Karabukspor 2-0 Ankaragucu match report!

It was a brave and spirited performance from a depleted Ankaragucu side in testing conditions after heavy snow threatened to postpone the game. The Karabuk groundsmen did a great job to ensure the game went ahead but it was difficult to even watch the game on TV as the Ankaragucu white shirts blended in with the white pitch.

Team - Gokhan Akkan, Metin Aydin, Gurkan Alver, Volkan Geyik, Onur Atasayer, Harun Aydin, Hasan Ayaroglu, Gokhan Erdogan, Teoman Erkan, Levent Kale, Umut Nayir

Subs - Turgut Kirvelli, Ramazan Adiguzel, Batuhan Gulcan, Hasan Kaya, Ali Sinan Gayla

New coach Aykan Atik couldn't even name 7 substitutes as this Ankaragucu team gets smaller as the weeks go by, he can however be pleased with the way his team performed and questions must be asked why the team cant perform like this every week.

Both Hasan Ayaroglu and Harun Aydin were excellent in the middle of the park, while Volkan Geyik put in his best performance of the season with a commanding performance at the back. Teoman Erkan worked tirelessly up front but yet again Levent Kale will be disappointed by his performance.

The first real chance of the game fell to Ankaragucu after 14 minutes when a lovely Hasan corner was met by the head of Umut Nayir who headed over the crossbar when he should have done better.

A couple of minutes later and Ankaragucu nearly scored again following another excellent Hasan corner. The ball eventually found its way to an Ankaragucu player in the box who back healed the ball towards the net but the Karabukspor defender cleared the ball off the line.

Ankaragucu continued to push for that opening goal and Gokhan Erdogan almost got lucky as his cross nearly caught the Goalkeeper out at his front post but it clipped the bar and went over.

It was all Ankaragucu with the home side not having a single effort on goal, next up was a well worked free kick by Hasan and Levent who chipped the ball into the box for another headed effort to go over the crossbar.

Just before half time Ankaragucu should have taken the lead, a good ball into the box found its way to Volkan Geyik who headed over the crossbar when it looked easier to score.

Half Time

Karabukspor 2-0 Ankaragucu

Into the second half and with their first effort on goal Karabukspor took the lead. Emre Ozcan stepped up to take a free kick from a tight angle, he looked to cross the ball into the box and the ball went straight into the net with Gokhan Akkan having misjudged the flight of the ball. A real blow to the Ankaragucu players going behind after all their hard work.

Karabukspor had another couple of chances through Turgay Bahadir and Joseph Akpala who both should have scored but poor finishing saw the score remain the same.

Ankaragucu failed to create any chances in the second half as the snow looked to have taken a lot out of the legs of the players. Onur Atasayer went off injured after a poor challenge on him witch went unpunished by the referee.

Batuhan Gulcan came onto make his debut and big things are expected from the talented teenager.

Karabukspor finished the game off in the last minute of the game, young Batuhan lost the ball and from the counter attack Onur Ayik put the ball into the back of the net to make it 2-0 Karabukspor.

A disappointing result as the team put in so much effort, but as so often the case, if you don't finish your chances and don't defend properly for 90 minutes you won't get anything from matches against superior opposition.

Next up for Ankaragucu is the Congress on the 10th January which is one of the most important days in the clubs history. Depending on the outcome from that, the next home match is on 18th January at home against Kahramanmarasspor in a relegation 6 pointer.  

Ankaragucu vs Karabukspor match preview!

Ankaragucu travel to Karabukspor on Tuesday in the Turkish Cup group stages clash between the two clubs. Karabukspor won last weeks match 3-0 comfortably in Ankara and will be looking to take 3 points again as they fight it out with Sivas 4 Eylul and Istanbul Basaksehir for a place in the next round.

As Jim said on the match report thread, we don't care about the Turkish Cup, we have more important things to worry about at the moment including keeping our place in Lig 2 and more importantly the existence of the club.

Ankaragucu will go into the game without Serhat Gulpinar who terminated his contract with the club and Mehmet Erdem who signed for Goztepe. Losing those players will be a real blow especially Mehmet Erdem who has been the clubs best player.

Levent Kale has been appointed club captain and should come back into the team, and their also could be a place for highly rated Batuhan Gulcan. The Ankaragucu U17 team are top of their league table and the club continue to produce talented youngsters. That alone would be a real shame if the club did finish as Ankaragucu are responsible for bringing through many talented young players.

Karabukspor will likely field a weakened team and we can only hope that Ankaragucu can keep the score to a respectable outcome. Aykan Atik will take control of the Ankaragucu team following the resignation of Mustafa Kaplan. Lets hope he gets off to a decent start.

Ahmet Gokcek pays 22 Million tax bill!

There was another twist in the future of Ankaragucu yesterday as former chairman Ahmet Gokcek paid the 22 Million tax bill that was due during his period at the club. Gokcek has also called on Cemal Aydin, Cengiz Topal, Serdar Ozersin, Sami Altinyuva, Ertan Sumer, Bent Ahlat and Atilla Suslu to pay their outstanding tax debts to the club.

Now this news should be positive for the club, but unfortunately we don't know what the motives behind this move from Gokcek are. It now looks almost certain that he will be involved in someway along with his father Melih Gokcek. Harun seems to think they are trying to hide something as a lot of dirty work went on during their time at the club.

It looks like their are two possible scenarios on what is going to happen at the club. First option is that the Gokceks clean up the mess they made, come back to the club and merge Ankaragucu with Osmanlispor in Lig 2. That would be the honourable thing to do, it would mean paying outstanding debts that them and Cemal Aydin were responsible for.

The second option is that they merge Osmanlispor with Ankaragucu in the PTT Lig and leave the current Ankaragucu to fall to the Amateur Leagues and eventfully the club will close. I have already discussed this option with Harun, Bugra and Damon. My feelings on this scenario is that it would be the end of me supporting the club. We would no longer be Ankaragucu, we would basically be Osmanlispor with a name change. Harun and Bugra share the same opinions, i know Damon is kinda undecided at the moment, and that is simply down to his love for the club the same as the rest of us.

The first option for me is the only option, Ankaragucu have 105 years of history. Osmanlispor and Ankaraspor done have any history or fans. The congress will take place on 10th January and I'm sure we will know a lot more then. It needs to be sorted out one way or another as things cant continue like this any longer. If the second option happens then I'm finished with Ankaragucu, i would almost certainly be finished with Turkish football for them letting this happen, but i would possibly just follow Genclerbirligi as i wouldn't want it to be the end of the Kanka group.

In other news, Levent Kale is the clubs new captain after Serhat Gulpinar terminated his contract last week.

Genclerbirligi grab an away point

Genclerbirligi could have got it. A bit of luck and a bit of urgency at some points and yes, we could have won it.

Genclerbirligi 1 - 1 Galatasaray

The TFF are a bunch of jokes. This year there are bans for away fans if the supporters have been mucking up. Seems reasonable except for the fact that in the past this was a major money spinner for teams like Gencler.

So, the Saatlı away end at the 19 Mayis Stadium in Ankara was closed. Of course, that just meant that all the Galatasaray and Fenerbahce fans in Ankara who have Passolig cards simply bought tickets for Maraton. They vastly outnumbered the Gencler fans because most of us are boycotting this year. Even with the huge numbers of Galatasaray fans Maraton wasn't full. I would say that the numbers were down by about 70 percent compared to last year's Gencler v Galata match.

