This time the goals went in

Cold, cold, cold in the capital. So what does the TFF do. They put on a match on a Monday night. No wonder almost no-one showed up.

Genclerbirligi 3 - 1 Bursaspor

I was one of those who decided not to go to the stadium and instead enjoyed the match at an only half-full Alerta Pub.

But what a match it was. We went ahead after just a couple of minutes when Aydin Karabulut crossed it in. Vedat Muriqi got to it and the ball was parried off the line from where Serdar had little to do but punch it in.

Bursa then dominated for ages and equalised after the Aussie Aziz Behich crossed in a nice ball...

Then... Arrrggggjhhhhhh

Vedat buggered up what should have been a standard goal and then he did even worse when he was free one-on-one with the keeper and couldn't dribble past him. Head in hands stuff. Someone tweeted that in the last two weeks our attackers are making some very mediocre keepers look positively brilliant.

Still, second half and finally we got the ball into the back. The first was from Serdar, no doubt that he was man of the match, and then a little later Ugur Ciftci got the final one.

Another entertaining match from Gencler. And all done without Irfan Can Kahveci who last week signed for Basaksehirspor.

The rumours this week surround Ahmet Celik. Irfan leaving is a blow to the fans (if not to the club's accounts) but if Ahmet Celik goes... that defence is going to look mighty leaky.

GENÇLERBİRLİĞİ VARSA PAZARTESİ SENDROMU YOKTUR! pic.twitter.com/xfIY95Glen

— ODTÜLÜ GENÇLER (@ODTULUGENCLERR) December 26, 2016

How the hell didn't we score?

Fenerbahce 3 - 0 Genclerbirligi

BI John, Little Oz and me down at a packed Alerta Pub on a chilly (and chilling) Sunday night.

Really short this one. The scoreline does not reflect what happened in this match. Genclerbirligi completely dominated. We attacked and attacked and attacked but somehow or other the ball just wouldn't go into the net. Some of it was due to the heroics of the Fenerbahce keeper, some just down to bad luck, the odd head or post in the way.

This was a match that Gencler could have won three or four - nil. But as John said at the time, Fener are the sort of team that will come back at you. And they did.

Their first goal came after we had laid siege to their goal for what seemed like ages. Extremely disappointing but we continued to attack... only to be denied time and again.

Then as the match started to die out Fener showed their true class and put us to the sword.

All up... The most exciting match I've watched all season.

Ankaragucu share the points in Hatay!

Ankaragucu finish the first half of the season top of the league thanks to a 1-1 draw at Hatayspor. The good news is that the team haven't even reached their full potential, the bad news is that we keep dropping points every time we go top.

Team - Emre Koyuncu, Serkan Balci, Sezgin Coskun, Alihan Kubalas, Onur Atasayer, Harun Aydin, Ferhat Culcuoglu, Muhammed Gonulacar, Emre Sahin, Omer Bozan, Muharrem Ozan

Subs - Altay Bayindir, Mehmet Tasci, Orhan Gulle, Ali Sinan Gayla, Mustafa Ozturk, Murat Yilmaz, Enes Kubat

Ismet Tasdemir went with the same team that won 3-0 at home against Kayseri Erciyesspor last week.   I managed to catch the game on a poor stream on periscope. The first half was awful, we didn't manage a single effort on goal and went in 1-0 down through a Talha Balci goal for the home side.

The second half was slightly better, Ankaragucu got their equaliser through Omer Bozan and had a couple of other half chances.

The game ended 1-1 but it was a disappointing performance and the team will need to do much better if they are to win this league.

Gumushanespor won 2-0 at home to Etimesgut and go level on points with Ankaragucu. Starting to creep up on the top two are Menemen who are in 3rd just 6 points behind.

The Ankaragucu management team now must press on and add 1-2 quality players to the team when the January transfer window opens and give Ismet Tasdemir the best possible chance of winning this league. We won't get a better chance than this.

Ankaragucu prepare for Hatayspor as Orhan Evci says his goodbyes!

Today was a sad day as Orhan Evci said his goodbyes to his Ankaragucu team mates and the fans after he was released by the club along with Adem Saglam. Many players come and go but Orhan was a local lad who spent 7 years with the club and stood by us during the dark times and hour in need. He knocked back the opportunity of a move to PTT Lig sides to stay and help Ankaragucu fight for promotion and survival in the lower leagues.

The news of Orhans departure was met with disappointment from the Ankaragucu fans who regard the 25 year old as one of their own who gave his all every time he was on the pitch wearing the Sari Lacivert. We would like to wish Orhan all the best with his next move and thank him for all his hard work and loyalty.

Ironically Adem Saglam was also released by the club after failing to establish his place in the first team. Adem was appointed captain of the club when Ismet Tasdemir took over in the summer. The Ankaragucu fans protested this decision saying that Orhan Evci would be a better option. Sadly for both players they now find themselves without a club. The form of Serkan Balci, Sezgin Coskun and Alihan Kubalas had kept both players out the team meaning they haven't saw much playing time.

Ankaragucu are away to Hatayspor this weekend looking to keep their place at the top of the league while 2nd place Gumushanespor are at home against Etimesgut. After the 3-0 win over Kayseri Erciyesspor last weekend Ankaragucu will need to raise their game and perform at a higher level if they are to take 3 points from Hatayspor.

The home side have been inconsistent and find themselves in 7th place. They lost 1-0 at lowly Tuzlaspor last weekend, but showed their class a few weeks ago with an excellent 3-2 win at Menemen.

Ismet Tasdemir will have to decide if he will continue with Muhammed Gonulacar in midfield after the youngster impressed and scored a goal last weekend. Enes Kubat is also in contention for a start up front although Muharrem Ozan continues to grab the goals and looks to be the managers favoured option at the moment.

The game kicks off at 13:00 Turkish time and we will have all the live updates on the Round Ball in Ankara Facebook page.

ANKARAGUCU RETURN TO THEIR RIGHTFUL POSITION AT THE TOP OF THE LEAGUE !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Blue skies, sunshine and a reasonable temperature for December (9 degrees Centigrade), so could the sun shine on Ankaragucu after last week's abomination ?   And the answer was ............ YES !

ANKARAGUCU   3     Kayseri Erciyes    0

Team - Emrah, Onur, Mehmet, Serkan, Muhammed, Sezgin (Captain), Ferhat, Emre, Omer, Harun and Muharrem.      
Three substitutes, Enes, Hasan and Murat replaced Omer, Serkan and Harun in the 2nd half who all left the field to loud and well deserved applause.

An unusual sight - an almost empty Gecikondu !!

It was an eerie atmosphere when we entered the Stadium - Maniac Kanka Harun, his friend Nurer, Scouse Kanka Marcus, Cider Kanka John and our guest of honour from the Genclerbirligi Kanka Group (also a supporter of Hibs and Raith Rovers), Tuufan - with about 200 'silent' supporters in Gecikondu, Sol Kapali empty as a punishment for last week's swearing !, Maraton about three quarters full and Sag Kapali about half full.   The away end boasted 10 lonely souls !    The remainder of last week's tribunes were outside the Stadium protesting !!

In all my years supporting Ankaragucu, it was the first (and probably the only) time that Maraton and Sag Kapali led the singing !

The match started with Ankaragucu on full attacking mode (like last week) and it only took 8 minutes for the first goal to arrive with Erciyes on the back foot and trying find some rhythm.   A cross came in from the left into the box and a nice cut-back into the path of Ferhat who stroked the ball in with the defence all at sea.

No sooner had we finished celebrating than it was No2.   Following a corner on the left the ball was headed clear, but only to Muharrem who had the easiest of chances to slot the ball in with the keeper stranded.

