ANKARAGUCU SHOW HOW NOT TO SCORE GOALS !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Ankaragucu conjured up a performance yesterday on how to NOT score goals and in the final analysis were lucky to win a point.   Having the lion’s share of play is no guarantee of victory !!!

ANKARAGUCU    1    Tepecikspor    1

Team – Ihsan, Gurkan, Salih, Mehmet Tasci, Orhan, Adem, Omer, Harun, Sertan, Emrah and Mehmet Yildiz.

The kankas met-up at the Stadium – Maniac Kanka Harun, Horse Kanka Osman, Cider Kanka John, Apple Kanka Erman, Posh Kanka Ahmet, Essex Boy Kanka Matt and Scouse Kanka Marcus.

Ankaragucu went straight into attack from the whistle and had 5 goal attempts in the first 20 minutes.   Emrah, Sertan, Mehmet Yilmaz and Omer all had efforts saved, wide and blocked, and Tepecik only had one effort in the first half which was from a headed attempt.  

However, Ankaragucu should have gone ahead in the 36^th minute when a free kick was curled around the wall, but the ball hit the post and was cleared to safety.

My half time analysis was ............. ‘it’s all well and good to have 70% possession, but not putting the round leather thingie between the sticks is classed as failure’.    Also, Ankaragucu have gone back to their old habit of hoofing the ball out of defence in panic mode and therefore bypassing the midfield.   Too often high balls were lofted up to Mehmet Yilmaz who was well policed by the Tepecik defenders.

This is how it looks and feels to be frustrated !!!!

Into the 2^nd half and with only 5 minutes gone Ankaragucu was embaarrassed by some nice footie from Tepecik who attacked in a fluid move down the left.   The cross came in and Ihsan and Mehmet Tasci got in each other’s way and the ball went in off Mehmet.   The blame has to lie with Ihsan – it’s HIS penalty area to make the call !!

Ankaragucu went back on the attack and dominated the match again and Mehmet Yilmaz should have equalised on the 55^th minute.   He received the crossed ball near the penalty spot where he managed to escape from his marker, brought the ball under control, and fired over with the goal at his mercy.

One minute later and Ankaragucu found the equaliser and they have to thank the referee and linesman for spotting a Tepecik handball in the area.   Sertan took responsibility and fired in a textbook penalty with the goalkeeper helpless.

One minute later Emrah and the ineffective Harun were replaced by Mustafa and Timur.

It was still all Ankaragucu searching for the winner but their finishing was woeful.

Timur, Mehmet Yilmaz and Adem all had reasonable chances but their shots were either wide or weak.

The match fizzled out and the crowd took their frustrations out on the referee rather than the feeble attempts to score by the Ankaragucu strikers.

There will have to be a vast improvement in the weeks ahead if Ankaragucu is to retain 2^nd spot in the League or even overhaul top team Manisa.

Back we went to The Red Lion Club to see Scotland and Ireland do the biz in their World Cup funny shaped ball games.

Next weekend Ankaragucu will be at home again to Aydinspor, but ........... surprise ........... surprise .............. another classic decision by the TFF to schedule the match for effin Friday at 3pm when most of us are at work, thereby denying us the right to support our team and the Club to make some dosh through the turnstiles !

Well done TFF.    You are as much use as trying to piss into the wind !!!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

I Saw Nuffink!

As the title says.

Akhishar 1 - 0 Genclerbirligi

Ankaragucu vs Tepecikspor match preview!

Ankaragucu return to league action on Sunday after the embarrassing midweek defeat against Payasspor in the Turkish Cup. As discussed on the Round Ball in Ankara Facebook page, the fact that we are out of the cup isn't an issue as it gives us the opportunity to concentrate on the League and promotion. However the manner of the defeat against a team sitting bottom of Lig 3 with 0 points and who lost 5-1 at the weekend is very disappointing.