So it was down to a packed Su'dem pub to watch the match. Friday night, beers flowing, a big rowdy crowd singing away. Excellent fun.

Kick off and er... not a lot. Galatasaray seemed to be intent on keeping it slow and we weren't really penetrating.

Then in the 19th Galatasaray had a counterattack and scored in a one-on-one with Ramazan.

Slowly but surely the crowd at the Su'dem was getting restless. We had a couple of shots on goal (both brilliantly saved by the Galatasaray keeper) but we should have had a lot more.

It wasn't until the 72nd minute when Berat got a brilliant cross in and my favourite Romanian, after Dan the Man of course, headed it in.

We had a few more chances but failed to convert. There were some heart in mouth moments towards the end but finally the whistle went. Genclerbirligi can be pretty pleased with the result.

Mustafa Kaplan resigns!

The problems at Ankaragucu continued yesterday as Mustafa Kaplan and his backroom staff resigned from the club. His resignation follows the clubs decision to sell Mehmet Erdem to Goztepe for a feeble 150,000 TL and Serhat Gulpinar who has left the club as he looks to start his coaching career. Its also expected that Gokhan Akkan and Umut Nayir will leave the club next week after talks with Eskisehirspor and Karabukspor. Levent Kale is also a target for Goztepe.

Mustafa Kaplan only took over the club 3 months ago following the dismissal of Muammer Ozdemir who hadn't lost a game under his reign. The club claimed they had to accept the offer for Mehmet Erdem in order to pay outstanding debts to former player Michael Klukowski otherwise they would face a 6 point deduction from Fifa.

It is almost certain now that Ankaragucu will cease to exist, with Melih Gokcek getting his way and changing the name of Osmanlispor to Ankaragucu A.S. How this has ever even got to this stage is shame on the Turkish Government and shame on Turkish Football.

Ankaragucu set for mass exodus!

As Jim often says, it never rains at Ankaragucu, it pours!!! And today the club were faced with more bad news as 2 key players are on their way out with more expected to follow. The club has agreed a fee of 250,000 TL with Goztepe for Mehmet Erdem and the winger is set to join his new team after the congress.

Goztepe are also set to make a move for Levent Kale as they look to boost their promotion chances to the PTT Lig this season. Another player on his way out of the club is captain Serhat Gulpinar who has terminated his contract with the club as he looks to start his coaching career.

Its a major blow for the club loosing Mehmet and Serhat both who have played important roles for the club. Mehmet joined last season from Polatli and has impressed with his skill and pace while scoring some important goals. Serhat has been with the club for 2 years after signing from Istanbul Basaksehir and brought much needed experience to the side.

In the last couple of hours its also been reported that Umut Nayir and Gokhan Akkan are set for moves to Eskisehirspor. Both youngsters are set to leave the club in January with many surprised they didn't move on in the summer.

Losing the above players and more set to follow with Hasan Ayaroglu and Onur Atasayer also interesting clubs, Ankaragucu will be lucky to win another game this season, thats if they make it beyond January.

Genclerbirligi draw in Turkish Cup group match

Giresunspor 2 - 2 Genclerbirligi

I didn't get to see any of today's Turkish Cup match so all I can say is that we were 2-0 down at half time and somehow managed to get two goals in the second half.

Good to see Mervan getting one of the goals. He needs a bit of a confidence boost after a lean period. The other goal went to a player who someday is going to play for a big big team - Irfan Can the Coffeeman.

So, after three matches in the Turkish Cup group stage, we have won two and drawn one. We are still at the top of the group.

Happy Christmas everyone.

THE TURKISH CUP

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Excuse me, and the other Ankaragucu kankas, if we don't get excited about the Turkish Cup !

To put it quite simply ......... we don't give a stuff, and that's not sour grapes after today's result.

ANKARAGUCU   0      Karabukspor    3

Obviously none of us were there, or even following it.     One of my colleagues told me around 2pm today that Ankaragucu had gone behind in the 3rd or 4th minute.    A shrug of the shoulders and change the subject from Eski !!!

The bottom line is .......... we are only interested in survival this season.   It would be a bonus if we managed to stay in the 2nd League, and ........ an extra bonus if we still had a team to compete in the league next season and to seriously challenge for promotion to the PTT League !!

Anyway, back to the Turkish Cup and I learned something from my colleague today.    The Group format is not the same as previous years.    This season we are playing home and away.    Woooopeeedooo if you are a 4 Eylul Sivas supporter, but for Ankaragucu there will not be much dosh to be made out of our Group.

One of the many irritations which annoy Oz Kanka and me is the way that the Turkish Cup is played down in this country.    The matches are all played midweek and even the effin Final is on a Wednesday !    Oz Kanka had to go to some outlandish place a few years ago to see Gencler in the Final when they lost that penalty shoot-out marathon.

On the other hand for example in Scotland and England the Cup Final is a razzamatazz affair and a good Cup run can bring in lottsa dosh through the turnstiles and TV.     I'm sure the St Johnstone FC Treasurer would agree after they won the Scottish FA Cup last season !

So, with Ankaragucu now bottom of their Group (where else ?) on one point they have 3 more matches to restore pride.

30 December - Karabuk v Ankaragucu
28 January - Ankaragucu v Basaksehir
4 February - 4 Eylul Sivas v Ankaragucu

As our home match is during the School Semester, I might summon up some enthusiasm and go to it, but ............. I'm not promising !

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ankaragucu vs Karabukspor match preview!

Before we look ahead to tomorrows game with Karabukspor in the Turkish Cup i just want to congratulate our brothers Genclerbirligi on their fantastic 5-0 win over Konyaspor. It looks like this will be another replay of pervious season for Gencler, where they sell their best players, have a poor start to the season, and then finish comfortably mid table.

Onto Ankaragucu, and it was reported today that their are some interesting developments coming in the next couple of days involving the club and there could also be some good news. We will keep you posted with any developments.

Yet again the Turkish FA show utter contempt for the fans as Ankaragucu host Karabukspor in the Turkish Cup tomorrow at 1pm. That means the majority of fans who will be at work will again miss the match meaning more revenue lost for the club.

Tomorrows match is a must win for both sides who have taken 1 point from their opening 2 games. Ankaragucu lost 3-2 at Istanbul Basaksehir and drew 1-1 at home to Sivas 4 Eylul. The visitors Karabukspor lost 2-1 at Sivas 4 Eylul and drew 2-2 at home to Istanbul Basaksehir.

It all depends on what team Karabukspor put out tomorrow, they have an important league game next weekend and could chose to rest some of their star players. Their African trio of Abdul Razak Traore, Dominick Kumbela and Joseph Akpala will all pose a threat with their pace and power if they play and the Ankaragucu defence will need to up their performances by a considerable amount if they don't want to be embarrassed.

Karabukspor sit 12th in the Turkish Super Lig and are unbeaten in their last 4 games. They do have their weaknesses and it took winning on penalties against Inegolspor for them to secure their place in the Group Stages.

As discussed earlier this week, Karabukspor are set to swoop for Ankaragucu duo Gokhan Akkan and Onur Atasayer in the January transfer window. They will both play a key part for Ankaragucu if they are to win tomorrow.

The worry for Ankaragucu again is the centre of Defence and up front. Both Volkan Geyik and Gurkan Alver have been very poor this season, while apart from Umut Nayir and Mehmet Erdem its hard to see where the goals will come from.

It would be nice to see Ankaragucu round of 2014 with a win over Karabukspor after what can only be described as one of the worst years in the clubs 105 year history.