15 minutes gone and Erciyes posed their only threat of the 1st half when Emrah made a great save from a well taken free kick.

One minute later and we had the Bursa serenade by Maraton.

For the remainder of the 1st half it was all Ankaragucu, building from defence, spreading the ball around and in full control of proceedings.     Muharrem, Omer, Harun, Ferhat and Emre all missed golden opportunities to put the match to bed, but wasteful finishing and good goalkeeping kept the score at 2.0 going in at the break.

Fortunately, I don't intend to say ............ 'it was a game of 2 halves' this week, because, thank God, it wasn't !!   Ankaragucu continued to dominate the match in the 2nd half and 10 minutes in Muharrem and Enes were both guilty of missing chances which should have been despatched.   However, the match was made safe one minute later when Muhammed headed in from a corner following some 'ping-pong with the ball' in the box.

3 minutes later it should have been 4 when Enes blasted over from 2 yards out with the goal at his mercy - a miss he will want to forget quickly !

On 66 minutes, Ankaragucu received a wake-up call when Erciyes almost pulled a goal back.   A breakaway left an Erciyes forward bearing in on goal and when he let fly, his shot rebounded back off the post and into the grateful arms of Emrah, and that was their only serious, and last, chance in the 2nd half.

Ankaragucu had 3 more serious efforts on goal from Harun, Murat and Onur which really should have been buried in the back of the net, but it was not to be.

Celebrating at The Yeni Sedir with yummy amber Sutas Ayran !!!

So, Ankaragucu regain top spot in the league due to Eyup's defeat of Gumushane, so we should be happy with that conclusion.   However, let's hope that goal difference is not brought into play at the end of the season, otherwise we may rue all those opportunites to put the chances away.

Off to the Yeni Sedir to celebrate going top of the league and a chance to discuss the all important last match before the winter break next weekend away to Hatay.    Yes, a difficult match, but if Ankaragucu can return to the Capital with all 3 points it will be a great psychological advantage getting to the half-way point of the league on top of the league.     

Let's do it, and ............ let's stay there !

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Gencler make easy work of Adanaspor

It wasn't the prettiest of matches... but we will take the win.

Adanaspor 0 - 2 Genclerbirligi

Just a short report a few days late. The Alerta Pub was alive and kicking on a freezing Sunday evening. The same can't be said for the Adana and Gencler in the first half.

Second half though and we came to life just enough to win it. Serdar was fouled in the box and then took his own penalty. Huge cheers as he scored but replays showed he was lucky that it wasn't saved. The ball was shot at waist height straight down the middle and the keeper did brilliantly to dive away from the ball.

A bit later on and in a counter attack two brilliant long passes and then Rantie was free. He rounded the goalkeeper and scored. At home to league leaders Basaksehir this week.
    

ANKARAGUCU - CARNIVAL ATMOSPHERE TURNS SOUR IN THE 2nd HALF !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies,

Yet another 'almost' match for Ankaragucu !    The Stadium was 'almost' full.   Ankaragucu 'almost' had the match won in the 1st half.    Ankaragucu 'almost' beat the world record for most corner kicks in the 1st half.    Get the picture ?   Dare I say it again ?    OK, here goes ..................... it was a game of TWO halves !!!

ANKARAGUCU   1      Kastamonu    3

The kankas met-up in the Sports Cafe.   Maniac Kanka Harun, Scouse Kanka Marcus and Cider Kanka John.    Into the Stadiuk we went and I had to laugh at the banner which the 100 Kastamonu supporters put-up at the away end.    It read ...... Tayfa 37 Istanbul.   Which means that they were the Kastamonu Group from Istanbul.   Nice to know that there are some supporters there who don't support the hated 'Big 3'.

Ankaragucu went straight into the attack from the off and had two reasonable chances with headers from Mustafa and Onur which didn't find the target.

Then, in the 6th minute the 'carnival' started when hundreds of Blue and Yellow balloons were released by Maraton.   7 minutes later another great chance by the Ankaragucu No4 but a great shot had an equally great save by the impressive Kastamonu goalkeeper.

Note - Maniac and Scouse took a video.   Can you guys put it up here ?

1 minute later the goal came as no surprise after constant Ankaragucu pressure.   A corner was swung over on the right and back-headed in the box to Alihan on the far post who met it cleanly and volleyed in to send us all singing.

2 minutes later it was the Bursa song, and with Ankaragucu in full flow we were expecting No2.

However, the goal arrived at the other end to take the wind out of Ankaragucu and return our feet to the ground.   Harun was disposessed in midfield and Kastamonu broke in numbers.   An astute pass was made to an unmarked attacker who arrived in support of the breakaway move and he curved a shot around Emrah for a well taken equaliser.

On the half hour mark and it was still Ankaragucu searching for the goal to send them in at half time ahead.   There were 3 blocked shot attempts one after the other and the ball going out for yet another corner (I lost count of the 1st half corners !!).

One minute later there was a pin-point cross from the left by Omer but Enes made a weak stab at it and it was easily saved.

10 minutes from the half time whistle the Ankaragucu No4 sent in a screamer from just outside the box, but it was just past the post.   3 minutes later Onur's header was just past the post from yet another corner.

So, going in at half time all square didn't affect our optimism.   So much so, that Maniac Kanka suggested we change position to the Scoreboard End to have a better view of all the Ankaragucu goals in the 2nd half.   Ho ho ho ......... and how wrong we were !

There were only 3 attempts on goal made by Ankaragucu in the 2nd half.    Two free kicks outside the box which were well saved and a cracking effort by Omer which hit the post and was cleared, and that coming at a crucial part of the 2nd half would have been an Ankaragucu equaliser if the ball had been an inch to the right !

However, as I said earlier, it was a match of 2 halves and Kastamonu took the match by the scruff of the neck and scored 2 further excellent goals.

They went 2-1 ahead in the 56th minute when former Ankargucu player, Hasan, fired in a great shot.

We were still shouting for an Ankaragucu equaliser but they were having to resort to long range efforts with Kastamonu taking control of the match.

Then, with 10 minutes to go we were silenced when there was a fast breakaway with the ball played out to an unmarked attacker on the left and he made no mistake by burying the ball in the back of the net to put the match beyond Ankaragucu.

There was another chance for Kastamonu to go even further ahead 2 minutes from time when an attacker was clean through, but his shot went narrowly past.

Into time added on, and with the tribunes beginning to empty, we heard the 100 Kastamonu supporters singing as the Ankaragucu tribunes went into 'silent mode' !

This match should have been 'put to bed' in the 1st half but there can be no excuses for Ankaragucu's pathetic and toothless 2nd half performance.   Ismet Bey needs to address this problem, and fast !

It was reported last night that some of the Ankaragucu supporters were heard swearing at the end of the match.   If this has been pick-up by the TFF Representative there, we can expect further stadium bans !!

So, Ankaragucu slip to 2nd top in the league, but now there is a threat from below as Menemen and Karsiyaka make up ground and take closer order in the Top 5.

Therefore, next week's home match against Erciyes takes on even greater significance.


All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

SHOCK: TFF ban a section of Gencler fans for a match

Genclerbirligi fans with season tickets for section D of Maraton have been banned from attending our next home match after the Professional Football Discipline Board (PFDK) said there had been "ugly and bad language chanting" during the weekend's match against Trabzonspor.

If you are an Ankaragucu fan then you will be totally used to the the TFF disciplinary board banning fans from matches but for Gencler this is unprecedented (at least I can't remember bans on fans for Gencler in the past 20 years or so).

Section D is right in the middle of Maraton, the place where Gencler amigo Nedim stands and urges on the crowd. We sat as usual in Section C just across from the D crowd.

