Tepecikspor 0-4 Ankaragucu match report !

At last the real Ankaragucu turned up today as they destroyed Tepecikspor 4-0 to keep up their bid to become Lig 2 Champions. We have spoke over the last few weeks how Ankaragucu have failed to win the big games this season. This was another of those big games and the team certainly shut up their critics with an excellent win.

Team - Gokhan Akkan, Metin Aydin, Serhat Aykuz, Selim Teber, Emre Tasdemir, Serkan Sirin, Serhat Gulpinar, Kaan Kanak, Mehmet Erdem, Mehmet Cakir, Umut Nayir

Subs - Bayram Olgun, Orhan Evci, Aydin Toscali, Harun Aydin, Ibrahim Sahin, Omer Yalcin, Onur Atasayer

Ankaragucu were without Levent Kale, Hasan Ayaroglu, Aytac Oden, Volkan Yilmaz and Erhan Guven through injury, while Muhammed Gonulacar was suspended. It just shows the strength in depth of the team that they can still put out a very strong side, Thats why losing some of these matches this season have been inexcusable.

If you also wanted more evidence of the gulf between the two clubs then you need look no further than the stadium of Tepecikspor. It looked like a Sunday league public park. With the two promotion rivals Alanyaspor and Altinordu both winning again, Ankaragucu needed the 3 points to keep up their chase.

For 40 minutes it looked like it was going to be one of those days with Tepecikspor holding Ankaragucu to a 0-0 scoreline. Then on 42 minutes Mehmet Erdem Ugurlu scored to put Ankaragucu in front. Just as it looked like we would be heading into half time 1-0 up, the veteran Selim Teber made it 2-0.

Half time Tepecik 0-2 Ankaragucu

Mehmet Erdem Ugurlu has looked a good signing since his move from Polatli in Januray, and he made it 3-0 on 65 minutes with his second of the game.

Tepecik had Kemal Ozyurt sent off while Ankaragucu midfielder Serhat Gulpinar was also sent off with 13 minutes remaining. Four minutes later Kaan Kanak completed the rout to make it 4-0 and a fantastic win for Ankaragucu to take back to the capital.

Their are 6 games remaining and Ankaragucu have the easier run in out of the 3 teams. They do however have to go to Alanyaspor in 2 weeks.

Ankaragucu remaining games

Ofspor (H)
Alanyaspor (A)
Bozuyukspor (H)
Iskenderun (A)
Altay (H)
Bandirmaspor (A)

Altinordu Remaining games

Nazilli (A)
Polatli (H)
Bandirmaspor (A)
Kizilcahamamspor (H)
Pazarspor (H)
Bayrampasaspor (A)

Alanyaspor remaining games

Altay (A)
Ankaragucu (H)
Gungorenspor (A)
Eyupspor (H)
Diyarbakir (A)
Korfez (H)

Its all to play for !!

Ankaragucu vs Tepecik match preview !

Ankaragucu travel to Tepecik at the weekend for yet another must win match in the race for the Lig 2 title. A 2-1 win last weekend against Bayrampasa kept Ankaragucu in the hunt with leaders Altinordu and Alanyaspor. Fuat Aykuz will be looking for his side to up their game as the performances of late have been below par.

The last time the two sides met Tepecik win 2-1 in Ankara in a disappointing performance from the home side. Ankaragucu will be looking to put the record straight and return back to Ankara with the 3 points. The game takes place on Saturday afternoon, whilst Alanyaspor are at home to Iskenderun and Altinordu are at home to Korfez.

We have spoken many times this season about how Ankaragucu have failed to beat the teams at the top of the table. With the largest budget and biggest squad in the league it is unacceptable. Tepecik is another difficult match but look at Altinordu last weekend. They travelled to Diyarbakir for what was supposed to be a tough match and destroyed them 4-0.

With the talent we have in this Ankaragucu team, we have yet to see the best of them. At least the coach has realised he must play both Levent Kale and Umut Nayir who have both won games for Ankaragucu over the last couple of weeks.

Another big performance will be expected from Emre Tasdemir who has been the star of the team for the last couple of months. If Ankaragucu want to hold onto him they need to be playing at a higher level.

Lets hope its 3 points in the bag come Saturday afternoon !