Genclerbirligi surprised that taking shots at goal sometimes results in goals

I wouldn't say it was the very best performance from Gencler, but the mere fact that we were getting shots at goal was heartwarming. The fact that those shots at goal were going in... Priceless. By the way, seven of Gencler's players were from our Youth Academy.  

Genclerbirligi 5 - 0 Processed Foods Company Konyaspor 

Little Oz Kanka had a match on so we missed the first half, only getting into the car and turning on the radio when Stancu scored with a header from a free kick. According to David it was a clear case of no-one marking our main striker. Silly, silly Konya.

So we arrived at the Su'dem at half-time to be greeted by plenty of happy campers. 

Beers in and the second half started as many Gencler matches do... drab and boring and no penetration and failure to do anything in the final third and clumsy tackles and silly mistakes and just general apathy and a look that seems to say that most of them would rather be anywhere than on the pitch.

That was the first 10 minutes anyway and then... great stuff all round.

Guido Kocer comes on for an injured Ugur and gets a great pass from a Konya player under pressure. Shoots. Goal 2-0 

Tomic takes free kick, Petrovic angles it in. Goal 3-0

Konya player takes one hell of a shot. Ramazan dives. Misses. Tomic on the line puts his head in the way. No goal. Tomic replaced a minute later, possibly suffering from concussion. 

Irfan the Coffeeman takes corner. Gencler player heads it back to him. Shot from Irfan at an extreme angle. Goal 4-0

Right at the death. Counter attack from Gencler. The Coffeeman sends it through to Artun. One-on-one with the keeper. Shoot. Goal 5-0

Referee blows it up. That was great stuff. The bad news is that Stancu got himself a yellow card and will therefore miss this Friday's 8pm (Boxing Day) match against Galatasaray.   

Genclerbirligi beat up Konyaspor

Genclerbirligi 5 - 0 Konyaspor

Well, well, well. That was nice stuff from Gencler. After what seemed like a pretty ordinary performance the second half of the second half saw us flying high. 

Full report later on. 

Ankaragucu trio set for January moves!

Ankaragucu trio Mehmet Erdem, Gokhan Akkan and Onur Atasayer could all be set to leave the club in the January transfer window. Karabukspor are rumoured to be interested in signing Gokhan Akkan and Onur Atasayer and both could play their final game for Ankaragucu on Monday coincidently against Karabuk in the Turkish Cup on Monday.

Even if the move doesn't materialise, its only a matter of time before the two youngsters make their move to a Super Lig side. Mehmet Erdem has arguably been the best player at Ankaragucu this season and is attracting attention from rivals Goztepe. This is a move that would anger the Ankaragucu fans as we all know there is no love lost between the two clubs.

Both Umut Nayir and Hasan Ayaroglu could also be subject to moves away from the club in January as the cash strapped club struggle to keep the lights on due to the financial crisis. More to follow...

Ankaragucu 1-1 Sivas 4 Eylul match report!

Ankaragucu will be disappointed that they didn't take all 3 points today in after drawing 1-1 at home with Sivas 4 Eylul. Mustafa Kaplan went with an attacking line up with Teoman and Umut playing up front and Hasan playing in the middle of the park.

Team - Gokhan Akkan, Aytac Oden, Volkan Geyik, Gurkan Alver, Onur Atasayer, Serhat Gulpinar, Hasan Ayaroglu, Gokhan Erdogan, Mehmet Erdem, Teoman Erkan, Umut Nayir

Subs - Turgut Kirvelli, Batuhan Gulcan, Levent Kale, Ali Sinan Gayla, Orhan Evci, Ramazan Adiguzel, Hasan Kaya

Ankaragucu started the game very brightly as the passed the ball from back to front and worked hard to close the opposition down. There were a couple of half chances from Umut and Mehmet Erdem early on with neither troubling the goalkeeper.

It was Sivas who took the lead after 12 minutes and it was another dreadful piece of defending from Ankaragucu. They lost the ball in the middle of the park, the ball found its way to former Ankaragucu midfielder Omer Emir just inside the box who calmly put the ball past Gokhan in the Ankaragucu goal.

A very disappointing goal for Ankaragucu to lose with Gurkan, Volkan and Aytac all over the place. You could be mistaken for thinking it was the first time Volkan and Gurkan had played together and not most of their career.

Straight from kick off Sivas were through on goal again but for a poor miss they would have been 2-0 up. Again it was a mix up in the centre of the Ankaragucu defence.

Ankaragucu controlled the rest of the first half and had a couple of chances firstly through Aytac who blasted his shot which was well saved by the goalkeeper. Then Teoman from about 5 yards our just had to play it past the keeper but instead blasted well over.

There was time for one more chances for Ankaragucu, again the ball fell to Teoman but his effort was weak and he should have done better. Just when it looked like we would be heading in behind at half time Ankaragucu won a corner. From the resulting corner and a goalmouth scramble, the ball found its way to Umut Nayir and the big striker put the ball in the back of the net to make it 1-1.

Into the second half and it was all Ankaragucu. The problem though was that for all the possession we had, there weren't many clear cut chances. Our play at times was to safe and slow and only Mehmet Erdem looked like he could create something.

Levent Kale had a great chance at the end in front of open goal but somehow managed to miss which he so often has this season. He really looks a shadow of the player he was last season. The game stayed 1-1 and next up for Ankaragucu is a home match with Super Lig side Karabukspor on Monday.

Ankaragucu vs Sivas 4 Eylul match preview!

Its match day 2 of the Turkish Cup group stages tomorrow as Ankaragucu host Sivas 4 Eylul at the 19 Mayis Stadium. On paper Sivas are the weakest team in the group which includes Istanbul Basaksehir and Karabukspor. However the Lig 3 team have had an impressive journey in the cup so far and will even go into the match as favourites.

Victories over 1461 Trabzon, Sanliurfaspor, and Erzincan saw Sivas book their place in the group stages. On match day 1 they defeated Karabukspor 2-1 and showed they are not here just to make up the numbers. Sivas sit 3rd in Lig 3 and are looking to win promotion this season as well as their impressive cup run.

The contrast between Sivas and Ankaragucu couldn't be more different, as Ankaragucu are in a relegation battle and have even bigger problems off the field. The club could be weeks away from a point deduction from Fifa due to unpaid wages, and even worse the club could cease to exist if they don't find investment after the congress in January.

One player on the Sivas team who will know what it takes to beat this Ankaragucu team is Omer Emir the former Ankaragucu midfielder who signed for the club in the summer. The 20 year old was tipped to break into the Ankaragucu team this season, but instead was given a free transfer.

Mustafa Kaplan will be looking for his players to put up a similar performance to what we saw against Istanbul Basaksehir where we lost 3-2. Despite the defeat it was a spirited performance but for a defensive mix up in the last minute Ankaragucu could have been walking away with a share of the points.

Make no mistake Sivas will be coming to Ankara looking to take the 3 points back home. If Ankaragucu play the way they have been in the league then it will be no contest. Will Mustafa Kaplan drop his under performing duds, or will he stay loyal to them with the hope their is a big performance in them?

This could be the last time Gokhan Akkan, Umut Nayir, Hasan Ayaroglu and Onur Atasayer play at the 19 Mayis Stadium with the transfer window opening. If that is to be the case, lets hope they leave on a positive note and give the small crowd something to cheer about.