Thing is, I can't even remember anything vaguely "ugly" from the D crowd. I might have missed it of course but I can guarantee that there was nothing like the swearing and abuse that opposition fans usually employ. The other thing is that when the D crowd do swear (it happens from time-to-time), the older and wiser heads of the Alkaralar fan group always get up and get them to stop. This did not happen on Sunday and indicates to me that nothing truly untoward was being chanted..    

Annoyed Point No. 1: Gencler fans punished for something that was (probably) quite small.

Annoyed Point No. 2: As we all know Passolig has destroyed crowd numbers but one of the big selling points was that it would reduce hooliganism and would allow the authorities to pinpoint individual trouble makers. This though is yet another sledgehammer ban on anyone who has a season ticket for Section D. It doesn't matter that anyone from Section C or E could have been in that section, nor the fact that the vast majority of single ticket holders were sitting in Section D. They don't get busted, just serious fans with season tickets

Annoyed Point No. 3: Trabzonspor fans had "swearing chants" throughout the whole match. The PFDK found them guilty as well and fined the club 110,000 lira as this was the fifth time they had been found guilty of doing it this season. No fans from Trabzon are banned for any matches.

Is this the worst thing in the world? No. But it is bloody annoying and is yet more proof that the TFF don't give a shit about the fans. In any other country football bloggers would be leading with the news that at the same meeting the PFDK gave Ugur Ciftci a two-match ban after he got a red card on Sunday. Not in Turkey though.


EDIT: Karakizil are reporting that the reason for the ban was the chant of "acemi hakem" (amateur referee).

Susma haykır Passolig'e hayır!!! pic.twitter.com/pLY8wLskuJ

— KaraKızıl G.Birliği (@fckarakizil) December 1, 2016

Gencler beat up Genc Fener

Turkish Cup
Fenerbahce 1 - 2 Genclerbirligi

I'd completely forgotten about the Cup and so it was a nice surprise to see that our first Group stage was on the telly. Hassle was that we had a darts match on at the same time. We lost the darts match, but won the football.

With an eye on this weekend's league match against Besiktas, Fenerbahce decided to rest the vast majority of the first team, instead sending out a bunch of unknowns. Gencler fielded a pretty much top flight team.

I didn't see everything but for the first few minutes Gencler decided to attack. We were all over them and my guess at this stage was that would win it by three or four goals.

Then Serdar was fouled outside the box with just the keeper to beat. The referee immediately showed a red card, something Flying Dutchman Kanka Carlo agreed with. Looking at the replay though I'm not so sure. Still, we cheered.

With a one-man advantage Gencler then went to sleep. It was as if they thought this was going to be ultra easy. We were clearly the more skilful team but we weren't really trying.

Until Fener scored...

Their goal came off a corner. Our defender Paletsevic decided to fall over thus giving a Fener attacker a free header. Goal.

Oh dear.

Time to step up and in the second half gencler did it. Our first goal came from Rantie who screamed past a Fener defender and beat the keeper. The second was from Irfan.

In the end it was clear... but boy do we like playing with fire.

A point gained? Two lost?

None of that boring 0-0 stuff for Genclerbirligi. No, Siree, this was tense stuff that ended with both disappointment and relief.

Genclerbirligi 0 - 0 Trabzonspor

Off to the Alerta Pub where John and James and Little Oz and Orcan and me had some serious discussions about football clubs in Turkey and in the near abroad. One thing I learnt was that the "K" in AEK Athens actually stands for "Constantinople" as the club, and plenty of others in Greece, was founded by Greeks who "left" Turkey in the 1920s.    

No out and out striker in Genclerbirligi's first 11. The collective response from Gencler's fans was that this was madness from new coach Umit Ozat. The general consensus was that even though Stancu was injured we should be playing a recognised forward up front especially as Trabzonspor have been pretty ropey recently.

Nothing amazing sort of start... except the referee and linesman seemed to have no idea. Then came the match changer when Ugur Ciftci made a studs up tackle on a Trabzon player and seemed to get him quite high. You could hear the scream of real or fake agony from where we were sat miles away from where it happened. Straight red was the probably correct decision.

So.. an hour to withstand the Trabzon attack and not having any dedicated forwards on the pitch seemed rather lucky.

Ozat swapped out Kamal Issah for Rantai and we started playing 4-4-1 with Rantie running around up front.

And then it was on. This was old style Test match need to bat all day on a turning pitch football. If you know me you will realise that praise doesn't get much higher.

Trabzon start to dominate. They held possession for extremely long periods of time but due to some excellent defence, especially from Ahmet Calik, they could only get a couple of long range shots to test Hopf.

It was tense stuff and Trabzon seemed to be wilting a bit. With the clock on 88 Ozat brought on a striker! Amazing really. Almost immediately Muriqi made a difference and it was on. Massive surges by Genclerbirligi and after a corner Ahmet Calik managed to kick a ball straight at the lunging boots of the Trabzon keeper... no goal.

Arrrggghhhh. We could have had it... but at the same time this was great defence. I've seen plenty of drab nil-nils at the 19 Mayis. This wasn't one of them.

Omer Bozan stunner puts Ankaragucu top!

Ankaragucu were made to fight for their 3 points at lowly Tuzlaspor today and it looked to be heading for a 1-1 draw until a late Omer Bozan free kick sent Ankaragucu top of the league!

Team - Emrah Tuncel, Serkan Balci, Sezgin Coskun, Alihan Kubalas, Onur Atasayer, Ferhat Culcuoglu, Harun Aydin, Orhan Gulle, Omer Bozan, Mustafa Ozturk, Muharrem Ozan

Subs - Emre Koyuncu, Adem Saglam, Onur Bayramoglu, Emre Sahin, Muhammed Gonulacar, Enes Kubat, Murat Yilmaz

It was a scrappy affair in Tuzla and Ankaragucu weren't at their best but 3 points are all that matters. Gumushanespor lost 1-0 at Nigde which means Ankaragucu go top on goal difference.

The opening goal of the game came from Onur Atasayer. A corner was swung into the box on 38 minutes and Onur flicked the ball past the keeper at the front post to make it 1-0.

It stayed that way until the 70th minute when Tuzlaspor equalised though Kivanc Salihoglu. At this stage it didn't look like Ankaragucu would score again as both teams failed to create any chances of note.

Ankaragucu were then awarded a free kick on the 83rd minute from about 35 yards out. Up stepped Omer Bozan to curl the ball past Bekir in the Tuzla goal to send the Ankaragucu fans who had travelled wild. What a goal it was 2-1 Ankaragucu.

The game ended 2-1 and Ankaragucu move top. The next two games are at home against Kastamonuspor and then Kayseri Erciyesspor.

Digiturk grabs footy rights for 500 mln bucks a year*

Those of you interested in the off field goings on of Turkish football may have seen that Digiturk have won the right to broadcast the Super Lig, the SporToto Lig and the 2nd division for the next five years in a deal worth an amazing 500 million dollars a year. *

According to Daily Sabah, the deal makes the Turkish TV rights to be the sixth largest in Europe.

At the moment Digiturk is paying 321 million dollars a year* to broadcast all top flight matches whilst a few other stations pay (not much) to show lower league stuff.

According to the head of the Clubs' Association Foundation Monopoly Thingy, Goksel Gumusdag, the deal will result in the clubs getting a 50 percent increase in revenue (I don't understand the mathematics either).

It is a long contract and hopefully will mean that Digiturk will actually invest in some decent technology not just for the Istanbul teams' broadcasts but also for the rest of us. Almost every week when we are sitting at the pub watching a match it is truely amazing how much the broadcast quality increases as soon as the game changes from a Turkish match to a European match.    

