

The stream:

Ht 0-0

One nil up now 54th

Two nil. LOVELY goal from hursut

Two nil win ft

Two matches six scored none conceded.

Indeed. I can't say much about the match but you can check out Hursut's brilliant goal at the Lig TV website.

Going along nicely now and good to hit some decent form ahead of Friday night's match against Galatasaray. We certainly aren't favourites for that one... but you never know.

THE VIP VISITOR ARRIVETH !!!

The Kankas with Ankaragucu Goalkeeper, Bayram, outside Beyzade on Friday night 5 October.

The VIP Table in Beyzade reserved for The Kanka Group.   Food aplenty, now ..... let the fun begin !!

Eski Kanka receiving Misket Dancing Lessons from the Dancing Queen, Basak Kankie !!


Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

I'm sure that everyone in Ankara knows that Nadeem in arriving in Ankara tomorrow, ie, Thursday, and no doubt there will be a VIP vehicle to meet the aircraft and whisk him off to the VIP Lounge !

Us mere mortals who have to work for a living will be unable to meet and greet him, but we will do that in our own Ankaragucu Style on Friday night.

We are meeting him in The Beer Station in Tunali at about 7pm.   Coming down Tunalihilmi from the direction of Karum, take a right at the first set of traffic lights (where the old McDonald's used to be situated) and it's the 2nd pub on the right.

From there, we will go to The Beyzade Restaurant on Esat Caddesi at about 8pm (it is left at the top of Tunalihimli and down to the first set of traffic lights).

The Main Event will be on Sunday when Nadeem is holding court in The Chopin Bar on Sakarya Caddesi at about 4pm and then going to the Stadium at about 5pm to watch Ankaragucu stuff Kartal.    For a change, and at Nadeem's request, we will be watching the match with the Gecikondu Boyz.

This is going to be one 'elluva weekend.  So, an event not to be missed !

Look forward to seeing you all for some fun and games ....... and ........ an Ankaragucu Victoreeeeeeeee !!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Gencler smash Kayseri

Ooohhh. That was nice. Hursut has gone up, and back down. The arc was brilliant and Hursut stays down. And what! The referee has been fooled! Yes! That was possibly the most obvious dive since (insert Tom Daley joke). Genclerbirligi have been given an extremely dodgy penalty. Zec stands up. Into the left corner. Toooooo easy. Gencler go 2-0 ahead. Kayseri are done and dusted 33 minutes in.

Genclerbirligi 4 - 0 Kayserispor

It was great to see a whole heap of new Kankas join us at the Beer Bus before this evening's match. In addition to myself and Spine we had Mini-Hursut Kanka and his mate Terry. At least we had met those blokes beforehand but it was also great to meet Bilkent teachers Michael and his English mates as well as @pspicerward and @PritchDan and their Dutch friend. I love the internets!

It was a half decent crowd at the stadium and thus we had quite big queues.

Right. So now for my first rant.

Thank you Mr. Policeman for already changing the time of our match. Many people had organised to go to the match at 4pm and I know of one father who had tried to arrange a football birthday party for his 7 year-old son, but, well, fuck them hey. I understand that you didn't want to annoy all the good AKP people who were having their annual jamboree next door. What I don't understand is why you decided to not sell tickets where you normally sell tickets. Or for that matter why you wouldn't let taxis in to the main gate. After all, you had changed the time of kick-off so it wouldn't coincide with the AKP talkfest.

Instead we got out of our taxis at the end of the road, walked to the main entrance and were then told that the tickets were at the other side of the stadium. Thanks policeman!

So we walked back. Me leading a group of Gencler virgins and then into another queue. I had my season ticket but of course I waited around to make sure they were fine.

Ultimately they were.

As was Genclerbirligi.

We smashed them. 4-0. It was nice.

Post match and the bloody cops had closed the gate to get onto Istanbul yolu!

We turned around and after saying goodbye to some of my new friends such as Michael from Bilkent I failed to say goodbye to @pspicerward and @PritchDan . So we lost them too. Not to worry, Spie, Mini-Hursut, his mate then went off to the pub.

PS: Hope you weren't expecting a report on the actual match.

PPS: Those blokes we met today.... do comment, send us your contact details etc!!!!