Gencler go top in Turkish Cup group... too strong for Konya

Genclerbirligi 2 - 0 Konyaspor

Pretty close to 0 degrees Celsius tonight. That might explain why it was just me and Little Oz Kanka down in Kizilay. Not wanting to subject the young fellow to too much cigarette smoke at the pub (you can nominate me for "Father of the Year" at this address) we went off to the stadium nice and early and found ourselves in the fairly short queue at about 5:10pm.

One-and-a-quarter hours later, at 6:25pm, 25 minutes after kick-off and with Gencler already 1-0 ahead, we were still in the queue.

Queuing up in the cold. We joined the queue at
the foot of the steps on the right of the photo.

Tonight's match was a Turkish Cup game and so therefore you didn't need a Passolig card in order to get a ticket. Just like in millions of matches in various sports all around the world, you could just show up and get your tickets on the spot.

And that is what happened tonight... except that every ticket holder was asked for their Turkish identity number. This then had to be put into the computer and checked against an ID card. At first they were also asking for telephone numbers... When I say "they were asking for telephone numbers", I actually meant "he was asking for telephone numbers". There was just a single Passolig person operating from one small window to deal with the entire demand for Maraton tickets. It was taking the poor young bloke in the booth about a minute per person to issue a ticket. By the way, well done to the Gencler fans who refused to take out their frustration on the poor ticket guy.          

Even though you didn't need a Passolig card to get into the match it is still the Passolig company that runs the booths nowadays (for a number of seasons before this year it was the specialist ticket company Biletix).

Ertank showed up at his normal time, two minutes to kick-off, saw the massive queue and asked us if I could get him a ticket.

Me: "They want your TC number."
Ertank: "Fuck that then."

I guess he just turned around and left. I didn't see him again.

With the game about to kick-off, most of the Alkaralar and Karakizil fans had decided to head off to the pub. I did consider it but I did have a 10-year-old with me and standing in the cold is a good thing that toughens little kids up. I was also still curious as to whether they would give me a ticket with my weird foreigners TC number. Not to mention the fact that I don't have an ikhamet at the moment despite having applied for a renewal more than two months ago.

Still in the extremely slow moving queue and news came in that we had scored. Berat Tosun in the 14th minute.

A ripple of cheers from the queue.

Then, finally I get to the front and low and behold they, I mean he, accepts my foreign TC number, and then Little Oz Kanka is accepted as well. I thought I might have had to send him home on his own.

At almost half-time. This photo is very
deceptive as to the true numbers 

And so finally we get to make the walk from the Istanbul Yolu to the actual bloody stadium. Then I get the following text message at 18:27.

"Of course the ref's decision is final but the goal was offside!!!,"

It was bloody Sir Eski of course.

"Don't know. Haven't got in yet," I replied.

"yeah, huge crowd and you might get locked out..." he laughed. "Did ye forget yir way tae the stadium???!"

And so, at 6:35 we finally got in. And what did we find. No one there. It was a tiny, tiny crowd. Absolutely pathetic.

It was never going to be a huge match spectator-wise but thanks to the Passolig system it was a disgrace. Let me repeat again. There was just one ticket seller for the entire Maraton section... and that poor bloke had to take down all sorts of info just to hand over a piece of paper. Pathetic.

Little Oz and myself enjoyed the rest of the match. It was great to be back at the footy. I just wish that the powers that be stop trying to industrialise the game. Is that too much to ask for. We just want to enjoy some footy and support our local team.

Sporting quote of the day

Hakim:Darbe yapmaya çalıştınız mı? Çarşı:Gücümüz olsa Beşiktaşı şampiyon yapardık Çarşıdavası böyle başladı http://t.co/RBpcWIPVsn @hurriyet
— Eyüp Can (@eyupcansaglik) December 16, 2014

Translation:
Judge: Did you try to make a coup?
Çarşı: If we were that strong we would have made Beşiktaş champions.
The Çarşi trial started like this


For a good backgrounder to the trial you can check out this one from Reuters

Happy birthday 19 Mayis Stadium

I just saw the following tweet. It says: In history today // Prime Minister İsmet İnonü opened the Ankara 19 Mayis Stadium. (1936)

The photo seems to have been taken from the extreme left of the away fans section looking towards the protokol section. No roof for the plebs in those days.

The stadium today certainly looks its age. I think Melih Gokcek had it condemned at one point. Perhaps it is time for a new one. And not out of town... exactly where the current one is!

Tarihte Bugün // Ankara 19 Mayıs Stadı, Başbakan İsmet İnönü tarafından açıldı. (1936) pic.twitter.com/27Zl4GYLiR
— Spor Tarihi™ (@SporTarihi) December 15, 2014

Ankaragucu 0-1 Golbasispor match report!

For the second week running Ankaragucu have managed to disgrace the name of the club and what it actually means to play for this club. After the humiliating 4-1 defeat at Nazilli we were looking for a reaction from the players in what was a 6 pointer against relegation rivals Golbasispor. And react they did, by finishing the game with 9 men and losing 1-0.

Team - Gokhan Akkan, Metin Aydin, Gurkan Alver, Aytac Oden, Onur Atasayer, Harun Aydin, Serhat Gulpinar, Mehmet Erdem, Levent Kale, Teoman Erkan, Umut Nayir

Subs - Turgut Kirvelli, Volkan Geyik, Ali Sinan Gayla, Hasan Ayaroglu, Ramazan Adiguzel, Batuhan Gulcan, Gokhan Erdogan

The match was played behind closed doors after the Turkish FA decided to fine Ankaragucu and hand a 1 match stadium ban for swearing. Yeah thats right swearing, one of their oldest clubs who has been pleading for their help over the last couple of months without any answer, and this is what it comes to.

Ankaragucu looked went close with a couple of attacks before it all went wrong. Both Metin Aydin and Harun Aydin were sent of for two bookable offences. This will be the 3rd suspension already this season for Harun who has let his team mates down.

Ankaragucu were looking for the winning goal until the second sending off, it looked like they were going to hang on for a point until a last minute goal from Bulent Kocabey gave the visitors all 3 points. Ankaragucu now are only 3 points outside the relegation zone. With the potential 6 point deduction due to missed payments to Fifa it would leave the club bottom of the league.

A cup match with Sivas 4 Eylul on Thursday is up next as the league closes for the winter break. The next league match is at home to Kahramanmarasspor on January 18th. Another relegation match which will almost certainly see Ankaragucu go into that match without Gokhan Akkan, Umut Nayir and Onur Atasayer.

By God, that was rubbish

Akhisar 1 - 1 Genclerbirligi

A decent crowd down at the Su'dem pub. I was the only kanka though but plenty of others to chat with. On to the football.

First half: Shit

Second half: Mostly shit.

We had most of the ball but I think that for the whole match we might have had one shot actually on goal, and bugger all off goal (or maybe the other way around).

Akhisar were not a good team but we simply failed to get any decent attacks going. If this had been a home match with a proper pre-Passolig crowd then things might have turned nasty. There was a lot of screaming and shouting in frustration at the Su'dem.

Akhisar took the lead deep into the second half with a nicely executed turn and shot from some Greek bloke. Just a few minutes later we equalised when Irfan Kahveci (a name to remember I told you) made a nice pass to Stancu. Stancu sent it on to Tomic who merely had to tap it in. And that's how it ended. 1 - 1.

Massive relief at the Su'dem... but basically, that was just rubbish.      

Ankaragucu vs Golbasispor match preview!