I don't have a football package with Digiturk as I prefer to watch all the games I want to down at the pub. If you have a subscription... expect a big increase in your bills.

* Please note that I found it confusing what the actual numbers were as various media report different figures for this year and other years... Anyway, what's a few million between friends?

Gencler's first away win for the season

Right then. A new coach and a win. All things better? Not for the fans... but on the park Gencler looked a lot better than recently.

Kayserispor 0 - 2 Genclerbirligi

Spine and me met up at the Alerta Pub for the Sunday's 2pm kick-off... and how glorious is a Sunday afternoon kick-off? Bloody glorious especially with the sun out and Alastair Cook out last ball just before kick-off.

I'm certainly not one who can talk but Genclerbirligi's new coach Umit Ozat certainly has belly on him. Anyway, on the field it looked like Ozat was making a few tweaks to put his stamp on the team.

Stancu was back into a purely attacking role and seemed to have Serdar up front with him (although Serdar also seemed to play in half-a-dozen positions throughout the match). Palitsevich was on (for Landel?) and Kamal Issah seemed to be playing in a fullback position.

As we often do Gencler came out attacking and Kayseri immediately started playing cynical fouls. None of the fouls were yellows but they were designed to wind us up. I feared that Irfan was going to blow his top... but he didn't. In the end the referee was so sick of these cynical fouls that in the second half he handed out 15 dozen yellows to Kayseri players.

We played well and could so easily have been a few up at half time. Stancu though seems to forgotten how to score. He messed up on two complete sitters... and on a couple of other occasions couldn't get to ball past the Kayseri keeper.

In the end he was subbed off and in came a few others including Muriqi and Matai. The latter got onto the scoresheet not long after coming on. It wasn't an amazing goal, just a good ball angled back from Khallali (I think). Muriqi skillfully left it and Matai punched it in off the far post.

A few minutes later Irfan took a lovely deceptive free kick which Serdar picked up in the box and nutmegged the keeper.

And that was that.

A good performance from Genclerbirligi, our first away win of the season.

You have to admit though. Kayseri are rubbish.

ANKARAGUCU SNATCH A GOAL THEN SHUT UP SHOP !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

The kankas met up at the Sports Cafe on a sunny, but cool, November afternoon – Cider Kanka John, Scouse Kanka Marcus, Apple Kanka Erman, Posh Kanka Ahmet and Battle Damaged Kanka Damon.   Unfortunately, Maniac Kanka Harun was ill and couldn’t join us, but we wish him a speedy recovery.

ANKARAGUCU  1     Bugsas Polatli   0

Another good crowd today with Gecikondu and Maraton full.    I counted 14 lonely souls in the away end !

It was a cat and mouse match for the first 10 minutes, before Bugsas almost opened the scoring.   Their No9 was put through, but his weak shot was easily saved by Emrah.

5 minutes later and in Ankaragucu’s first serious attempt on goal, Ferhat’s shot from just outside the box went narrowly past.

Then in the 16^th minute we had the Bursaspor song which we haven’t heard for a while.   Olay Olay Bursaspor Bursaspor !!!

4 minutes later came the only goal of he match and the architect was Harun.   He surged out of midfield with the ball and passed out to Serkan on the right.   His cross came in and the shot was palmed out by the goalkeeper but only to Muharrem who poked it in.

7 minutes later Emrah was called into action to save a goal bound shot.

Approaching the half time whistle and it was almost 2.   An Ankaragucu break out of defence and the ball played into the feet of Omer, but his shot hit the post and was cleared.

Still time for Bugsas to equalise when their No11 was clear through on goal but his tame shot was saved by Emrah.   Then, just on the half time whistle, Harun almost scored but his shot was  just past the post.

Into the 2^nd half and the pace of the match slowed somewhat.   It was mostly all Bugsas still searching for the equaliser.

15 minutes in and Serkan should have scored when he received a pass from Muhammer, but his shot was weak and easily saved.

7 minutes later and it was almost the equaliser when the dangerous Bugsas No9 was put through, but fortunately Emrah anticipated the move and beat him to the ball to save at his feet.

15 minutes to go and Ankaragucu was living dangerously with Bugsas searching desperately for the equaliser and putting the Ankaragucu defence under pressure.   However, unlike the past 2 weeks, the defence was looking not too bad today and holding firm.

Ankaragucu was relying on breakaways at this time, but Bugsas was still looking the more likely to score.

7 minutes to go and almost the equaliser from a corner when a header was sent in just past the post.

Then in time added on, Bugsas was awarded a dubious free kick just outside the box in a central position.   I was expecting the dead ball specialist No9 to take it, but one of the defenders came up and blasted the ball over the bar much to our relief !

Final whistle, and a chance to relax !    The players were then called to Gecikondu to celebrate, but perhaps they were all as relieved as us kankas ?!

Off to the Sportswriters Club for a few refreshments to calm our shattered nerves !!

It is going to be a long and arduous journey to the end of the season me thinks !!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

PS ......... Apologies for lack of photos !

Whilst waiting for the reports...

After Gencler's win today over Kayserispor they decided to do this... I think it is what is called a meme (stop giggling Eski Kanka).

Ankara'ya 3 puanla dönüyoruz!#MannequinChallenge pic.twitter.com/Euoqsfdmeu

— Gençlerbirliği SK (@kirmizikara) November 20, 2016

New coach and an easy victory for Gencler

There wasn't much love amongst the Gencler fans for new coach Umit Ozat... but as so often happens in footy he managed to get a win with his first match in charge.

Kayserispor 0 - 2 Genclerbirligi

At almost the same time Ankaragucu managed a "lucky" victory in the capital.

Ankaragucu 1 - 0 Bugsasspor

Match reports will be coming up soon.  

Ankaragucu vs Polatli Bugsasspor match preview!

Ankaragucu are back at home on Sunday afternoon as they host local rivals Polatli Bugsasspor, and will be looking for revenge after losing to Polatli in the TSYD Final in August. More importantly Ankaragucu know they must take all 3 points to keep the pressure on leaders Gumushanespor after last weekends disappointing 4-3 defeat at Menemen.

I would imagine Ismet Tasdemir will have been working with the team this week in training particularly on the defensive aspect of the game. Conceding 6 goals in 2 games isn't worthy of title contenders and Ankaragucu must improve in this area if we are to challenge for the title.

Ankaragucu have been impressive in front of goal this season with an abundance of attacking talent. If the team can stop leaking goals at the back we will be just fine. Serkan Balci and Cenk Kaplan are both still out injured and Omer Bozan has joined them in the treatment room after picking up a knock last weekend.

The right back position has been a bit of a concern this season. With both Serkan Balci and Orhan Evci out injured, it has meant Adem Saglam, Sezgin Coskun and Cenk Kaplan have all had to play there, all good defenders but right back isn't their preferred position. The central defence need to start winning balls in the air, we lose to many balls in the air and its been an area of concern for a couple of weeks now.

The last time the two sides met was back in August in the TSYD Cup final. Polatli ran out 3-1 winners that night. After leading 1-0 at the break Ankaragucu were reduced to 10 men after Alihan was sent off. Polatli took advantage of the extra man with an excellent second half performance and deserved win.

Polatli sit 12th in the table and have found it difficult of late with only 1 win in their last 6 games. That win came last weekend with an excellent 5-2 win against lowly Tuzlaspor. Rasit Sevindir has been the star man this season scoring 6 goals in 12 games from midfield and clearly will be their dangerman.