Europe!!!!! Probably not but mathematically we could get there

One piece of advice I read a few years ago about writing blog posts was that you should never apologise in the first line about how long it has been since your last post nor for the fact that the following post is not going to be up to the usual Pulitzer Prize-winning standards that you normally post. So I won't.

Genclerbirligi 3 - 1 Elazigspor

Whether in the northern or southern hemisphere I don't think I have ever moved out of the sun and into the shade in March. Me and Spine had to at the Beer Bus on Sunday afternoon. The weather here is just bloody madness. We are surely all going to die. In the meantime though, lets enjoy the sun... and the footy.

We got in just in time to be handed pictures of Berkin Elvan, the 15-year-old kid who died last week from injuries sustained during the Gezi protests of last summer. For those who don't know, Berkin had been heading to the shops to buy some bread for his mother when he was hit by a gas canister fired by the police. He was in a coma for nine months or so. No police officer has been punished for the murder. Mourners at his funeral were gassed.

Footy started and all was fun. Elazig were crap and we were ahead in the 16th or so when Stancu showed some good skills. On the edge of the box he slipped over. Got back up, slipped around two defenders and somehow got the ball across to Jimmy who headed in a low ball. Fun in the sun.

The second goal was pure class and was all started by Spine's man of the match, Doga.

This is serious!

Do any of you remember Rob Andrew, the England fly-half from the 1980s, early 90s? He was the most negative rugby union player in a team that was known for its absolute and utter negativeness. Amazingly great attacking opportunity for England? He would it kick it. Always! He never got tackled and would finish matches with his uniform still pristine. I remember a huge cheer go up once in Sydney when he actually passed the ball.    

Anyway, this is nowhere near Rob Andrew levels of non attacking but last week Spine said he would buy me a beer if Doga made an attacking pass... I didn't get a free beer. And so yesterday it was our turn to give a cheer when Doga not only made an attacking pass but one that directly led to our second goal. There was some stuff in between Doga's pass and Stancu scoring but I didn't really see it.

In the second half Elazig got one back and then we all laughed again as the Elazig keeper, who wears his socks like a Japanese schoolgirl, messed up and tapped in an own goal.

That's it. Match over. Off to the pub. Never apologise.

ANKARAGUCU .... 'GET OUT OF JAIL' !!!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

It was a beautiful Spring day when I arrived at the Stadium and there were two amateur matches in progress on the Astro Turf pitches outside. Interestingly, on one of the matches there was a lady referee and a lady assistant referee, and from what I saw, they were doing a fine job.

Into the Stadium and Gecikondu and Maraton were full as usual with the others half full. A quiet 100 in the away end - quiet ? Mmmmm …... probably because they were not used to Ankaragucu tribunes and the noise they make !!

I was joined by Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Cider Kanka John and Aussie Desert Kanka Robbie and then we were up and running.

ANKARAGUCU 2 Bayrampasaspor 1

Ankaragucu set their marker early by going into all out attack and it only took 3 minutes for Mehmet to test the opposition defence, but the shot was over the bar. Serhat had another attempt minutes later but his shot was over too.

7 minutes in and Ankaragucu should have opened the scoring in a goalmouth scramble but the ball was cleared.

18 minutes in and it was still all Ankaragucu and Mehmet almost made the pressure count in a free kick, but it went just past the post.

It took until the 20^th minute for Bayrampasa to threaten, but the shot was over the bar. Then 4 minutes later Volkan had a great chance, but his header went past the post.

Gokhan had his first save to make shortly after when he smothered a tame shot, and minutes later Volkan was put through with only the goalkeeper to beat and he sent his shot straight into his arms.

Ten minutes to half time and the break through arrived …...... at last ! Yet another Ankaragucu attack and in a goal mouth melee, Umut had a 2^nd 'bite of the cherry' and poked the ball in for a goal to settle our nerves.

(At this stage I was receiving messages from Maniac Kanka Harun that our rivals, Altinordu and Alanya were winning).

Approaching the half time whistle and Ankaragucu had two more attempts which should have been converted, but going in at half time one up was ….. acceptable.

Ankaragucu resumed where they left off and were off in pursuit of the 2^nd goal. It duly arrived 14 minutes in when Emre (Man of the Match AGAIN) went on one of his attacks down the left and sent in an inch perfect cross to Levent at the far post to slide in for No2. Yesssssssssssss …. relief all round. However, not very impressed with Levent's celebration when he ran off to the VIP Section and to the Coach instead of running to Emre. The tribunes obviously agreed by chanting Emre..... Emre …..... Emre !!!