This weekends relegation encounter between Ankaragucu vs Golbasispor will be a big test for the teams character and weather they are up to the challenge of keeping Ankaragucu in this division. The Ankaragucu players cant control what goes on off the field with all the upheaval and financial mess at the club, they can however produce better performances than they have shown in the league this season.

Last weekends 4-1 defeat at Nazilli is arguably one of the worst performances in the clubs 105 year history. Mustafa Kaplan knows his player must up their game or he himself could start to come under some pressure. Its difficult to even discuss the football this season with the clubs future uncertain and Januarys congress just around the corner. However another relegation for Ankaragucu would almost be impossible to come back from.

I have stuck up for the Ankaragucu players many of times in the past but their are some players in general such as Volkan Geyik, Aytac Oden, Gurkan Alver, Gokhan Erdogan, Levent Kale to name a few who need to take a long hard look at themselves. Their performances with Volkan and Levent in particular have been woeful. Mustafa Kaplan should look at bringing in more of the youth team if these performance continue.

Golbasispor are struggling 1 point outside the relegation zone, however they did beat leaders Bandirmaspor 3-2 last month. There will be a familiar face in the Golbasispor line up as former Ankaragucu Ibrahim Sahin signed on a free transfer in the summer.

Its unlearn whether the match on Sunday will be played behind closed doors due to a stadium ban, we also have a match next Thursday in the Turkish Cup at home to Sivas 4 Eylul in which is also a must win match for Ankaragucu if they want to progress to the next round.

For some, Sundays match could be their final match at home in an Ankaragucu shirt. With the winter break coming up, Gokhan Akkan, Umut Nayir and Onur Atasayer are all expected to leave the club with Super Lig and PTT Lig sides set to make a swoop for the trio of talented youngster.

Gencler scrape through in Cizre

A bit scary in the end. We looked good in the first half but blew a few chances in the second. In the end we were a bit lucky.

Cizrespor 1 - 2 Genclerbirligi

The red is the province of Sirnak. Cizre
is right near the point of  where the
Syrian and Iraqi borders meet Turkey.  

What a great occasion for the amateurs of Cizrespor. They have had to win a whole heap of matches to get this far and finally they get to take on a Super Lig team in the group stages of the Turkish Cup; a televised match as well. We might be used to it, but for the Cizrespor players and fans this was it. So, the Turkish Football Federation banned fans from going to the match. It was for some sort of fan violence in the recent past.

Cizre is a Kurdish town near the Turkish borders with Syria and Iraq. It is one of places that Noah, he of flood fame, was supposedly buried. The tomb outside a mosque in the town seems to show that Noah was about 8-foot tall. It is also a place which has seen its fair share of clashes over the years. Anyway. Around half of the tiny stadium seemed to back onto a security zone, I counted two TOMAs and one Akrep. At the end of the pitch and at bits to the sides there were a few apartment buildings. As you can see from the picture, a perfect place to watch the football from, especially today which was sunny and fairly warm.

No need for a Passolig here.

Time for the national anthem and despite the fact that there were no fans in the stadium the producer at A Spor had to turn the sound off as the fans outside completely drowned out the music with whistling. Half-way through the anthem they turned the sound back on and then quickly off again, as the whistling had only gotten louder.

Where were we? Football.

We fielded our youth team but it still had some punch what with Mervan, Irfan Kahveci, Ferhat and others. The only foreigner on the field was a fellow called Moussa Traore, playing up front for Cizrespor.

Kick-off and things didn't seem too difficult on the synthetic pitch. Cizre were trying to play fast but we controlled it well. It didn't take too long, about five minutes, before we went ahead when Irfan Kahveci slotted a nice pass to Berat. Berat spun around and slipped it past the keeper.

"This could become embarrassing," I thought to myself.

Then Traore got a shot forcing Ferhat to save. The crowd were making lots of noise now and the equaliser came a minute later with a nice one-two from Hakan to Traore to Hakan and in. 1-1.

One minute later and we were ahead again thanks to another brilliant cross from Kahveci straight onto the head of Artun. 1-2. I'm telling you, watch this Irfan Kahveci... he is going places.

Pre-match photo from @murathaliloglu2 

Another minute later and Mervan missed a sitter.

In the second half we missed two sitters, Cizre missed one. It was all a bit disappointing from the Gencler youth. They seemed to fall off a bit and got a bit sloppy. Cizre, meanwhile, were pressing hard and giving their all.

In the end we came away with the points. Cizre can hold their heads high. I hope they finish the group in second spot.

Nazilli 4-1 Ankaragucu match report!

I have said on many occasion we cant be to critical of this Ankaragucu team due to the circumstances off the field. However what i won't accept is performances and in particular defensive errors that you wouldn't see at schoolboy level. These players need to take a long hard look at themselves after disgracing the shirt today as they were soundly beaten 4-1 by Nazilli.

Team - Gokhan Akkan, Metin Aydin, Aytac Oden, Volkan Geyik, Onur Atasayer, Gurkan Alver, Serhat Gulpinar, Mehmet Erdem, Harun Aydin, Ramazan Adiguzel, Umut Nayir

Subs - Turgut Kirveli, Hasan Kaya, Ali Sinan Gayla, Hasan Ayaroglu, Levent Kale, Gokhan Erdogan, Teoman Erkan

Mustafa Kaplan dropped Teoman Erkan and Levent Kale to the bench from Tuesday afternoons match with Basaksehir, in came Ramazan Adiguzel and Gurkan Alver. Its not often you will hear me criticising Mustafa Kaplan, but playing Gurkan Alver in midfield is a shocking decision. He is very poor in the ball and is clearly a centre half.

Instead of making excuses for this Ankaragucu team, lets look at this team and talk about the real facts. In the starting line up you have 3 players attracting attention of Super Lig teams in Umut Nayir, Gokhan Akkan and Onur Atasayer. You then have Volkan Geyik, Metin Aydin, Serhat Gulpnar, Aytac and Aytac Oden who all have experience playing in the Super Lig and PTT Lig. So that leaves 3 players who haven't played at that level, Harun Aydin, Ramazan Adiguzel and Mehmet Erdem.

On the bench you have Hasan Ayaroglu, Gokhan Erdogan and Teoman Erkan who have all played in the Super Lig. You also have Levent Kale who was one of our best players last season. To muster up that performance today is not acceptable.

It all started so well when Mehmet Erdem gave Ankaragucu the lead after only 5 minutes, before i could even write the update on the Facebook page Nazilli had equalised from the penalty spot through Eren Acikgoz. That man Acikgoz who you will recall from my match preview being the danger man then scored to make it 2-1 just before half time however their was time for the 3rd goal as 2 minutes later Halil Celik scored to make it 3-1.


The second half didn't get any better, and instead Nazilli made it 4-1 late on as substitute Tufan Zahid Arslan soared within 5 minutes of coming on to give the home side a comfortable 4-1 win. Next up is Golbasispor at home next Sunday with the final game of the first half of the season in the league before the winter break.

There will however be the Turkish Cup matches with games against Sivas 4 Eylul and Karabukspor coming up. Mustafa Kaplan has his work cut out as he looks to save his side from relegation.

Genclerbirligi dominate. Justice prevails

When you dominate you are supposed to win. Genclerbirligi dominated and won. Justice really.

Genclerbirligi 2 - 0 Gaziantep

Being a popular fellow about town I only have a few minutes to write this report before heading off to mix with the "in crowd". There was a decent turnout from the Karakizil crowd at the Su'dem pub but from us Kankas there was just David and me.