We are hoping for another big crowd this weekend after the fantastic turnout for the game with 1461 Trabzon. Hopefully there will be a similar crowd cheering the team onto victory again. The game kicks off at 13:30pm and the Kanka Group will be in attendance again. Jim will have all the details and will also be covering the match report.

Ankaragucu lose in 7 goal thriller!

Ankaragucu were brought back down to earth with a bang after a disappointing 4-3 defeat at Menemen this afternoon. After a fantastic 6-2 win in front of near sold out 19 Mayis Stadium on Wednesday night, its just like Ankaragucu to slip up in the next game. As I said in the group chat, every time there is something positive happening at the club, the bad news is just around the corner. Today's performance was no fluke, Menemen deserved their victory and this was all despite being down to ten men late in the match.

Team - Emrah Tuncel, Sezgin Coskun, Adem Saglam, Alihan Kubalas, Onur Atasayer, Ferhat Culcuoglu, Harun Aydin, Orhan Gulle, Omer Bozan, Mustafa Ozturk, Muharrem Ozan

Subs - Emre Koyuncu, Metin Aydin, Mehmet Tasci, Onur Bayramoglu, Ahmet Yazar, Enes Kubat, Erhan Senturk

Ismet Tasdemir kept faith with the same team who won on Wednesday meaning Enes Kubat and Erhan Senturk both found themselves on the bench. There is a worrying trend occurring with Ankaragucu and it needs to be addressed otherwise we can forget challenging Gumushanespor for the title. Our defence has now conceded 6 goals in 2 games and it has been a concern since the season started.

We continue to struggle with crosses into the box, and the Goalkeeper Emrah Tuncel looks less than convincing. Any team who goes away from home and scores 3 goals should be coming home with the 3 points. You can't win titles giving away needless goals.

Ankaragucu started the match on the front foot, passing the ball well and looking to attack right from kick off. It took only 2 minutes for the home side to take the lead though against the run of play. A cross into the box found its way to the unmarked Gokhan Unal who rose to head the ball past Emrah to make it 1-0 Menemen.

Ankaragucu looked to push for the equaliser and a nice move involving Harun and Onur found its way to Muharrem Ozan but his effort on goal was blocked. Two minutes later Ankaragucu were back on level terms through Omer Bozan. A nice shot from the edge of the area into the bottom corner gave former Ankaragucu goalkeeper Bayram Olgun no chance.

Menemen nearly went in front after 18 minutes from a carbon copy of the 1st goal, a cross into the box met by the head of Gokhan Unal but this time he headed wide of the post. It has to be mentioned, the Menemen fans were fantastic and even had a little jazz band playing songs through the game which added to the atmosphere in the 2,500 sold out stadium.

Another chance for Menemen when a shot from distance straight at Emrah was parried and then cleared for a corner. The Ankaragucu goalie looked very unconvincing.

On the 33rd minute Ankaragucu were awarded a penalty after a foul in the area. Up stepped Omer Bozan to stroke the ball home and put Ankaragucu 2-1 up much to the joy of the visiting fans.

There was 1 last chance left for Menemen in the first half with a free kick that was deflected inches wide of the corner. Ankaragucu went in 2-1 up at half time but Menemen were still in this match and could find themselves unlucky to be trailing.

After 61 minutes Menemen nearly equalise but Emrah made a good save to keep it 2-1. Five minutes later a curling effort on goal went inches wide from Menemen and was deflected behind for the corner. From the resulting corner Ankaragucu again failed to defend a cross into the box. The ball found its way to Efe Karaoglu whose headed was saved from Emrah but Efe was first to the rebound to put the ball into the back of the net. 2-2.

It was all action now and 5 minutes later Gokhan Unal was red carded for Menemen after kicking out at an Ankaragucu player in front of the referee.

It took Ankaragucu only 2 minutes to take advantage of the extra man, a low cross into the box found its way to Onur Atasayer who put the ball into the back of the net. 3-2 Ankaragucu and looks like another 3 points in the bag? Wrong

Menemen took the game to Ankaragucu and had two excellent chances. The first effort was saved by Emrah and then another shot from distance was saved again. Their persistence paid off 4 minutes later though when Tayfur Emre Yilmaz put the home side back on level terms.

It looked like we were heading for a disappointing 3-3 draw when on the 89th minutes Erman Kilic stepped up from 30 yards to curl and outstanding free kick into the top corner to make it 4-3 Menemen and send the home fans wild.

An excellent win for Menemen and well deserved too. They worked harder, created more and ultimately never gave up even when 3-2 down and having a man sent off.

Ankaragucu need to forget this result and start working on the defensive issues on the training ground this week. Gumushanespor won 3-2 against Kastamonuspor and now go 3 points clear at the top. They are also at home to Tokatspor next weekend who haven't won a game all season while we host Polatli Bugsasspor.

Ankaragucu vs Menemen match preview!

There's a real buzz about the club at the moment for the first time in a long long time, and there are no better example of that then Wednesday night. A cold Winter night, after most people had just finished their work, an incredible 16,000 Ankaragucu fans turned up to cheer the team onto a memorable 6-2 win over 1461 Trabzon. The result puts Ankaragucu top of the league on goal difference over Gumushanespor.

Ankaragucu have taken plaudits all week from the Turkish media with many pointing out that the leaders of the Super Lig Istanbul Basaksehir play in front of empty stadiums every other week, while a club in Turkeys 3rd tier can attract crowds like this. Well done to everyone associated with the club and let's hope we can keep the good times going.

A tough trip to Menemen tomorrow for Ankaragucu, but with the spirits high the team will be looking for another win to make it 7 in a row. Menemen who were promoted last season are sitting in 4th place and have some familiar names in their squad.

Former Ankaragucu goalkeeper Bayram Olgun is the teams first choice after a move from Manisaspor in the Summer. Former Super Lig players Erhan Kilic, Gokhan Unal, Ibrahim Dagasan and Ahmet Ari all ply their trade with the Muncipal side.

They lost 1-0 at Tuzlaspor midweek and will be looking to bounce back from that result. The Menemen Sehir stad only holds 2,500 with Ankaragucu getting less than 100 tickets for the match.

Ismet Tasdemir deserves a lot of credit as Ankaragucu manager. The fans have been used to poor attacking play, no goals and nothing exciting over the last couple of years. The manager has addressed the attacking issues and is playing an exciting brand of football. We now have Mustafa Ozturk, Ahmet Yazar, Emre Sahin, Enes Kubat, Erhan Senturk, Omer Bozan, Murat Yilmaz and Muharrem Cengiz all fighting for those 3 attacking places.

It's going to be a difficult decision for Tasdemir picking his first 11 tomorrow with everyone impressing including the substitutes on Wednesday night. Enes Kubat marked his return with a goal and assist and could take his place back in the starting line up.

Hursit Tasci, Cenk Kaplan, Serkan Balci and Altay Bayindir are all still out with injury and will miss tomorrow's match.

Gumushanespor are at home tomorrow as they take on Kastamonuspor in what will be a tough game but one most expect the home side to win. Ankaragucu need to return with the 3 points as Gumush show no signs of dropping points themselves.

We will have all the live updates as usual on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Tune in to Ankaragucu vs Menemen just before kick off. Game kicks off 10:30 UK time and 13:30 Turkish time.

ANKARAGUCU POWER THEMSELVES TO THE TOP OF THE LEAGUE !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

The kankas returned to their ‘2^nd Home’ last night for their first home league match of the season after the 5 match stadium ban was served, and what a night it was too.   An unbelievable crowd of about 20,000 attended which must surely go into the Guinness Book of Records for a 2^nd Division match on a weekday evening !