Then came the turning point in the match with 30 minutes remaining. A free kick was awarded to Bayrampasa just outside the Ankaragucu box, but before the kick could be taken there was a protest around the referee. First, the referee pulled out a yellow card and proceeded to organise the free kick, but suddenly, the referee turned and showed a RED card to Muhammed. Presumably he said something to 'displease' the referee ??!!!

Levent off …... then Mehmet......... to be replaced by defenders and runners. It was desperate times going into the last 15 minutes and a great 'backs against the wall' performance from the whole team.

There was one last chance for Ankaragucu to make the game safe, but substitute (No 57 – didn't get his name) had a great shot from outside the box which rebounded off the crossbar and cleared to safety.

A fortunate win some might say. However, Ankaragucu showed great character to hold on to their 2-1 lead and …......... get out of jail !

Back to The Chopin to celebrate our win, and ….......... Harun's birthday, where we were joined by Maniac Kanka Harun and his gorgeous daughter Hazal. Then, off to Cider Kanka's new apartment to sample his Isle of Mull Malt Whisky which is distilled in Tobermory. Mmmmmm …..... it was …... yummy !!!

So, the pressure is still ….. ON. The same can be said for Altinordu and Alanya, and …... as we have to go to Alanya in 3 weeks time, it is up to the players to bring 3 points back from there.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ankaragucu vs Bayrampasa

As Jim said in his email this morning, Ankaragucu are at home this saturday against Bayrampasa and Gencler take on Elazig on Sunday also at home, both kick off times are at 1330 Turkish Time. Ankaragucu need to keep up the pressure on leaders Altinordu and second place Alanyaspor and nothing more than a win will be acceptable against in form Bayrampasa.

The visitors have won their last 3 games although those victories have come against Bozoyuk, Iskenderun and Altay. Their last defeat was a 5-1 hammering against Alanyaspor. After a late 2-1 win at Pazarspor last weekend, Ankaragucu know they need to up their game if they want to become champions. Alanyaspor have an easy home match against Bozoyuk, while Altinordu travel to Diyarbakir BB in what will be a difficult match.

The last time the two sides met Bayrampasa won 1-0 in Istanbul. Any defeat against an Istanbul side is unacceptable for the Ankaragucu fans who will be demanding the 3 points this time around.

As so often has been the case this season Emre Tasdemir will be the key player for Ankaragucu. The youngster has put in a string of excellent performances and will have no doubt impressed some of the Super Lig sides. Its important that the rest of the Ankaragucu team, especially the experienced players put in the same level of performance if they want to help ensure Ankaragucu can hold on to their best young players. Players like Emre Tasdemir, Hasan Ayaroglu, Umut Nayir and Gokhan Akkan will all be looking to play at a higher level.

Jim will have the match report which is even more handy these days with Baskent TV not showing the last 2 home games. Im predicting a 3-0 win for Ankaragucu.

ANKARAGUCU STAY IN THE HUNT

Team - Gokhan Akkan, Metin Aydin, Erhan Guven, Aytac Oden, Emre Tasdemir, Serkan Sirin, Serhat Gulpinar, Mehmet Cakir, Volkan Yilmaz, Levent Kale, Umut Nayir

Subs - Bayram Olgun, Orhan Evci, Muhammed Gonulacar, Onur Atasayer, Harun Aydin, Ali Sinan, Omer Yalcin


Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Bellshill Kanka Nadeem is taking care of Bellshill Kankie Rebecca after an illness and can't report on the match today. We all wish her a speedy recovery.

Pazarspor 1 ANKARAGUCU 2

I was out this afternoon, but thanks to Maniac Kanka Harun for keeping me up-to-date with the match as it progressed.

Fuat Bey is listening to us and started with Levent and Umut up front....... at last.

However, it was Pazar of Rize who opened the scoring after 10 minutes, but Ankaragucu equalised on the half hour mark with a goal from Volkan Yilmaz.

That's how it stayed at half time. Meanwhile, down south, Alanya was leading Bandirma 2-0 at half time. So, with Altinordu winning 2-1 yesterday against Eyupspor, the pressure was back on Ankaragucu today to pick up 3 points and stay in touch with Altinordu and Alanya at the top of the league.