At the stadium there were around 800 people, including this new fellow, that Steve mentioned last week, who seems to be attempting to take over the amigo role. When the TV cameras panned to this fellow the crowd at the Su'dem shouted their version of "Who are 'ya". The normal amigo, Nedim, was of course sitting with us and he wasn't looking too happy.

Football-wise. It was all fairly nice stuff. We controlled the ball well and Antep hardly got to play. Petkovic, sporting a wonderful Batman-esque mask, was playing nicely, as were most of our players. We were clearly in control but, as I have to repeat almost every week, we just couldn't convert. Well, except for early on in the first half when we scored off a corner only to have the referee call for a foul on the defender. One hell of a dodgy decision.

Of course, when you seem to be in total control but still not getting any goals, frustration starts to reveal itself... We were getting yellow cards left, right and centre, some of them deserved, and the crowd at the Su'dem was starting to turn.

Antep had stopped another one of our attacks and their defender passed it back to the goalkeeper. Any 10-year-old could have stopped it in normal conditions. Lucky for Gencler that someone had dug up a bit of turf in exactly the spot that would make it impossible for the keeper to kick the ball away... The keeper took a swing, the ball bounced over his foot and then rolled into the goal. Much laughing at the Su'dem.

But it was a deserved lead which was doubled a few minutes later when Irfan Can Kahveci got onto the end of an okay cross and volleyed it wonderfully. It was one of those goals that Irfan won't forget. Everything went right and the keeper didn't have a chance.

So... all up a good performance. Not the best, but the best team won.

Ankaragucu vs Nazilli Belediyespor match preview!

Before we discuss this weekends match, some new just in the last couple of minutes on various sources claim Mehmet Yiginer and his team have paid off 32 Million of the clubs debt. We are waiting on confirmation from the club, but if this is true, then it is excellent news for the club and Mehmet Yiginer could go down in history as the man who saved Ankaragucu. We will keep you posted on any developments.

Ankaragucu go into tomorrows match full of confidence after a fantastic performance at Basaksehir on Tuesday where they lost 3-2 with Basaksehir scoring in injury time. Although disappointed with losing that late goal, there were lots of positives. As Jim mentioned in his report, this was the best performance of the season from Ankaragucu and if they play like that every week there is no reason why they cant make the playoffs. However as we have seen to often this season, the performances have been below par and avoiding relegation is the first challenge for the club.

Both Mehmet Tasci and Orhan Evci are struggling with knocks and may miss out on the match tomorrow, although its expected both Volkan Geyik and Gokhan Akkan will be fit. Mehmet Erdem has put in some excellent performances of late and again will be key to Ankaragucu taking anything from the game. Umut Nayir has proved all to often that if he is given the service he will put the ball in the back of the net, and it will be up to the likes of Mehmet Erdem, Hasan Ayaroglu and Serhat Gulpinar to create chances.

Levent Kale looked close to the player he was last season as he edges closer to match fitness. He has struggled this season and the sooner he gets to full fitness the better for Ankaragucu. Nazilli are 1 point outside the playoffs and will be looking to take the 3 points from this game as they have the playoffs in their sight. Eren Acikgoz is their key player and Ankaragucu will need to keep a close eye on him.

With the possible excellent news off the field developing lets hope we get an excellent result on the field tomorrow. Is this the start of things starting to turn the corner??? Lets pray

A BITTER…… SWEET…… BITTER EXPERIENCE FOR ANKARAGUCU IN THE TURKISH CUP !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Ankaragucu can hold their heads up high tonight after putting-in their best performance of the season against Super League Basaksehirspor in Istanbul.

It was a heart-breaking end to a fantastic cup-tie which Ankaragucu had seemingly rescued from the jaws of defeat.

Basaksehirspor    3       ANKARAGUCU      2

Team – Ilhan, Metin, Volkan, Aytac, Onur, Serhat, Erdem, Harun, Levent, Umut and Teoman.

I watched the match via TV and the Ankaragucu supporters could be heard throughout the match in the almost empty stadium.    4.45pm KO ?    What do you expect ?!!

It was mostly all Ankaragucu in the first half when they took the game to Basaksehir and they were unlucky to go in at half time all square at 0-0.

The first chance came in the 9th minute when Levent was put through on the right wing.    He almost reached the goal line before cutting the ball back into the centre only for the goalkeeper to stretch out an arm and deflect the ball away from the incoming Ankaragucu forwards.

9 minutes later Ankaragucu had a free kick outside the box.   Present free kick specialist, Erdem, sent in a great goalbound shot which the goalkeeper did well to tip over the bar.

On the half hour mark, Teoman sent over an inviting near post cross from the right, but Umut couldn’t connect and the goalkeeper gathered.

7 minutes later, and from a throw-in on the right, Levent attempted an overhead kick, but it went narrowly past the post.

So, a good first half by Ankaragucu, but to be honest, I wasn’t fooled.    Basaksehir had looked dangerous coming forward but Ankaragucu’s defence had protected Ilhan who hadn’t really had much to do.     That was to change !

It only took one minute from the re-start for Basaksehir to go ahead.   A throw-in came into the box but was headed clear by an Ankaragucu defender, but ……….. straight to Sezer lurking in the box.   He shot, and his shot was deflected by an Ankaragucu defender and the angle of the ball deceived Ilhan.    A goal is a goal even if it is against the run of play !!

Ankaragucu had a chance to equalise 2 minutes later when Levent was fouled just outside the box on the right.    Erdem sent in another great free kick to the left but the ball hit the post and was cleared.

Basaksehir stepped up the pace and their 2nd goal came from a breakaway down the left wing.    The pin-point cross came in and the in-rushing and unmarked Omer headed in with Ilhan helpless.

Basaksehir looked in command of the match now.    Unsurprising I suppose when you are 2 nil up.     It was almost 3-0 in the 68th minute when a fluid attacking move by Basaksehir was thwarted by a goal-line clearance by Onur.

The match was suddenly turned upside down 10 minutes later when Ankaragucu was awarded another free kick just outside the box on the right.   Erdem made no mistake this time with his bullet of a shot to the left …………. and ………….. there was no post to stop the ball this time !

Game on …….. maybe …….. I thought.     One minute later Ramazan (who came on as a substitute) almost scored the equaliser but the goalkeeper made another great save.

2 minutes to go and the deserved equaliser eventually came from an unlikely source.    An Ankaragucu corner was cleared into the Ankaragucu half, but the ball was carried out and from about 30 yards out, Serhat let fly with a speculative shot which flew into the corner to leave the goalkeeper well beaten and stunned.

I was jumping up and down and couldn’t believe the great fight-back.    Then the assistant referee put up the sign for 4 added minutes.    I’m shouting at the players through the TV screen to hold the ball and blast it anywhere (normally against my priciples !!!).    I’m sure Mustafa Kaplan was doing the same !

However, on the 93rd minute there was a Basaksehir breakaway with 2 Ankaragucu defenders in hot pursuit.    The shot was made inside the box but Ilhan parried it to an Ankaragucu defender.    He attempted to boot the ball clear, but the ball hit the other defender and bounced kindly for the Basaksehir attacker who probably couldn’t believe his luck as he slotted it in.

So, Ankaragucu was denied a deserved point in junjury time by tired legs in a defensive mix-up, or ……… if you aren’t an Ankaragucu supporter …….. by a comedy of errors !!

Anyway, Ankaragucu can take lots of positives from this performance and can still set their sights on realistically finishing 2nd in the Group.   The acid test will be agaisnt Karabuk, but their confidence will be high after the way they played for the most part in this match.