ANKARAGUCU   6      Trabzon (1461)      2

The kankas met up at The Sportswriters Club prior to the match for some ‘refreshments’.    Maniac Kanka Harun and his friend Nurer, Cider Kanka John, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Kaleci Kanka Tansu, Posh Kanka Ahmet and Scouse Kanka Marcus.

Into the Stadium we went and what an atmosphere.   There was about 100 in the away end, but they didn’t have s ‘snowball’s chance in hell’ of being heard, even after Trabzon scored their two goals !

The first action last night of any note was on the 06^th Minute when hundreds of blue and yellow balloons and confetti were released in Gecikondu and Maraton and the volume of singing increased !

However, Trabzon had obviously decided to be ‘party poopers’ in the 9^th minute by taking the lead, but it didn’t affect the Ankaragucu supporters singing !   It was a defensive nightmare !   A cross came in from the left to an unmarked attacker who had the simplest of jobs to tap the ball in.   I am sure that Ismet Bey will replay the video to show his defenders how NOT to defend crosses into the box !!!

It took Ankaragucu until the 16^th minute to make their first meaningful attempt on goal, but just as most of us jumped up thinking it was a goal, the referee pointed for a corner.

Ankaragucu was attempting to find the equaliser but Trabzon was digging-in and defending well.

However, it eventually came in the 34^th minute and what a fantastic piece of skill from the impressive Omer.   Ankaragucu was awarded a free kick on the right just outside the penalty box and everyone lined up expecting it to be flighted into the back post area.   Omer surprised everyone, except himself, by sending his shot along the ground to just inside the near post with the goalkeeper scrambling along his goal-line to no avail.

Ankaragucu then deservedly went ahead just before the half time whistle.   It was a great sweeping move on the left with the ball being directed across the field to the right and then an inch perfect cross into the box for Serhat to bullet a flying header in.      There was almost time for a 3^rd before the whistle when an Ankaragucu attacker was unable to take advantage of a sloppy back pass.   He was obviously too surprised to mke good contact with the ball as it sailed over the bar.

8 minutes into the 2^nd half and we were all singing and high-fiving when No3 went in.   A great through ball was played into the path of Mustafa who struck it well and it zipped in via the post.

There was an incident after this goal when someone scaled the Gecikondu fence to congratulate  Mustafa.    As we all know from past experience, it only takes one idiot for the ‘other sheep’ to follow.   Fortunately, the Police reacted quickly to apprehend the perpetrator and led him to the Kapali exit.   However, the fans in Gecikondu and Kapali protested 100% sure of that.   Eventually, he was led out of the stadium by the Police to spend some prime time with the Police at the local Police Station !!

In the 64^th minute Trabzon almost pulled a goal back, but Emrah came to the rescue with a great save.   Incidentally, Emrah’s distribution from hand, foot and goal kicks is excellent.

It was round about the 70^th minute mark when I was wondering if Ismet Bey would tell the team to play a ‘holding game’ when Trabzon put the jitters up us with their 2^nd goal.   It was a cracking left foot shot which gave Emrah no chance.

15 minutes to go and then came arguably the goal of the match from substitute Ahmet.   He   picked up the ball around the half way line and went on a fast run heading for the penalty box, and in the process, weaving past 3 defenders who were left in his wake.   Inside the box he let fly and there was no way any goalkeeper would have saved that shot.   He’s definitely a player to watch out for and I hope we see more of him !

3 minutes to go and the stadium was going mental.   With the scoreline at 4-2, Ankaragucu was top of the league on goal difference.

It was just time for Enes to show us his skill when he came on as a substitute and made an immediate impact.   He collected a pass sent out of defence and went on a run down the right, then crossed for the inrushing Omer to bundle the ball into the net.   We’ll take it !!!

Then, deep into time added on, as we were making our way to the exit, the 6^th goal arrived.

Enes received a great pass through the middle which he took in his stride and then fired in an  unstoppable shot to put the icing on the cake !

It was then off to the Yeni Sedir to celebrate, and try to figure out the last tme Ankaragucu scored 6 goals.

Maniac Kanka Harun remembers them doing this but he couldn’t remember when, so his homework tonight is to put the answer here in the comments section !!

It will be interesting to see if Ankaragucu can keep the momentum going and perhaps Gumushane will eventually crack under the pressure.   We live in hope !

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

And Gencler lose another coach

UPDATE: New coach announced. See end of article

Monday night was a busy evening with me having been locked out of my house. Little Oz Kanka was inside and had obviously gone to sleep and couldn't be bothered answering my 30 minutes of door bell ringing. So I made the most of a bad situation by heading off to the Red Lion Club. I was then kicked out of there after a couple because of a "private party". Still no answer at home so I got the key people in. He ripped out the lock and put in a new one. Through all this Little Oz Kanka was still sound asleep inside.

Whilst all this was happening Genclerbirligi were imploding.

The timeline according to a report from Klassspor:

6:30 pm : Coach Ibrahim Uzulmez arrives at club headquarters. He said he was there for a training  session. He left the admin building with club officials.

6:45 pm : Uzulmez leaves the facilities.

7:20 pm : Club Chairman Cavcav arrives

(At this point the Klasspor timeline gets confusing... but basically)

7 something pm : Uzulmez's agent/manager Emrah Yildiz arrives and has a 20-minute meeting with club officials.

7:40 pm : Yildiz goes to Uzulmez' hotel.

Klasspor notes at this point the negotiations are all about the conditions of terminating the contract. Uzulmez wanted to be paid the full seven months he had left on his contract. Cavcav wanted to pay him just three months salary.

8:20 pm : Uzulmez and Yildiz return to the Bestepe club headquarters. They hold a 40 minute meeting with club officials after which it was announced that the contract has been cancelled after mutual agreement. Klasspor doesn't say what that agreement was.

Yeni Teknik Direktörümüz Ümit Özat pic.twitter.com/pFoXzimIHf

— Gençlerbirliği SK (@kirmizikara) November 8, 2016

UPDATE: They certainly didn't hang around long as former Gencler player and Ankargucu coach Umit Ozat on Tuesday afternoon signed a contract to coach the team. No details of the new contract were immediately available.

What was immediately available was an outpouring of bitter anger from Genclerbirligi fans. Not because of the bloke's pretty average record as a coach but because of the extremely sexist comments he has made in the past.

Ankaragucu vs 1461 Trabzon match preview!

It's been 7 months since Ankaragucu last played a home league match in front of their own fans at the 19 Mayis stadium after the 5 match stadium ban. The club were punished due to the behaviour from the VIP section who ended up fighting with Amedspor officials back in April after a 2-1 home defeat. The irony is that the Ankaragucu fans were banned for 5 matches while the VIP section and club officials were still allowed to attend the games.

Let's home the club can put the behavioural issues behind them and help guide the team to promotion which in Mehmet Yiginer's words is a must this season. Next up at home on Wednesday night is 1461 Trabzon who are the B side of Super Lig giants Trabzonspor.

After a poor start to the season 1461 find themselves on a 4 match unbeaten run including wins against Kastamonuspor and Tuzlaspor. They also drew with Menemen and will be no pushovers with Ankaragucu needing to be at their best if they are to extend their winning streak to 6 in a row.

Some players of note in the 1461 side are 16 year old Cafer Tosun who is very highly rated and has played 6 games this season in midfield, an incredible achievement for someone of that age. The front two of Yasin Hacimustafaoglu and Ali Kucik have scored 8 goals between them and are highly experienced at this level.

It was another good win for Ankaragucu at the weekend and it will be interesting to see the effect the fans have on the performance. The Ankaragucu fans are like a 12th man with the passionate backing they provide from the stands.

As of yet there are no reports on whether Enes Kubat and Erhan Senturk will make the game with both struggling through injury. Serkan Balci was injured in the warmup at the weekend and is also a doubt.

Ticket prices have been priced at 10TL - 15TL and with the club needing all the money they can get I don't think anyone can complain.

Gumushanespor travel to Inegolspor and we will be all hoping that Inegol can take something off them as they look a formidable force at the moment. Both Gumush and Ankaragucu sit top of the table on 24 points.

The Kankas will be in attendance on Wednesday night and Jim will be back with his first match report of the season. Let's hope it's a positive one and another win for Ankaragucu!!

Gencler are not looking good

Things just aren't working at Genclerbirligi this season. They just aren't clicking.

Antalyaspor 1 - 0 Genclerbirligi

Just Spine and me down at the Alerta Pub last night for what was in the end a disappointing night of football. Let's dive straight in.

Nice start from Gencler. It was the usual sort of line-up with the only big difference being Vedat Muriqi being up front instead of Stancu.

For the first 40 minutes or so we were on top, not completely dominating but certainly the better team. Even when Irfan had his penalty shot saved by the keeper in the 15th the crowd at the Alerta still had their hopes high.

Ante Kulusic was denied by the post at one stage and Serdar should have scored but instead sent it flying.

Then in the 40th Antalya were awarded a penalty and Eto'o stepped up and scored.

Rest of the match was arrrrrgggggghhhhhhh

Antalya could have put a couple more in but buggered up and Stancu, who came on in the second half, missed a shot that is the entire reason for his position in the team. Groans all round.

And so Gencler slowly slide down the table. There was even talk last night of a relegation battle. Dear oh dear.

Ankaragucu victors in local derby!

Ankaragucu made it 5 wins in a row with a 2-1 win down the road at Etimesgut. There were a couple of injury blows with Erhan Senturk ruled out due to injury and Serkan Balci injured during the warm up. In came Cenk Kaplan and Mustafa Ozturk to taken their place and help Ankaragucu secure the 3 points.

Team - Emrah Tuncel, Cenk Kaplan, Sezgin Coskun, Alihan Kubalas, Onur Atasayer, Ferhat Culcuoglu, Harun Aydin, Orhan Gulle, Omer Bozan, Mustafa Ozturk, Muharrem Cengiz Ozan

Subs - Emre Koyuncu, Adem Saglam, Omer Bayramoglu, Murat Yilmaz, Ahmet Yazar, Emre Sahin

One noticeable difference this season with Ankaragucu is the strength in depth they have within the squad which has been missing since 3 years ago when we lost in the playoffs. Losing key players such as Enes Kubat, Erhan Senturk and Serkan Balci is always going to be tough, but when you have replacements such as Cenk, Mustafa and Muharrem it softens the blow.

I didn't manage to see any of the match today as there weren't any decent live links to follow. Etimesgut did miss a penalty on 22nd minute with Emrah saving his 2nd penalty of the season.

Ankaragucu took the lead after 34 minutes through Orhan Gulle who scored his first goal for the club. They only had to wait 10 minutes for their second as the impressive Onur Atasayer made it 2-0.

The scores remained that way until the 90th minute when Former Ankaragucu striker Emrah Bozkurt scored a consolation goal for the home side. The Ankaragucu fans took a huge away support with health and safety coming into question as a number of Ankaragucu fans looked like they managed to sneak in with the away allocation sold out.

Gumushanespor also won today to remain joint top with a 1-0 win over Karsiyaka. They are already showing they won't let Ankaragucu have it all their own way and it looks like we could have a two horse race for the title.

Next up is 1461 Trabzon on Wednesday night, and the good news is that the fans can attend the game for the first time this season with the 5 match stadium ban now finished. Jim will have the match report for the first time this season also and let's hope it's a positive report and 3 points.

Ankaragucu vs Etimesgut match preview!

We have a local derby this weekend as Ankaragucu travel to nearby Etimesgut with both sides eager for the 3 points.Etimesgut won promotion to Lig 2 last season and find themselves in 8th position leaving them just outside the playoff places.

As Jim mentioned, the Kemal Ataturk stadium only holds 3000 people and will be sold out with a large travelling Ankaragucu support expected. Ankaragucu find themselves on a 4 match winning run and will have to be at their best to take 3 points from this weekends match. Etimesgut are undefeated in their last 5 games conceding only 3 goals.

Both sides met in the TSYD cup in the summer as mentioned earlier. Ankaragucu ran out 3-1 winners thanks to goals from Erhan Senturk, Enes Kubat and Onur Atasayer. Etimesgut showed that they were no pushovers in that match and made Ankaragucu work for their win.

Their will be familiar face in the Etimesgut team on Saturday afternoon as former Ankaragucu player and captain Emrah Bozkurt playing in attack. Emrah didn't have the best of times at Ankaragucu but was one of the few players who can hold his head high after last seasons campaign and chipped in with 6 goals.

Ankaragucu put in an efficient and professional performance last week but still haven't had that perfect match where everything has come together. The team still find themselves joint top with Gumushanespor, but we still believe there is a lot more to come. The defence looks solid enough but they need to take care of the ball more and concentrate for the full 90 minutes. Onur gives the team so much more options with his attacking play coming from the back and it looks like Mehmet Tasci will find it tough to win his place back in the team.

Harun Aydin is the most improved player in the Ankaragucu team and is now one of the first names in the team sheet. Since breaking into the team Harun has been used more as a defensive midfielder sitting in front of the defence. He picked up too many yellow cards and missed a lot of matches through suspension. Ismet Tasdemir has given him a more attacking role and he has thrived. He is creating chances while also a goal threat himself and gets better every week. It could be difficult for Ankaragucu to keep a hold of him if he keeps these performances up.

Muharrem Cengiz is another one who has impressed over the last couple of weeks. The striker has scored 3 stunning goals helping Ankaragucu to 6 points in the two games he has started. With Enes Kubat close to returning it will be interesting to see if both players will play in the team together and if they can forge a deadly partnership.

As usual we will have all the updates live on the Facebook and Twitter pages!

Four wins in a row for high flying Ankaragucu!

Ankaragucu made it 4 wins in a row with a comfortable 2-0 win over Eyupspor in what was the last of the 5 match stadium ban at the 19 Mayis stadium in Ankara. In truth it should have been 4 or 5 nil but for some dubious refereeing and poor finishing.

Team - Emrah Tuncel, Serkan Balci, Sezgin Coskun, Alihan Kubalas, Onur Atasayer, Ferhat Culcuoglu, Harun Aydin, Orhan Gulle, Omer Bozan, Erhan Senturk, Muharrem Cengiz Ozan

Subs - Emre Koyuncu, Cenk Kaplan, Mustafa Ozturk, Onur Bayramoglu, Orhan Evci, Ahmet Yavzar, Murat Yilmaz

So Ismet Tasdemir decided to go with the same team who won 3-2 at Sariyer last week with Muharrem continuing up front in the absence of injured Enes Kubat. And like last week the former Bandirmaspor impressed adding another goal to his account and impressing with his all round play.

The first 20 minutes of the game was pretty boring with only 1 chance falling to Ankaragucu but Mahmut in the Eyupspor made a good save. After that Ankaragucu started to dominate the match and were rewarded with the opening goal.

Excellent play down the left hand side from Onur Atasayer who put in an excellent low cross into the box and there was Muharrem Cengiz from 5 yards out to put the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 Ankaragucu.

Harun Aydin has been arguably the best player in the Ankaragucu team this season. He is enjoying his new position further forward and almost made it 2-0. His shot from the edge of the box was brilliantly saved from Mahmut who turned it round the post for a corner.

Just before half time Ankaragucu should have doubled their lead, a good cross into the box found its way to Muharrem at the back post but he somehow headed the ball over the bar when it looked easier to score.

Half Time 1-0 and Ankaragucu were good for their lead but as we know in football a 1 goal lead is never enough.

Into the second half and Ankaragucu had an early chance, Mahmut saved the first effort but then almost gifted Ankaragucu a goal as he slipped but the ball was cleared to safety by his team mate who saved his blushes.

Five minutes later Ankaragucu had the ball in the back of the net but it was ruled out for offside. The initial effor on goal hit the crossbar and Orhan Gulle put the ball into the back of the net from the rebound. The linesman gave offside though but replays show that he got it wrong.

Eyupspor first chance of the game came after 54 minutes. Former Ankaragucu midfielder Ufuk Bayraktar had a go from distance but Emrah Tuncel made a good save to keep it 1-0.

Ankaragucu had two chances within 30 seconds. Erhan Senturk saw his free kick saved, then Onur Atasayer had a great chance inside the box but he dragged his shot wide with just the keeper to beat.

Another goal was then chopped off for Ankaragucu. Mahmut kicked the ball against Muharrem and the ball went into the back of the net. The referee gave a foul against Muharrem saying he held the keeper back as he tried to stop the ball crossing the line. Again it looked like the wrong decision.

Onur Atasayer and Harun both had efforts from distance go wide of the post, Harun continuing to impress with his skill and flair. Ankaragucu will do well to hold onto their young player.

Eyupspor pushed for the equaliser late on and went close with a minute remaining. Ankaragucu went up the other end and won a free kick on the edge of the area. Naci Bayraktaroglu was sent off for his rash last man challenge.

Up stepped Erhan Senturk who again showed his quality from set pieces as he Curled the ball into the top corner giving Mahmut no chance. It was a wonderful goal to cap off another good performance from Ankaragucu who remain joint top with Gumushanespor.

Gumush won 1-0 at Kirklarelispor while Karsiyaka lost 3-1 at home against Inegolspor. So considering the 5 match stadium ban, Ankaragucu find themselves in a strong position and now go into every other game with the 12th man behind them.

Next up is an away match at Etimesgut next Saturday followed by the home match with 1461 Trabzon at home on the Tuesday night.

Gencler lose points in the capital

Well that was a fun match. One which we probably should have lost.

Genclerbirligi 1 - 1 Besiktas

It was about time that one of our new friends James came along to a match (confusingly we have two new James' Kankas joining us in the last few months). A few beers at The Alerta and then met up with Dan the Man, young Efe, and not so young Kevin. A good crowd with the Besiktas fans filling their away sections and a few thousand of us Gencler fans. Lots of pro-Republic chanting before the match started and then...

Kick-off and bam... a very different Genclerbirligi from last week's rubbish. Stancu was out with a virus of some kind. Muriqi started up front and had a good game in my opinion (except for one chance he had but failed to get a shot off). No Rantie for this one, although he came on very late). Everything else was as expected.

Anyway, Gencler had a wonderful first half and could have scored a few. Just one scored though and it was a beauty. Irfan half hoofed it, half passed it high into the air and the ball was set to bounce about five metres outside the box. A defender was on Serdar but for some very strange reason the Besiktas keeper came out to get it. He hesitated and Serdar chested it down, ran around and had a shot with his left foot. It was difficult but the keeper of course was no where near the goal. The ball bounced and went in. hahahahahaha.

"Points lost in the capital": Interpretation:
"No one exists except for the Istanbul clubs.

A few more chances in the first half, Landel had one brilliantly saved, and the first half ended with Gencler clearly the superior team.

Second half though and things were very different. It wasn't that we started playing badly, it was that Besiktas stepped up and their quality players started showing why they are worth so much. Their goal came from a short cross by Quaresma, man what a player he is, that was then headed in. Lots of time on the clock and it was only thanks to some heroic keeping by Hopf, the odd brain explosion from Besiktas attackers and some great saves by our defenders Mr. Post and Mr. Bar that kept us in the match.

We had a few chances, Irfan was denied by a brilliant save after a free kick, and in the end we held on for the draw. Phew.

Happy with a point

Genclerbirligi managed to get a draw against Besiktas tonight and they should be happy. There are still a million things wrong with the team but almost any team would be pleased with a draw against last season's champions. I'll post a longer report in the not too distant future.

Ankaragucu vs Eyupspor match preview!

Ankaragucu serve their final game of the 5 match stadium ban on Sunday as they take on Eyupspor. It was also announced today that the match with 1461 Trabzon on Tuesday 8th November will kick off at 7pm Turkish time. That match will be the first home match that the fans can attend this season and we will be hoping for a big turnout from the Ankaragucu fans.

Team news and Hursit Tasci remains out injured while Enes Kubat started back training this week but  is rated doubtful for the match. It looks like the impressive Muharrem Ozan will start again in attack after this excellent performance last week at Sariyer.

Eyupspor have failed to win their last 3 games and currently sit 13th in the league table. Their will be a couple of familiar faces in their squad for the match as both Ufuk Bayraktar and Bilal Gulden ply their trade with the Istanbul side.

Ankaragucu know they must win tomorrow and keep pressure on Gumushanespor who are away to Kirklarelispor. As discussed last week we must defend better if we want to be serious title contenders,  let's hope we can take the 3 points and set things up nicely for the fans return to the stadium.

Gencler scrape through

The view from one of the Gencler fans to make the trip.

Just a short post on today's victory.

Pendikspor 0 - 1 Genclerbirligi

It was Turkish Cup time today with a mid-week midday match against Pendikspor, which I think is in Istanbul.

A one-nil was good enough with Kahlili scoring from the penalty spot in the 19th minute.

Not much to say except at least a few of our fringe players got some time on the pitch.

@kirmizikara neyse resmî hesapta da yerimizi aldık Hakan Karakoca sağolsun pic.twitter.com/2iotndftGJ

— Meriç Ayberk Özkaya (@M_A_Ozkaya) October 25, 2016

It was fun for three minutes

"You're not alone," the banner displayed by the two
Gencler fans who made it to Rize.

"Besides Ahmet Calik it seems like we have put out our development team," a text message on the Alkaralar WhatsAp group.

"WTF: Former Bournemouth striker Tokelo Rantie has been removed from the South African squad for farting on the manager," a million tweets that came out after the match.




Rizespor 2 - 1 Genclerbirligi

Hopes were high after last week's good performance against Galatasaray but...

Bugger all Kankas at the Alerta on Friday night, just Jimmy and his good lady Rose, and me and Little Oz. Not a completely full pub but plenty of atmosphere anyway. Then Gencler managed to kill any enthusiasm by playing rubbish.

Everything seemed wrong, especially the attitude. There was way too much arguing with the referee and the anger seemed to translate into rash decisions all over the place. In the end we were given about seven yellow cards, most of them deserved.

The first goal was the fault of one of the arguers. Rize had a good attack and sent a pass into the box which went straight to our defender Ahmet Ugur who had a go at it, missed, and the ball hit his non-kicking leg and bouncing straight to the Rize attacker bang in front.

Once again we were down 1-0 after just 10 minutes or so...

Then it was all rubbish for the rest of the first half.

We strangely started with Rantie up front. The South African who we bought from Bournemouth a few months ago has yet to impress... and was rightly taken off at half time. Serdar was also taken off for Aydin Karabulut. A good decision that gave a bit of spark on the right.

It was a much better half and we finally got an equaliser in the 76th. It was a bit of a scramble but it counted. Good to see Muriqi get on the scoreboard, something that should boost his confidence.

Our joy lasted about three minutes when an unfortunate handball happened in the box. Penalty... and converted.

Disappointing.