The players who took to the field on Tuesday can expect a place on the bench or to be left out of the squad altogether. Jim mentioned that Hasan Ayaroglu was booed throughout the game, i would imagine that is more to do with him signing for our rivals Eskisehirspor than his performance, but this was an opportunity for him to fight his way into the starting line up which he has failed to do.

The opponents this weekend are Tepecikspor who after a poor start to the season, have now gathered some momentum with a fantastic 2-1 win over Samsunspor in the cup midweek, and also defeating Tarsus last weekend. They will have former Ankaragucu midfielder Veli Torun in their squad and will be coming to the Capital looking to take the 3 points back home to Istanbul.

Ankaragucu won 2-1 the last time the two sides met thanks to a last minute goal from Emir Ozbey. The team is a lot stronger since that match and the team need to take 3 points from this game especially with the points deduction still hanging over the club. Ferhat Odobasi who hasn't conceded a goal in over 900 minutes will be back in goal and looking to make it 10 clean sheets in a row since he signed for the club.

It looks likely the team will line up with the same starting 11 as last week. Mehmet Yildiz and Emrah Bozkurt will return to the attack and look to open their accounts for the season after Timur Kosovali and Teoman Erkan disappointed midweek.

Im predicting a narrow 1-0 win for Ankaragucu, the only thing that matters just now is the 3 points and keeping up the pressure on Manisaspor and the other teams at the top.

ANKARAGUCU BOW OUT OF THE CUP WITH BARELY A WHIMPER !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

This is a photo from yester-year when Ankaragucu made us proud to wear the colours.   Unfortunately, forgetful Eski Kanka left his cep telephone at home today in his rush to get to the Stadium, so I can’t show you a photo of my reaction to today’s performance.

OK, it’s not as if Ankaragucu had aspirations towards the Cup this season, but to lose so comprehensively to a 3^rd League Club is totally unacceptable.

True enough, it was a half-strength Ankaragucu, but surely the ‘strength in depth’ of the squad should have been sufficient to see off a 3^rd League Team ??!!

ANKARAGUCU   0      Payasspor   2

Team – Forgot the goalkeeper’s name, Goksu, Murat, Sedat (captain), Onur, Muhammed, Hasan Ayaroglu, Harun, Timur, Teoman and Enes.

Omer replaced Teoman at half time.

I was the ‘Lone Ranger’ and entered the Stadium 15 minutes before KO to an eerie silence which was not surprising given that it was a midweek KO at 3pm.   There was about 400 in Gecikondu, 300 in Maraton, a sparce crowd in Kapali and ............ zero in the away end !

The first half was a total nonentity which had me bored out of my skull !    The first action of any note was when Gecikondu sang the Boooorrrsssaaaaspor song on 16 minutes !!

Then in the 18^th minute Timur was brought down just outside the penalty box but the free kick went out for a corner off the wall.

3 minutes later, Harun tried his luck but he might have scored 3 points at Murrayfield !

2 more free kicks just outside the box in the 28^th and 32^nd minutes.   The first was over and out, and the 2^nd off the wall and cleared.  

Then, 5 minutes before half time, Onur dribbled the ball into the penalty box and scored another 3 points !

A one word analysis for the 1^st half ............... pathetic !!    Actually, Payas probably couldn’t believe their luck going in all square with only one attempt on goal from a corner which was saved by the Ankaragucu goalkeeper.

To cheer me up at half time, I had a visitation from Maraton guys – Emrah and Oguz (a friend of Posh Kanka Ahmet !).

Into the 2^nd half and I think Payas was scenting blood and perhaps a replay in Adana ?!

Another 3 points in the 48^th minute for Ankaragucu when a free kick was sent to only God knows where !    Then, 4 minutes later a golden opportunity when the ball was sent to the unmarked Timur in the box, but he shot tamely at the goalkeeper.

Timur had another chance on the 60^th minute mark but, although his header beat the goalkeeper, it flew over the bar.

3 minutes later there was a blatant hand-ball just outside the box which gave Hasan the chance to score, but his effort was past the post.

Ankaragucu’s frustration was plain to see and their passing was atrocious, eg, an Ankaragucu free kick was passed direct to a Payas player all of 5 metres away !