So, I’m saying ……… still all to play for to reach the knock-out stage of the Cup.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Trabzonspor smash us up

Trabzonspor 4 - 1 Genclerbirligi

Oh dear. I didn't get to see the match on telly or listen to commentary on the radio. And now, having seen the result, I have no motivation to actually read about last night's match either. All I know is that we lost badly. Now you know as well.  

Ankaragucu vs Istanbul Basaksehir match preview!

Ankaragucu kick off their Turkish Cup group campaign in Istanbul as they take on Super Lig side Istanbul Basaksehir. A touch start to the campaign for Ankaragucu against the group favourites, but they will take confidence after a good 3-0 home win over Kirklarelispor at the weekend. In the groups other game Sivas 4 Eyul are at home against Karabukspor.

Ankaragucu will come up against a familiar face in Ugur Ucar who formerly played for the club when they were in the Super Lig. Basaksehir won promotion from the PTT Lig at the first time of asking last season, and have carried on their excellent form as they sit 8th at the moment.

They have some excellent players with Doka Madureira in particular. When they were relegated to the PTT Lig 2 years ago, it was expected that Doka would leave the club after some excellent performances, he however stayed loyal to the club and helped them win promotion last season. Also in the squad is experienced Turkish International Sahin Senturk, Edin Visca, Yalcin Ayhan, Michael Eneramo and a host of other players who will need to be respected.

The priority for Ankaragucu this season is staying in Lig 2 while sorting out the problems off field. A group of Ankaragucu fans have went on a hunger strike and set up a camp at the clubs Tandogan headquarters. They have received support for the Ankargucu fans and Aylin Nazaklia who is a member of the government. Unfortunately she doesn't have the power to go up against Melih Gokcek, however we thank her for her support.

Kick off for tomorrows game is at 1645 with the team already in Istanbul as they prepare for tomorrows match. If we can bring a point back to the capital it would be a fantastic result. We need to be realistic though and remember the gulf in class between the two clubs.

ANKARAGUCU RESTORE THE FAITH !

Team - Gokhan Akkan, Metin Aydin, Volkan Geyik, Aytac Oden, Onur Atasayer, Harun Aydin, Mehmet Erdem, Teoman Erkan, Levent Kale, Umut Nayir

Subs - Turgut Kirveli, Batuhan Gulcan, Ali Sinan Gayla, Hasan Ayaroglu, Gurkan Alver, Ramazan Adiguzel, Hasan Kaya


Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Yes, but ......... I didn’t have that ‘feel good’ feeling when I arrived at the Stadium.   It was an eerie feeling not normally associated with Ankaragucu matches, ie, no noise !

I met up with Ahmet in The Sports Cafe and we were entertained with the matches on the Amateur pitches before entering the Stadium 20 minutes before KO.   Ahmet commented that there was no singing or chanting which was unusual at this time pre-match.

It really was a pathetic attendance for an Ankaragucu match with Gecikondu and Maraton a quarter full ........... or if you feel pessimistic ........... three quarters empty !!!     Even allowing for the fact that it was an early KO on Saturday it was very disappointing.   Amazingly, there were 13 souls in the ‘away end’ and to their credit they displayed a banner on the front rail which read ............ ‘Let Ankaragucu not be history’.    Sweet .... eh ??!!

So, there was Ahmet, Cider Kanka John and I, and in all honesty we were expecting the worst, but ....... strange things occur sometimes in footie .............

ANKARAGUCU    3      Kirklarelispor     0

It took only one minute for Ankaragucu to create the first chance when from an attack down the left wing a cross was met and the ball clipped over.   

There was not a lot of action in front of goal but lots of effort from both teams.    Kirklareli almost opened the scoring with their best chance of the match after 10 minutes when a dangerous attacking move was thwarted by the post with Gokhan luckily retreiving the ball from the rebound.

Ankaragucu looked the likelier team to score and they had a good opportunity on 37 minutes when Teoman headed over when all he had to do was flick the ball to his right of the goalkeeper and the goalmouth which was unguarded.

However, 4 minutes later the moment came which sent us all into unbelievable celebration.    Ankaragucu scored from open-play for the first time in ......... well ......... a long time !   The ball was crossed from the left and after two attempts which were cleared, the 3^rd shot from Aytac sneaked in to the goalkeeper’s right.    I have a feeling he was un-sighted !     We were not complaining though as we sang and danced up and down in ....... relief !!!

Half time arrived and I think it is fair to say that, although Ankaragucu has the lion’s share of possession, they were fortunate to be going in ahead !

The 2^nd half was to prove a different story with the Ankaragucu players proving what I suggested might happen in my comments to Nadeem’s preview in the last post.    They fought for every ball and ran their hearts out.

Erdem was causing problems for the Kirklareli defence and 10 minutes into the 2^nd half he opened up their defence and sent in a great cross from the left but Teoman shot narrowly past.

Kirklareli was still attacking and looking for an equaliser but Gokhan saved from a free kick just outside the box.

It was still tense, but that all changed on the 71^st minute when the Goal of the Season was scored by Umut.    Well ........ it would have been if the Super League cameras had been there to see it !!   He picked up the ball just into the Kirklareli half and ran at the defence.    With few options left or right, he kept on going, waltzing past 3 defenders tackles and then when he was just inside the box he let fly and the ball screamed into the net with the goalkeeper helpless.   A truly fantastic individual effort and a goal to settle the team and supporters nerves.

We were still in euphoric mode and settling down, when it was three only 3 minutes later.    Yet another great individual strike, this time from Erdem, who evaded two tackles and from just inside the box sent in a great shot to the corner with the goalkeeper well beaten.

Ankaragucu still pressed forward and in my opinion should have had a penalty on the 83^rd minute when a mistake was made by a Kirklareli defender which allowed Umut to latch on to the ball and take the ball forward into the penalty area.    Then, just as he was about to shoot, he was tackled and brought down.    From my position, it was defo a foul and a penalty, but the referee pointed for a corner.

OK, it was his decision, and no criticism of him intended.    Apart from that incident, I thought he had a good match and, after all, it is his decision which counts !

So, 3 valuable points and what a boost in confidence for the team after so many recent disappointments.    They can now go to Nazzili next weekend with confidence and try and finish the first half of the season without slipping into the relegation area any deeper.

As I said, Umut’s goal was star quality, but the whole team played their hearts out today in what was an encouraging performance.   My Man of the Match award though goes to Erdem for his non stop running and his never say die spirit.    This spirit obviously affected the whole team and it is to their credit that they came back to winning ways.

Well done !

Cider Kanka John and I celebrated in the Red Lion Club but we weren’t really watching that funny shaped ball game .......... we were singing ................. Aaaaaankaaaaaarrrrrraaaaaaagooooojooooo !!!!     Yesssssssssssssss !

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ankaragucu vs Kirklarelispor match preview!

Ankaragucu have more injury worries ahead of the home match with Kirklarelispor on Saturday afternoon. With the team already struggling with numbers this season due to the influx of players leaving the club, its more bad news as this Ankaragucu side have been dragged into a relegation battle. Orhan Evci, Hasan Ayaroglu, Mehmet Tasci and Ramazan Adiguzel are all out for the next 3-4 weeks.

Its a big blow for Hasan Ayaroglu who despite having a lot of talent, his career has been plagued by injuries so far. Orhan is one of the few players in the team with pace and will also be missed as will Mehmet Tasci.