70^th minute and Umut made the important breakthrough, and with Alanya winning 4-1 today, Umut's goal came with some relief. Thanks Umut !!!

We Ankaragucu fanatics never say …...... never ! So, with 8 matches remaining it is still all to play for.

Next weekend Ankaragucu host Bayrampasa in what is yet another must win match. Nadeem will give us a preview of the match during the week.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Are we there yet? Gencler claim an important three points

What better way to start the day!

Are Genclerbirligi safe yet? After Saturday's match we are in 12th place (for the moment). It can all still go very, very wrong.

Kasimpasa 1 - 2 Genclerbirligi

A very strange way to watch the match. I arrived at the Red Lion Club fully expecting the Gencler match to be relegated to the small screen once the rugby started but what I didn't expect was to be relegated to the small screen with no sound because of a live singer singing all the hits of an age that had no musical taste at all.

It was all a bit weird as we (Spine, Carl, Flying Dutchman Kanka and myself) politely clapped the poor singer after each of his songs. Luckily for him Gencler were being completely outplayed and so there was no reason for us to clap any louder at the TV screen.

From left to right: Carl, singer, Genclerbirligi

Indeed, Kasimpasa were all over us and were unlucky not to go ahead early on. The general consensus, a point would be a good result for us. Half-an-hour into the match and our singer had packed up and Stancu had the ball and with a brilliant move got away from his defender to pass to Jimmy on the run. Just the goalkeeper in front of him, he jigged, past the goalkeeper... and tap ... in, in, in!

It was a lovely goal and the 15 or so Gencler fans danced in the sunshine.

Not long later came the equaliser. It was an unstoppable free kick which no keeper, it was Dahlin this time, could have stopped. 1-1 at half time and the big screen and commentary was taken over by the rugby fans.

Over a St Patrick's Irish Breakfast of bacon, eggs, mushrooms, toast and potato gozleme (that was the Irish bit I think), one eye was on the Gencler boys and the other on the Italians. We seemed to create some chances and so did Kasimpasa. In the end it was just after half-time in the rugby and close to the end of the football that the winner came with someone crossing it into the box, a Kasimpasa player seemingly stepping over the ball and then Mervan (coming on as a replacement) simply sliding in and GOOOOAAAALLL!!!!

A few minutes later and a very relieved Genclerbirligi left the field in victory.  

Sir Eski and Spine in a funny hat

GOOD NEWS AND ........... BAD NEWS .....

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

We are missing Bellshill Kanka's pre-match report this week, so we must assume that Sir Tom Hart (rescuer of Hibernian FC) and patron of Kwik Fit Euro, has kept him busy busy busy !!!

So, to the bad new first .............. and Ankaragucu's fiercest rivals, Altinordu, won 2-1 today against Eyupspor.    Unsurprising ?    Yes, but it was 1-1 at half time and 'Mr Optimistic' was hoping for a miracle from Eyup, but it never happened.

Good news ........... Eyeirrlind beat France in the Funny Shaped Ball game to win the 6 Nations Championship and put Ingallind into 2nd place ...... boo hoo hoo for the Ingallish ........... and ha ha ha from the rest of us yesssssssssssssssssssss !!!

Back to the real shaped ball game, and ......... it was more good news in Istanbul today when Gencler picked up 3 valuable points against Kasimpasa.    Gencler moved into mid table and a sigh of relief all round ...... phew !

Looking forward to tomorrow, and a vital match for Ankaragucu in Rize when nothing less than 3 points will suffice against Pazarspor.  

Ankaragucu has to live with pressure on the last 9 matches run-in, not just against Altinordu and Alanya, but .............. with themselves.   Do they have the character to win all their matches in the run-in ?    Tomorrow will be an acid test !!!

Watch for details tomorrow.   All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

I'll take the three points... but

I reckon if Genclerbirligi only have to play against nine men every week, we just might avoid relegation.

Genclerbirligi 2 - 1 Sivasspor

Walking to Kizilay we passed what is probably Ankara's most
pointless park... and there are plenty of contenders.

It seems insanely early but Little Oz Kanka and myself headed out at 11 am on sunday morning. A good one-hours walk down to Kizilay to find Carl and Spine enjoying their first of the day.

A lovely sunny Sunday saw the Gencler crowds come out of the woodwork which meant it took forever to get in. By the time we did get in, 12 minutes into the match, we found David and Lisa and their two girls sitting miles away from where we normally sit (stand) because Maraton was full. Dan the man and his son Efe showed up as well. A nice little crowd.

For the first time in ages I was down low and near the goal line and it makes for quite a different perspective on the match. Up top is much more strategic, you can see formations and players in the free. Down low, you can see just what a wally the linesman is.

Lovely day Long queues.

There was not a lot happening in the first half. We had some chances and their keeper pulled off some great saves. Then disaster struck in the most innocuous way. It happened down the other end from where we were but Sivas were attacking. Our man Radkov then made a simple back pass into the goal. He didn't realise that our our keeper Ferhat had come forward. He simply passed it into the goal. adfghs!

Tomic forced a brilliant save from their keeper when he absolutely smashed a free kick but it was a few minutes later when the event came that changed the match. A Sivaspor and Gencler player were going for the bouncing ball, the Sivasplayer got his boot onto it and the ball flew into the face of the Gencler player. Of course the Gencler player went down, he had just got whacked in the head, but it was by the ball. The referee pulled out a card and then madness ensued. The Sivas player went straight to the linesman right in front of us to ask why he had forgotten to put on his glasses. The bloke was right it was not a yellow. But then he did something really silly by pushing, even if it was only slightly, the referee. Out came the red. It was a needless red but it was exactly what Genclerbirligi needed.

Down low near the action.

Half-time and we were one goal down but one man up. It should have been a walk in the park.

Obviously we came out attacking and we had the odd good shot but most of the time everyone was too timid to have a go. Or if we did it would bang straight into a defender or balloon a million miles high.

Burhan then pulled down Tomic in the box. By this stage we had moved to the other goal line, but up high this time, and it looked like a pretty cut and dry penalty. Stancu stood up and GOOOAALL!

I'm not sure why but then all the Sivas players surrounded the ref. And for reasons that only be guessed at, another Sivas player was sent off. No idea what happened but now Sivas were down to nine men. There was still ages to go in the match but it took forever until Jimmy lashed at the ball from 30 meters out and the keeper didn't have a chance. It was clear that Jimmy really loved this one as he must have known just how many shots just like this one had gone flying the bar in the last few weeks.

Back up high for the second half

2-1 ahead and if we were any good we would have made it 4-1. But we didn't, but we still get the three points. Phew!

* EDIT: I've just watched the replay and it seems that the player sent off was clapping the ref after Satncu scored the penalty. Sent off for dissent?

                 

ANKARAGUCU LEAVE IT LATE ….. AND …...

they keep our nerve ends jangling !!!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

ANKARAGUCU 2 Kizilcahammam 0

Team - Gokhan Akkan, Aytac Oden, Serhat Aykuz, Selim Teber, Emre Tasdemir, Serhat Gulpinar, Muhammed Gonulacar, Mehmet Cakir, Volkan Yilmaz, Kaan Kanak, Umut Nayir

Subs - Bayram Olgun, Metin Aydin, Onur Atasayer, Serkan Sirin, Ali Gayla, Harun Aydin, Omer Yalcin

OK, so today is Ladies Day, but for us married guys, this is a normal way of life to have nerve ending jangling …. isn't it ??!!

I was working at school this morning but I managed to 'escape' to make it down to my favourite cafe – Sports Club Cafe for pre-match coffee overlooking the two amateur matches on the Astro Turf pitches outside the Stadium.

I was first into the Stadium and then followed by Dolma Kanka (Murat Kaya), his son, Anil, Ismet Bey and then Battle Damaged Kanka Damon.

Gecikondu was full, as always, Maraton was about half full, and in the away end there was about 50 supporters for the 'local derby' !

It was a pretty tense opening minutes with both teams trying to exert their authority on the match, but then in the 6^th minute …...

Zero Six for Ankara …...... Gecikondu released hundreds of blue and yellow balloons and then burst them together …...... noise …. plus !

It took until the 13^th minute for the game to ignite when a Kizil attacker brought out a good save from Gokhan, who had replaced regular goalkeeper Bayram (probably as a punishment for Bayram's silly mistakes last week in Izmir).

16^th minute and a loud chorus from all the tribunes for Bursaspor (our brother team).

It took until the half hour mark for Ankaragucu to make their first serious attempt at goal when a great cross from the right came in from Mehmet Cakir and all the Ankaragucu forward had to do was tap in, but …......... whoever it was, missed totally and was made to look ….. I don't want to say the word, but I will …...... stupid !!!

Just before the half time whistle and Volkan almost made the breakthrough when his shot found the side netting.

Half time and Ankaragucu went in probably the luckier of the two teams. Not a very professional display ….......... even without the absent Levent !!!

The 2^nd half got underway and Kizil continued to take the game to Ankaragucu as they did throughout the first half. However, gradually Ankaragucu was coming back into the match and showing some attacking flair at last.

13 minutes in and Selim Teber had a great shot which was tipped over by the Kizil goalie. Great shot and great save.

Half an hour gone in the 2^nd half and it has to be said that Emre receives the Man of the Match award for the ….. lost count …........time !!! He has been everywhere, making interceptions and attacking, causing all sorts of problems, but his good work is not producing the vital goal.

Into the half way point of the 2^nd half and a let-off for Kizil when Serhat's goalbound shot was tipped over by the goalkeeper for a corner.

15 minutes to go and the Ankaragucu defence is having to withstand a Kizil surge. It is 'panic stations' but the defence is holding firm …..... just !

Then with 10 minutes left …..... and, with those nerve ends jangling, the breakthrough eventually came. A free kick out on the right which was swung over for Umut to use his height to nod in. The goalkeeper got a hand to it, but the ball squirmed over !!!

Phewwwww …...... sighs of relief all round and then …...... Lie lie lie lie lie lie … Ankaaaaarrrrraaaagoooojoooo !!!!

5 minutes later and it was all over. A great run down the left by Umut …... looks up …... cuts back for Yalcin to slide the ball in with a cheeky (or fortunate ?) back heel !

Up the volume again …..... and ….. nerves back to normal function !

Time for Kaan to almost make it 3 with a great run down the left, supported by Man of the Match (again !!!), Emre, but his shot was well saved by the goalkeeper.

Off to tie-up with Maniac Kanka Harun in the Chopin and celebrate. Damon's assessment of the match (which I agree with) is that ….... Ankaragucu was crap in the 1^st half which Kizil dominated for periods. However, the 2^nd half was a different Ankaragucu team which started well and gradually settled into a more attacking mode.

So, a good 3 points to put pressure on Altinordu and Alanya who will play tomorrow.

Time to celebrate, a win, Ladies Day …........ and Maniac's daughter, Hazal's, 18^th birthday !!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ankaragucu vs Kizilcahamamspor match preview !

Ankaragucu take on Kizilcahamamspor on Saturday at the 19 Mayis Stadium, kick off is at 1330. The Turkish National team won 2-1 last night against Sweden at the 19 Mayis Stadium in front of sold out crowd which the majority were Ankaragucu fans who yet again made a fantastic atmosphere.  Saturdays game see Ankaragucu take on one of the leagues weaker opposition so no doubt we will take the 3 points.

After the disappointment of losing midweek to leaders Alanyaspor and yet another failure at beating one of the leagues big boys, its time for this Ankaragucu squad and management team to step up and give the same effort and commitment that the fans have given them. That doesn't mean running about for 90 minutes, its about concentration. Ability wise Ankaragucu have the best squad in the league. But concentration levels have been a problem. When you equalise in with 2 minutes remaining against the leaders and then still lose the game with 3 men unmarked in the box it questions the players concentration levels.

I like the fact that Ankaragucu give opportunities to former players and men who have coached the youth teams who know the club. But i cant help but think if the club is to move forward we need to employ a strong coach based on his CV. Fuat deserves time with this squad, but over the last few weeks he has made so many mistakes in terms of his team selections.

First of all, Mehmet Tasci was called up to play for the Turkish A2 team. Since his call up he hasn't played for the team. Has he picked up an injury or does Fuat prefer Emre Tasdemir to play at left back. Young Emre for me is the most important player in the team, but his future in the game is further forward. His attacking game is fantastic but he is too small to play at the top level as a left back imo. You then have Gurkan Alver, the last game he played was that disastrous performance in midfield. He is a decent central defender though and hasn't done any worse than the current defence when he played. Fuat keeps changing his defensive pairing which cant help the defenders who need to build up an understanding with their partner.

But for me the biggest mistake is his refusal to play both Umut Nayir and Levent Kale up front. They have scored 24 goals between them despite missing game due to injury. Ankaragucu should play their own game and make other teams think how they are going to stop them, instead of worrying about how other teams are going to play. I would like to see Hasan Ayaroglu given a run of game in the team. He has such a big future ahead of him but his career has stalled of late with him only playing bit parts.

Kizilcahamamspor have enough about them to cause an upset. A good 2-1 win over Altay midweek proved they are no pushovers. But Ankaragucu should win this one comfortably. Nothing less than a 3-0 win will be good enough. We have had 2 years of being patient with the players due to the financial circumstances. They don't have any excuses anymore and need to face up to it that they are playing for one of the biggest clubs in Turkey.

Ankaragucu 2-3 Altinordu match report !

Ankaragucu all but waved goodbye to their Championship hopes today as they lost 3-2 at Altinordu thanks to an injury time winner by that man Gokhan Karadeniz. Its yet another game where Ankaragucu have come up against one of the top sides and failed to win. The defeat now leaves Ankaragucu in 3rd place 6 points behind leaders Altinordu.

Team - Bayram Olgun, Metin Aydin, Erhan Guven, Serhat Aykuz, Emre Tasdemir, Muhammed Gonulacar, Selim Teber, Mehmet Cakir, Volkan Yilmaz, Mehmet Erdem, Levent Kale

Subs - Gokhan Akkan, Serkan Sirin, Umut Nayir, Hasan Ayaroglu, Omer Yalcin, Kaan Kanak, Aydin Toscali

Just last week their was an article that showed every team in the leagues wage budget. Ankaragucu were the highest while Altinordu were 2nd from bottom. I managed to see some of the game and from what i saw Altinordu looked head and shoulders above Ankaragucu. When you look at the likes of Erhan Guven, Serhat Aykuz, Selim Teber, Volkan Yilmaz, and Mehmet Cakir who all came from the Super Lig or PTT Lig its disappointing to see Ankaragucu sit 3rd in the league.

Its all good beating teams at the bottom and middle of the table who are really poor footballing sides, but any decent team Ankaragucu have came up against with the likes of Alanyaspor, Diyarbakir, Nazilli, Altinordu, Tepecikspor they have failed to beat. Is its a managerial problem ? Im not so sure, the players should be good enough to win these games no matter who the manager is.

The one thing i will say about Fuat Aykuz, is that yet again he failed to play Levent Kale and Umut Nayir together. They formed a formidable partnership in the first half of the season, but Fuat has broken that partnership up and instead is playing his own players. For me this is one of the problems for Ankaragucu. Teams done like playing 2 up front in modern football, but Levent works so hard and tracks back and does all the running, while Umut is the target man and it works.

Both teams went in at half time 0-0. They both had 1 really good chance each but Ramazan in the Altinordu goal made a fantastic save and at the other end Bayram made a good save from the Altinordu midfielder.

Altinordu took the lead on the 52nd minute through danger man Gokhan Karadeniz, a good cross into the box which the Ankaragucu defence failed to deal with saw Gokhan send the ball into the net. I said in my match preview that Gokhan was the man to watch, and at this level when you give the top scorer in the league that much space you will be punished.

Ankaragucu equalised through Emre Tasdemir but that was after they were reduced to 10 men with Mehmet Erdem red carded. Five minutes later the other man i noted as a danger Halil Tuna put Altinordu back in front.

It looked like both teams would share the points when Selim Teber equalised with 2 minutes remaining, but yet again the Ankaragucu defence couldn't hold on as that man Gokhan Karadeniz scored in injury time to give Altinordu a 3-2 win.

Disappointment all around for Ankaragucu, and they will now need to use the rest of the season to work on their weaknesses and make sure they are ready for the playoffs. Another season in Lig 2 would be unacceptable.

Gencler smashed up

You know those posts where I whinge and whine about how we were the better team but still managed to lose? This is not one of them.

Fenerbahce 2 - 0 Genclerbirligi

Millions of Gencler fans descended upon the Oz Kanka household on Saturday night... well, Spine showed up. Lig TV have a promotion at the moment and are showing one game for free each week. This is of course great for those of us who can remember the good ol' days of the 1980s when watching football was a human right! It was on free-to-air TV! And... er... we got possibly one match a week.

Beers and home-made pizza and strange sounds from the telly. The Fener fans were singing but it was at a much higher pitch than usual as only women and children and footballers and Emre Belozoglu were allowed into the stadium.

I have mixed thoughts about the banning of men at stadiums thing. This has nothing to do with male human rights; we have been horrible for millenia. It is to do with the whole "this is a punishment" thing. Is it? Fenerbahce still got a crowd. They still get home support. I think it is great for so many people to get to do something they would normally never get the chance to do. ie go and experience a live football match, it's just that ... is this really a punishment?    

Anyway the crowd certainly got what they wanted as Fenerbahce played some brilliant football. we only really had one chance all match when Ugur Ciftci got the ball on the left-wing. No faffing about or anything he smashed a high cross in to Jimmy who either failed to get on top of it properly or he tried to lob the wonderfully hirsute Volkan. It went out. It was one hell of a cross though and was the only really positive attack we had.

Fenerbahce just blew us apart. They were attacking at will. Our defenders were brave, putting in plenty of last man tackles. Ramazan was looking nice but had to be taken off with a hand injury.

It was a scary passage of play. The ball went into the box, Ramazan rushed forward to take it but a Fener player had the ball sort of knocked out of his hands and ball went into the back of the net. The screaming from the stadium was ear bursting, but the referee correctly called the foul. Unfortunately, Ramazan had injured his hand and had to be replaced by our third-choice keeper Ferhat.

Two questions.

Where was our second-choice keeper, Johan Dahlin? We only bought him a couple of months ago?

Ramazan had injured his hand. So why the hell did he get stretchered off. Be a man and walk off!

0-0 at half-time and Genclerbirligi were very lucky to still be in it.

Second-half and again, it was all Fener. But they just couldn't find the net. Ferhat in goal was great, as were our defenders.

And then...    

Referee blows up and points to the spot. "No!!!!!!!!!" we cried. "That was never a handball!" Ante Kulusic even pulled down his shirt to show where on the shoulder the ball hit. "That's a disgr...." we started to say until we saw the replay and saw that it was one of the more obvious handballs ever.  
       
Emre scored.

A few minutes later and again Cuneyt Cakir pointed to the spot. "No!!!!!!!!" we cried. "That was a dive you moron." Replays proved it was indeed a dive. In fact a bloody obvious dive and in my opinion.

Emre scored again.

Gosso had a pretty average night I thought but he had all of us wincing when he planted a foot squarely into the downstairs equipment area of Dirk Kuyt. "No!!!!!!!!" we didn't cry, because Cakir didn't pull out a card. Looking at the replays, Mrs. Kuyt reacted with complete shock and horror. It was pretty shocking and I think Gosso is very lucky not to have been shown a straight red.

A few minutes later and this tweet popped up.









He may well be right.

Ankaragucu vs Altinordu match preview !

Ankaragucu travel to Izmir for the biggest game of the season on Monday as they take on leaders Altinordu. Three points separate the two sides and a win for Altinordu would make it difficult for Ankaragucu as they chase the championship. A last minute winner from Levent Kale was enough to give Ankaragucu the 3 points in a 2-1 win the last time they met in Ankara.

Altinordu won comfortably 3-1 at Altay on Thursday in what was a horror showing by the Altay Goalkeeper, you could be forgiven for thinking he let 2 of the goals in. Ankaragucu however are a step up from Altay and have enough in their locker to go and win at Altinordu. There are injury worries over Levent Kale and Serhat Gulpinar which is a blow to Ankaragucu.

One player who has been catching the headlines in league 2 this season with his performances is Gokhan Karadeniz. The 23 year old has scored 18 goals and is the leagues top scorer. He was rewarded with a call up to the Turkey A2 national team. Both Bursaspor and Kayserispor are interested in signing him and he will be the man Ankaragucu need to watch. Halil Ibrahim Tuna is another player to watch out for.

It was back to winning ways for Ankaragucu with a solid 3-0 win over Polatli midweek. Another clean sheet and some clinical finishing gave Ankaragucu the 3 points. Young Emre Tasdemir goes from strength to strength and will be the Key player for the side. The experience of the likes of Selim Teber, Erhan Guven, Volkan Yilmaz and Bayram will be vital as the pressure of winning such a big game needs experienced and calm heads.

The game will take place at 1330 on Monday and yet again Ankaragucu take a fantastic travelling support. Around 750 Ankaragucu fans will make the trip and for a Monday afternoon kick off that is quite a showing.

Come on Ankaragucu lets show us you mean business !!!!