Halfway through the 2^nd half and Payas started to believe that this was their day.

On the 66^th minute they took a quick free kick and their striker was clean through, but the Ankaragucu goalkeeper did well to dive at his feet as he was about to shoot and saved well.

Payas had another opportunity on the 73^rd minute with a 2 on 1 attack, but the shot was deflected for a corner.

Ankaragucu was now living dangerously and paid the price of their inability to deal with the Payas nippy forwards in the 77^th minute when a shot from outside the box on the left was fired into the right corner.   An excellent goal and there could be no complaints either !

3 minutes later with Ankaragucu trying to press forward, the Payas forwards broke away and an astute pass was crossed for the unmarked striker to go 1 on 1 with the goalkeeper.   He calmly rounded him and slotted in for a classic goal.

5 minutes to go and I have to say that Ankaragucu’s attempts to get back into the match were pitiful and at times comical.

There was still time for Hasan to attempt a shot, but it was poor and well saved.   Then Omer tried a shot but all he won was another 3 points !

So, well done Payas – they fully deserved their win and I hope they have a kind draw against a PTT League team in the next round.

As for Ankaragucu, it is time for us to be less euphoric and optimistic.   This was totally unacceptable !

Hasan was subjected to booing for most of the 2^nd half, but he’s not the only one who should have been singled out for that treatment.

Also, I suggest that Murat contacts an Optician ASAP to check his colour perception level.   Failing that, to contact an hypnotist to have him brain-washed to believe that Ankaragucu play in yellow !!!

Teoman was up to his usual tricks again in the 1^st half – running around like a headless chicken and not a goal attempt in sight !

Next up is the home league match against Tepecik on Sunday.   KO probably 3 or 3.30pm.   Details later.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Shock: Referee has shocker: Gencler grab a point at home to Besiktas

I'm not about to say we were robbed, Besiktas were clearly the better team... but there was some dodgy stuff happening out there last night.

Genclerbirligi 1 - 1 Besiktas

Just Spine and me down at the Beer Bus before kick-off (a sentence I have a feeling I will using a lot of this season. Thanks Passolig). A lovely warm Monday night right before the bayram had the pubs in Kizilay chocka-block. Beers and kofte and off to the stadium.

In years gone by a Gencler-Besiktas match would mean having to get to the stadium a bit early but in today's Passolig-era the queue at the gates was about five people long. Even then the ushers were saying that the other gate had no-one waiting.

So managed to get in with plenty of time to spare and saw that the famous Middle East journalist (copyright Round ball in Ankara) Patrick Keddie had found his way to the top of Section C.

Crowd-wise I'd say we had a couple of thousand, maybe three... while Besiktas had four to five thousand. The Besiktas turnout was impressive. They filled the entire Saatli away section and sang wholeheartedly for the full match. I'm guessing that the reason there were so many is because last season Besiktas played a lot of their home games just outside of Ankara, in Yenikent, and so all these fans would have already owned Passolig cards.

Post-match beers.

Onto the match itself and ... oh shit. Besiktas came out flying and within five minutes I had decided that we were going to lose 5-0. Thing was though, they completely dominated but yet weren't getting any shots on goal. Still it was scary as hell and then Gencler, playing with three up front (Djalma, Stancu and El Kabir) started sending balls through. Counterattacking opportunities were taken and it was us who were getting all the shots on goal. Then in the 23rd minute Irfan Kahveci took a short corner, Ahmet Oguz sent in a cross that was headed for El Kabir's head but instead found our old friend Tosic who expertly sent it into the back of the net. Unfortunately for Tosic  he no longer plays for us and it was counted as an own goal.

The rest of the half was good stuff and had it all ended then I would have been a happy man.

Second half though... bllluuurghhh.

📢 Aydınus'un kırmızı kart göstermesi için ne olması gerekiyor? http://t.co/pvD07qCyrt pic.twitter.com/fljGd7eGhl

— Ankara'da Spor (@ANKARADASPOR) September 21, 2015

Ankara'da Spor asks "What more does it take for Aydınus to show a red card?"

     
Gencler seemed to dropped a couple of gears and Besiktas finally got some shots off. Some desperate defending saved us time and again and Hopf pulled off some nice saves. It was pretty much inevitable that Besiktas would score and eventually they did. There was some talk afterwards that their goal was offside. I think we are talking centimetres here and in any case with the sort of football Besiktas were playing... I can't complain.  

The second half also saw the referee pretty much lose control of the match. There was some serious rough play out there and the ref just couldn't stop it. All of the 50/50 decisions were going Besiktas' way. There was at least one direct red that wasn't given and we had a bizarre yellow given to Hopf for time wasting. The thing with the last one was that Besiktas were making a replacement at the time. Weird.

There was some handbags after the match between the Besiktas keeper and Skullason (I think)... but nothing will come of it.

Match over and off to Eski Yeni for a beer to celebrate the point.    

EDIT: I forgot to add that it was great to see Ante Kulusic back in defence. Welcome back to the club.        

Ankaragucu vs Payasspor match preview!

There is no such thing as an easy game in football these days. You just have to look at the Faroe Islands who were the laughing stock of football but beat Greece last month, or even Iceland who have qualified for the Euros.

Ankaragucu host Lig 3 side Payasspor on Tuesday afternoon at the 19 Mayis Stadium and it should be a match that see Ankaragucu progress to the next round. Payasspor sit bottom of Lig 3 with 4 defeats from 4 games. This weekend they were thumped 5-1 at home against Ayvalikgucu.

The match will also give coach Aykan Atik the opportunity to play some of the fringe players such as Hasan Ayaroglu, Enes Kubat, Sedat Bayrak and Timur Kosovali. The players will want to keep the momentum going after a good 1-0 win at Keciorengucu yesterday thanks to a late goal from Omer Bozan.

The priority for Ankaragucu this season will be the league, but a good cup run can keep the confidence levels high and also bring in needed money. Unfortunately the Turkish FA have again made the kick off time a midweek afternoon which will mean the stadium will likely be half empty.

Jim will be there, so if anyone else would like to join him get in touch and he can give you all the details.

ANKARAGUCU – ENJOYING AN ‘AWAY DAY’ IN ANKARA IN THE SUMMER SUNSHINE !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

The kankas travelled to their first ‘away match’ of the season – all the way to the compact little stadium in Kecioren.   It has a capacity of 5,000 and it was almost a full house yesterday with about 90% of the supporters from the Ankaragucu tribunes.   The only downside was the Astroturf which affected the ball control of the Ankaragucu players who were obviously unaccustomed to playing on this artificial surface.

Team - Ferhat, Orhan, Adem, Gurkan, Mehmet, Harun, Salih, Omer, Sertan, Emrah, Mehmet Yildiz

Subs - Turgut, Timur, Enes, Hasan, Murat, Sedat, Muhammed

Keciorengucu    0                  ANKARAGUCU    1

The kankas met-up in Kizilay and made the ‘arduous’ journey to Kecioren in time for the KO.   Maniac Kanka Harun, Cider Kanka John, Scouse Kanka Marcus, Ballet Dancing Kanka Emre, plus friends of Harun’s, Osman and Ersel.    We also had a guest from the UK, the famous Middle East journalist, Patrick Keddie, who is writing a book on the subject of football in the Middle East and is currently focusing on Turkish football.

The match got underway, but it took until the 15^th minute before any of the goalkeepers were threatened.   An Ankaragucu corner on the right was sent in to the back post but the headed attempt was sent just past the post.

One minute later and it was time to sing ..... Olay Olay Bursaspor Bursaspor !!!

Kecioren almost went ahead in the 20^th minute when an attacker was put clean through, and with only Ferhat in goal to beat, he stabbed the ball too far in front of him and gave Ferhat the opportunity to bravely dive at his feet to save.   The referee gave a free kick for dangerous play after Ferhat was treated for an injury.

2 minutes later we were all up on our feet when the referee awarded Ankaragucu a penalty for handball.   Mehmet took the responsibility and delivered a poor shot to the left which the goalkeeper saved easily.

This costly miss kick-started Kecioren’s endeavors and they took control of the match and should have put the match beyond Ankaragucu.

They had 4 clear cut chances before the half time whistle, but Ankaragucu had Ferhat and his defenders to thank for keeping them at bay.

The Ankaragucu players at this stage were clearly rattled and were losing most of the 50/50 balls as Kecioren kept the pressure on, so the half time whistle was welcomed by us all, and obviously by the Ankaragucu players.

So, my thoughts at half time were ................   the players are probably receiving a roasting from the Coach and no doubt rueing the penalty miss as they drink their half time Caykur Rize cay !!!!

Ankaragucu came out for the 2^nd half and were looking more purposeful as they probed for the break through.   However, they were guilty of dilly-dallying in the final quarter in the same way as Karagumruk were last week !

Kecioren were tackling like tigers and also living dangerously as they conceded 4 free kicks just outside the penalty box as Ankaragucu pressed forward.

In the 55^th minute a goalboud free kick was well save by Ferhat.

In the 62^nd and 70^th minute the free kicks were sent just over the bar.

In the 75^th minute the free kick was sent in for the in-rushing Timur, but he missed the ball when all he needed to have done is touch it in.

Ankaragucu was in control of the match now and Kecioren had their backs against the wall.   Then with only 3 minutes of the match remaining, the break through came.

Some neat passing approaching the penalty box and the ball was sent to the unmarked Omer on the left.   He controlled the ball and fired-in an angled shot to the right corner with the goalkeeper helpless.

Lie lie lie lie lie lie ...... Aaaankaaaarrrrraaaaagoooojoo ....... and high fives !!

Kecioren saw red a minute later as one of their players received his marching orders.   Perhaps for some unwelcome utterances to the referee ?!

Kecioren pressed forward in time added on, but the dfence held firm to maintain their 10^th consecutive clean sheet.

Celebrations were marred a little at the final whistle when some of the Kecioren players started a fight with the Ankaragucu players.   However, it was brought under control by the ‘hundreds’ of officials from both Clubs without Police interferance !

Back to The Red Lion Club for celebration drinkies with our Genclerbirligi Kankas and an opportunity for Patrick to quiz the kankas on their thoughts of footie in Turkey.   Patrick’s book will reveal all when it is released next year !

Next up is the Turkish Cup match on Tuesday afternoon KO 3pm in the 19 Mayis Stadium, and a home league match against Tepecik next Sunday.

Details here and by email later.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

THE TURKISH CUP

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

It's Turkish Cup time again and we are into the 2nd Round.    8 Ankara teams are involved next week, but we are only interested in ONE of them !!!

As Nadeem said in the previous post, Ankaragucu has been drawn against 3rd League Payasspor of Adana and the match will be a home match next Tuesday KO 3pm.

As it's a Bayram Holiday, and I'm in Ankara, I will be going, so you can expect a report on the match on Tuesday night.

I'll be sending out an email about it tonight to see if anyone else can come, so check your in-boxes tonight.

A good cup run will give the Coach a chance to put his fringe players out and see what they can do.

More details later.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ankaragucu vs Keciorengucu match preview!

A couple of years ago no one could have imagined Ankaragucu playing against Keciorengucu in a league match. Unfortunately for Ankaragucu, they have fallen down the leagues where as Kecioren have risen from the amateur leagues. This match which is an Ankara derby will be played on Saturday afternoon with up to 4,000 Ankaragucu fans expected to make the trip.

Just before we discuss the weekends match, Ankaragucu were drawn at home against Payas next Tuesday in the Turkish Cup and yet again the Turkish FA decide to play the match during the day when everyone is at work.

The club have also paid Darius Vassell his wages which have been owed to him for the last 5 years meaning Fifa have closed the file off. I spoke to Darius last night and he is delighted to have closure and said he would love to come back and help the club.

So Ankaragucu and Keciorengucu go into the weekends match both on 4 points from their first two games. Ankaragucu won 2-0 at home to Fatih Karagumruk at the weekend thanks to goals from Orhan Evci and Sertan Vardar. By all reports it was an impressive Ankaragucu performance with the likes of Orhan, Salih and Sertan all particularly impressive.

Its another clean sheet for Ankaragucu and the club will look to build on that with another 3 points at the weekend. Keciorengucu also beat Fatih Karagumruk in the opening week 3-1 away from home. Its going to be a tough game for Ankaragucu but they have enough quality and experience in the squad now to go there and win.

When you have players this season such as Hasan Ayaroglu, Enes Kubat and Timur Kosovali on the bench, it shows the quality the team have at their disposal. Lets hope its more celebrations this week to keep that feel good factor at the club which has been missing for the last few years.

ANKARAGUCU AND THE GALLANT 10 MEN !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Ankaragucu maintained their unbeaten start to the season last night in Ankara with a hard fought win against Karagumruk.

ANKARAGUCU   2                  Karagumruk   0

Team  - Ferhat, Orhan, Sedat, Gurkan, Mehmet, Harun, Salih, Omer, Mustafa, Emrah, Yildiz

Subs - Turgut, Murat, Sertan, Hasan, Muhammed, Enes, Timur

Three new kankas joined the gorup – Ballet Dancing Kanka Emre, Essex Boy Kanka Matt and Jaggy Kanka Alan.   Into the Stadium we assembled with regulars Maniac Kanka Harun, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Keleci Kanka Tansu, Posh Kanka Ahmet Arif and Apple Kanka Erman.

An excellent attendance as you would expect from the first home match of the season with Gecikondu full, Maraton almost full, Kapali half full and the away end with all of 30.

Lots of new faces wearing the Sari/Lacivert, but it was a confident start with a quote from Damon 10 minutes into the match .......... ‘they are playing less impulsively and more controlled footie’.   Agreed, and for the most part of the match they endeavoured to do this which is a big improvement from the past 2 season !    Also, it has to be said that Salih’s presence in midfield was crucial during the match.

4 minutes later, only 14 minutes into the match, and Ankaragucu was down to 10 men !    Mustafa made a high challenge on a Karagumruk defender and caught him in the head with his boot.   The referee decided red, however, I have to say that yellow was the correct decision.   Mustafa was going for the ball and not the man, and in hindsight should have headed the ball instead of raising his boot so high.    Unlucky decisions happen !

Ankaragucu could have folded at this point, but they kept their shape and continued to attack when possible.   It was end to end with Ankaragucu looking the more likely to score with Karagumruk’s attacks breaking down in the final quarter with some excellent Ankaragucu defending being a contributory factor.

Approaching half time with 36 minutes gone on the clock and a super goal from Ankaragucu.   A good fast move down the right with a cute flick to the overlapping attacker, almost to the goal line, the classic cut-back, and there was Orhan well positioned to slot in.

So, going in at half time one up was a bonus for the 10 men !

Into the 2^nd half and 10 man Ankaragucu continued to look the better team.   Midfield General, Salih, was controlling the pace of the match and Mehmet Yilmaz was running his socks off up front and causing all sorts of problems for their defenders.

Halfway through the 2^nd half and I was thinking that the word from the Coach was ............... ‘defend what we have’ !    However, perhaps I guess I was wrong when the match exploded into life again on the 67^th minute.

Another great goal with a sweeping passing move from left to right with about 6 passes pulling Karagumruk’s defenders all over the place.   The cross came in and Sertan (who had just come on as a substitute) was on hand to head in to send us all into wild celebration.

Then came another quote from Damon ............. ‘nobody can doubt the tenacity of the 10 men’.    Absolutely spot on !

15 minutes to go and last season’s star player, Hasan, joined the action to beef-up the midfield.

Mehmet Yilmaz was still hunting for a 3^rd goal and had 2 good efforts thwarted when his half-volley went just past and another when a last minute tackle prevented his shot on goal.

Man of the Match, Salih, went off injured and we must hope that it’s not serious.   Also, a pat on the back to the other 9 players for their performance which bodes well for the remainder of the season.

5 minutes to go and time to perform the Mexican Wave around the Stadium.    Even the away supporters joined in !!!

Well played the Gallant Ten !

Next weekend is an ‘away match’ in Ankara when we will go to Kecioren.   Watch this space and emails for KO time and meeting details.

Back to The Chopin Bar to celebrate a truly memorable victory, and as Alan said ........... ‘it’s the first time he has witnessed 10 men win 2-0’.    Me too !!!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

And you reckon Fifa 16's graphics are looking good

Thanks to a terrible refereeing decision Gencler were robbed. Morally, it was a draw.

Bursaspor 3 - 2 Genclerbirligi

Tufan is a gate guard at the British Embassy. He was there at the Red Lion to watch yesterday's match. For those who never realised, it was very clear that he was a Gencler supporter when we asked him what his predicition for the match was. "sıfır, sıfır" was his reply.

Decent beers, summer sun and footy on the big screen at the club and all was good. The match was Mehmet Ozdelik's first in charge and was also the first match was Djalma.

Bursa looked dangerous at first, our defence is still woeful, but they couldn't get any shots on. Our midfield was looking good with some absolute brilliant passing and some long balls that were delivered to players actually running into excellent positions. Unfortunately almost none of the ecellent build-up work resulted in anything to trouble the keeper.

Still, I thought we were on top. New bou Djalma was playing some really nice stuff and then...

Bu HAKEM bu penaltıyı veriyorsa o düdüğü kapısının arkasına asmalı @fckarakizil @Alkaralar @ODTULUGENCLERR https://t.co/1I7SlNqzeE

— Batuhan Korkmaz (@Batuhan_K0RKMAZ) September 12, 2015

Yep, penalty decision given, taken and first half over.

 It was all a bit of a haze in the second half, partly out of frustration and partly because the St. Austell beers. Again we were doing some nice stuff but nothing too penetrating. Then Bursa started to play some nice football and our defenders melted away. Bursa's second goal was a mixture of good attack, bad defence and ended with our keeper Hopf letting the ball slip through his hands. Oh dear. On Twitter a few Gencler fans were remarking that maybe Stuart Baxter and his son were right. Baxter had been sacked after two matches for not preferring Ferhat in goal to Hopf.

 Our boys continued trying though and in the 57th we got one back. Irfan Kahveci sent a flat pass across goal. I'm not sure if Djuma got to it but the man on him did and he all he could do was to push it over the line. Back in.

Bursa came back again though and, again some woeful defending allowed one of their players to take an angled shot. It bounced off the post, into Hopf's back and then into the goal. Arrgggghhhhh

We kept playing on and El Kabir scored right at the death but it was all to no avail. Next week we have Besiktas at home. Not the easiest of tasks.

Stick to the football

This blog has always had a policy of never mixing sports and politics. This is a football blog in which everything is about the round ball. It is about the skills, the moves, the goals, all the things that make football great.

Errrrrr. 

Actually, this blog is more about the politics than it is about the football. 

It is about the politics of the clubs we support - just take a look at all of the great reports by Nadeem on the Ankaragucu administration. 

It is about reporting on the politics of the stands - just take a look at practically any Genclerbirligi report.

It is about the politics of football in general - just look at our reports on Passolig or Digiturk or whatever...

But all that football politics, stuff which I'm truly engaged in and am prepared to argue about like hell... it all pales into insignificance when we see what is happening today in Turkey. 

All of you reading this know what is happening at the moment. You all know just how scary the situation is. I just want to share one photo (click on it for a larger version) and one link to our report from December last year when Genclerbirligi played away to Cizrespor. 

As it should be

Tonight as I write this the 120,000 people of Cizre are suffering their seventh day of being under seige. I guess the only thing I can say is "gecmis olsun". Pathetic, isn't it.

For those who would like a report on the situation in Cizre check out the latest BBC report 

According to this Vice news report the siege may be over

I truly, truly hope so.

   

Ankaragucu 0-0 Tokatspor match report!

Ankaragucu started the season with a 0-0 draw at Tokatspor and maintain the remarkable record of not conceding a goal in 9 games. Its difficult at this stage of the season to judge how good or how bad yesterdays result is as we don't know much about the other teams in the league.

Team - Ferhat, Orhan, Adem, Gurkan, Mehmet Tasci, Salih, Muhammed, Mustafa, Omer, Emrah, Yildiz

Subs - Turgut, Onur, Murat, Hasan, Sertan, Timur, Enes

As you can see from the squad, a lot of new faces were involved yesterday and its going to take 5-6 games for them to settle in and get to know each other.

Hasan and Timur who will be big players for the club are both looking for match fitness and thats the reason they started on the bench.

There was trouble before the game as Tokatspor and Ankaragucu fans fought with two people arrested.

Next Sunday sees the clubs first home game of the season against newly promoted Fatih Karagumruk, we will be hoping for a full stadium and the clubs first win of the season.

Ankaragucu vs Tokatspor match preview!

The long await is nearly over as Ankaragucu approach the season opener against Tokatspor on Sunday afternoon. With a whole new squad of players it will be interesting to see who coach Aykan Atik goes with for the teams first game of the season.

With a wealth of experience in the squad now their can be no excuse for Ankaragucu being one of the favourites for the coming season. It will however require some patience as the team has only had a couple of days together and in football it takes a while for players to gel and get to know each others game.

Tokatspor are a bit of an unknown side but Ankaragucu just need to concentrate on their own game and believe in their qualities and ability. Players such as Mehmet Yildiz, Timur Kosovali, Emrah Bozkurt and Mehmet Ozkurt will add goals to the forward line which was badly lacking last season.

The team can also call on the services of Hasan Ayaroglu who despite signing for Eskisehirspor has been loaned back to Ankaragucu for the season. Orhan Evci will be hoping he keeps his place in the first team after an impressive season last year, but the arrival of Goksu Alhas for the right back position could see Orhan play in midfield again.

Ankaragucu will take 275 fans to the match in Tokat and will be again the driving force behind the teams performance. Despite the clubs poor season ticket sales this season, its expected that their will be big crowds at the 19 Mayis stadium this season, especially if the team get that winning start on Sunday.

Ankaragucu complete 2 more signings!

A busy week for the club came to an end today as Ankaragucu completed the signings of Sedat Bayrak and Timur Kosovali ahead of the transfer deadline. Going back 4 weeks ago i don't think any Ankaragucu fan could have imagined us signing 13 new players and being considered as title contenders. For that we have to thank President Mehmet Yiginer for all his hard work and efforts. He may be a close friend of Melih Gokcek, but he has stepped up to the table and delivered on the promised he made.

Unfortunately the support from the fans to date has been very disappointing in terms of season ticket sales. Only 800 have been sold to date, which is nothing short of embarrassing for a club from the capital city of 4 million people. No one can question our fans loyalty vocally and when you look back to the Dirilis campaign 2 years ago we were averaging crowds of over 15,000. You can't keep demanding for the management team to support the club while not backing your team financially yourself unless you have financial issues of course.

Anyway back to todays signings, Sedat Bayrak is a 34 year old central defender who has signed from Genclegrbirligi. He previously played over 50 games for Ankaragucu between 2005-2007. Timur Kosovali is a much travelled striker who is 24 years old and has an excellent goalscoring record for Bandirmaspor and Goztepe at lower league level. He has singed from Sanliurfaspor after failing to break into their first team.

As you can see above, both players showed off the clubs new strips today which can be purchased at the Tandogan store.

The club has now completed all its transfer business which you can view here giving you all the information on who has signed for the club and also left over the summer. The link also gives you the Ankaragucu squad information.

Now its up to the players to go and win promotion!