Last weeks match at Gumushanespor was one of the worst performances this club has displayed in its 105 year history. Coach Mustafa Kaplan apologised to the fans stating the level of performance wasn't acceptable. The Ankaragucu fans have been very faithful to Kaplan and the team despite these poor performances. Instead they have turned all their attention in trying to save the club. Several Ankaragucu fans have been on a hunger strike at the clubs Tandogan headquarters with them demanding help from the Government and Ankara Businessmen.

Through all Ankaragucus troubles, one person who has stood shoulder to shoulder with the club and tried to help the club is Aylin Nazaklia. What a fantastic women she is and it puts those men in government to shame that she is the only person willing to stand up to those who have let the club down.

Sundays match will be tougher than Ankaragucu fans expect, the visitors Kirklarelispor are undefeated in their last 4 matches and have won 3 of them. They also have a lot of experience in the team and will go into the game full of confidence.

Ankaragucu on the other hand haven't won in their last 4 games and have lost 3 of them, they lack experience and have a lot of injury problems. Unfortunately i cant see anything other than a comfortable win for the visitors. Hopefully i am wrong.

The Pink Boots of Guido Kocer

Gencler drew 2-2 with Karabuk at home on Sunday after failing to make the most of their frankly tiny margin of superiority over the visitors.

This match report is brought to you by: Spine's one-handed typing, Maximus brand flurbiprofen painkillers, and an unhealthy interest in footballers' feet.

Both Gencler goals came in the first half. And both came from the partnership of Guido Kocer and Bogdan Stancu. First from the right, and then from the left, Guido, wearing pink boots, placed accurate passes to Stancu, who seldom wastes such chances. Karabuk pulled one back from a penalty.

Guido Against France

So, who is Guido Kocer, and how did he come by his magnificent name? We don't know, is the honest answer. We know precious little: he was born in Worms, Germany, he has played for Turkish Under-21s, and he has a dashing colour sense in footwear. He's also a little tubby, if we're going to be honest. "He's a little like Gaza," said Robin.

Living the Passo-Life, So You Don't Have To

In the second half a number of things changed. A new ref came on to replace Cuneyt Cakir, who was having breathing difficulties. (Primo Turkish Referee Cakir was treated in hospital and is in good condition, Hurriyet reports.) Also, Guido changed his pink boots for white ones.

And things went wrong from there. Karabuk equalised with a rocket of a goal from way outside the box. Guido was taken off, and displayed Gaza-like sentimentality by throwing his shirt to a small child. Mervan Celik was having a poor game, and was subbed for Radosav Petrovic. But Petrovic got his nose banged/broken in the box and never really engaged with the game after that. Now, I really want to like Petrovic and I realised why at this game. He wears black leather boots. That has an old-school honesty that appeals to me. It makes me ignore how slow he can be, and concentrate on his cultured passing and intelligent positioning.

In an era of multi-coloured boots, Petrovic stands out. I can understand why the sponsorship man from Nike or whatever wants to push the fluorescent boots on bling-loving young players, but I respect those who stick to tradition. If a player wears black boots, I immediately imagine him giving them spit-and-polish the day after a game, like an honest grafting hero.

If you have orange boots, can you even buy orange boot polish? Maybe they have nano-materials that self polish. Or maybe you just throw them in the dishwasher with the Tupperware.

Other notes:

Attendance: Passo-Level

- Reversion to the Mean: Various others are slowly stepping up to be "amigo" and lead the singing

- Police Camera Guy: Is back
- Unlikely Comparisons: Karabuk look a little like France
- Match Overall as Animal: Corgi

"Burasi Ankara" Has Become "Angara's Koats"

Ankaragucu fire a blank again!

Final Score - Gumushanespor 1-0 Ankaragucu

Team - Gokhan Akkan, Orhan Evci, Aytac Oden, Volkan Geyik, Onur Atasayer, Harun Aydin, Serhat Gulpinar, Mehmet Erdem, Hasan Ayaroglu, Umut Nayir, Levent Kale

Subs - Turgut Kirveli, Batuhan Gulcan, Ali Sinan Gayla, Gurkan Alver, Ramazan Adiguzel, Gokhan Erdogan, Teoman Erkan

I know last weekend we agreed that its difficult to criticise this Ankaragucu team as we have lost most of our key players and have a lack of experience in the team. However the team has now went 4 games without scoring from open play, and they could be still playing right now and wouldn't have scored.

This was the first full game I've saw of Ankaragucu this season, and it was woeful, possibly the worst Ankaragucu team i have seen. No disrespect to the home side, but i expect more in these type of games. When you look at the Ankargucu team today, Gokhan is one of Turkeys best young Goalkeepers, Orhan, Aytac, Volkan, Serhat, and Hasan all have Super Lig and PTT Lig experience. Umut Nayir and Levent Kale were the leagues top scorers last season, and then on the bench both Gurkan and Teoman have played in the Super Lig.

Ankaragucu started the first 5 minutes of the match the brighter with Hasan having a chance early on but he shot straight at the goalkeeper from just outside the box.

A couple of minutes later Aytac almost gifted Gumushanespor the opening goal, but Hakan blasted his shot over from about 25 yards. Both Volkan and Aytac struggled in the first half to cope with the pace of the Gumushanespor attack.

Gumushanespor started to dominate the match and had a couple of half chances one of which Gokhan saved. Soon after they took the lead and it was another defensive mistake from Aytac and Volkan who let in Fatih who shot past Gokhan who will be disappointed as he was beaten at his near post.

The goal was deserved and Gumushanespor dominated the first 30 minutes of the match. Ankaragucu did come back into the match for the last 15 minutes of the first half but failed to create anything worth of note. Hasan and Mehmet looked dangerous in flashes with their pace but were never involved enough to trouble the home side. Serhat looked well of the pace leaving Harun in the middle of the park on his own.

One of the bright sparks in the Ankaragucu team was Onur Atasayer, he looks a talented young player who will go on to play at a higher level. Umut Nayir was never given the service to threaten Gumushanespor and Levent looks a shadow of the player we saw last season.

Half Time 1-0

Into the second half and Ankaragucu were the stronger team and had more possession. But yet again they failed to create any chances or trouble the Gumushanespor goalkeeper. Orhan has a volley that went inches wide and Umut had a half chance that didn't trouble the keeper.

It really was a disappointing performance and i don't see any hope for this Ankaragucu team. It will be tough for Ankaragucu to stay in this league. Personally i would drop Serhat, Aytac, and Levent and bring in the likes of Batuhan Gulcan, Gurkan Alver and Ramazan Adiguzel for the next game.

I dread to even think the outcome of the game against Istanbul Basaksehir in a couple of weeks time.

THE TURKISH CUP - GROUP STAGE

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Shock horror ....... The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) has excelled themselves and released the fixtures AND KO times for the first round of matches in the Group Stages of the Turkish Cup.

It is a rare occurrence for this Blog to shower praise on the TFF, but reluctantly I have to say it ....... well done TFF ......... aaaargh !!!

Tuesday 2 December KO 16.45 - Basaksehir v Ankaragucu

Thursday 4 December KO 1900 - Keciorengucu v Trabzonspor

Tuesday 9 December KO 1300 - Cizrespor v Genclerbirligi

There is a good chance that the Ankaragucu match will be shown live on TV because it is the only match which kicks-off at that time.

Also, I have included the Keciorengucu match details because Ankaragucu may be in the same league as them next season and it might be interesting to see how they play against a Super League team.    That match could also be on TV.

Watch this space nearer the time for details of any TV screening times.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim