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.

Ankaragucu return to the Capital with 3 points!

Ankaragucu fans were banned from traveling to Istanbul earlier this week for today's match at Sariyer. The reason given was due to security reasons and previous issues with Gecekondu. So instead Ankaragucu fans who wanted to travel to the game had to sit in amongst the home fans. Ridiculous decision as usual, putting fans safety at risk. For such a wonderful country, Turkey sure has some lazy ways of dealing with fan behaviour.

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

Subs - Emre Koyuncu, Adem Saglam, Onur Bayramoglu, Murat Yilmaz, Mustafa Ozturk, Muhammed Gonulacar, Emre Sahin

So a couple of forced changes for Ankaragucu with Sezgin and Muharrem replacing the injured Cenk and Enes. A couple of other notable changes with Orhan replacing Muhammed and Onur Atasayer replacing Mehmet Tasci who didn't even make the squad. Ismet Tasdemir was clearly upset at the way the team played last weekend and he freshened things up today.

Enes was always going to be a big loss for the team as he has been our key player, but today was all about his replacement Muharrem Ozan who scored two stunning goals and led the line well working his socks off.

The first chance of the game came for Ankaragucu after 11 minutes. Harun played a nice ball through for Muharrem, the ball deflected back into path of Harun who blasted the ball inches wide from just outside the box.

Serkan Balci was again having a great game and his quality was really shining through. Ten minutes later he played a nice quick free kick with Harun before breaking free into the box, his cross then took a deflection and went into the back of the net to make it 1-0 Ankaragucu.

Sariyer went close a few minutes later from a free kick but the shot went just past the post much to the relief of the Ankaragucu fans mingled inside the home section.

Just when it looked like Ankaragucu would go in at half time 1 goal up they doubled their lead. The ball found its way to Muharrem Ozan just inside the box and he finished clinically past Gokhan for his first Ankaragucu goal and made it 2-0.

A good first half performance from Ankaragucu who looked solid at the back and were working hard in midfield.

The second half was nail biting stuff and the game changed when Serkan Balci went off injured to be replaced with Adem Saglam.

Sariyer got themselves back into the game after 58 minutes. Ankaragucu nearly scored from a corner but Adem couldn't put the ball into the back of the net. Sariyer then went up the other end of the park and scored to make it 1-2.

Ankaragucu had two excellent chances after 66 minutes. The first one was an excellent through ball from Muharrem into the path of Harun, but his shot was brilliantly saved by Gokhan in the Sariyer goal. Thirty seconds later and almost carbon copy where Mustafa Ozturk found Erhan Senturk but Gokhan again made an excellent save. In all honesty both chances should have been converted.

Then came the last five minutes of the game, firstly Erhan missed a great chance to finish the game off. Then Sariyer were awarded a penalty. Up stepped Hasan Soylu but his effort was weak and Emrah made a good save.

A minute later the best moment of the game. Onur Atasayer put in a corner to the edge of the box and a Muharrem volleyed the ball into the top corner. It was a stunning goal to round off an excellent performance from the striker.

Their was enough time for Sariyer to score a consolation goal through Ensar Baykan to make it Sariyer 2-3 Ankaragucu.

Three points and Ankaragucu keep their place joint top with Gumushanespor who also won today. Well done AG!

Ankaragucu vs Sariyer match preview!

Ankaragucu travel to Istanbul this weekend as they take on Sariyer looking to make it 3 wins in a row and keep pressure on leaders Gumushanespor. Jim and Harun were both talking of travelling to the match so if anyone is interested in joining them please get in touch for travel details.

Although Ankaragucu won 1-0 at the weekend against Nigde, it was an overall disappointing performance and manager Ismet Tasdemir wasn't happy with the performance making his feelings clear when interviewed after the match.

Theirs no doubting that the team need to up their performance this weekend if they want to bring the 3 points back home to the capital. The team has performed well away from him in front of the travelling support, maybe it's playing in an empty stadium that's having an effect on these home performances? Surely the incentive to get the club promoted though should be enough motivation itself?

I have to say, I was impressed with the performance of Serkan Balci at the weekend. He has struggled with fitness since his move in the summer, but he was excellent and looked closer to full fitness. His experience will be vital to the teams bid for promotion and their is no doubting his quality having played in the Super Lig all his career and the Turkish National team.

It's unclear whether Enes Kubat will be fit to play after picking up a knock at the weekend. Murat Yilmaz is back in training and will fill in if Enes doesn't make it. Enes is a key player and his absence would be a big blow.

Sariyer have had a somewhat inconsistent start to the season but are only 4 points off top spot. They drew 1-1 with Tuzlaspor at the weekend and will be out to cause an upset. They have former Borussia Dortmund player Ensar Baykan who will be the dangerman and a number of players capable of scoring goals. Their weakness seems to be in defence and they were on the end of a heafty 5-1 defeat at Menemen a few weeks ago.

Theirs a lot to be optimistic about at Ankaragucu this season, the stadium ban is only 1 game from ending, the team is joint top, and we have a decent squad capable of winning the league. This is a time for unity and for everyone to use their heads and energy to support the team. A united fan front and team will win this league!

Erhan Senturk brilliance gives Ankaragucu 3 points!

It's was a turgid, lacklustre performance from Ankaragucu as they scraped a 1-0 win with a moment of brilliance from Erhan Senturk. Ismet Tasdemir went with the same side who won 2-0 at Tokatspor last week.

Team - Emrah Tuncel, Serkan Balci, Alihan Kubalas, Cenk Kaplan, Mehmet Tasci, Muhammed Gonulacar, Harun Aydin, Ferhat Culcoglu, Omer Bozan, Erhan Senturk, Enes Kubat

Subs - Emre Koyuncu, Sezgin Coskun, Muharrem Ozan, Mustafa Ozturk, Orhan Gulle, Onur Bayramoglu, Onur Atasayer

Today's match was the 4th of a five match stadium ban for Ankaragucu. There were a handful of Nigde fans in the away end who backed their team for the 90 minutes.

The first half was a bore fest with Ankaragucu really struggling to muster up any attacks or even pass the ball. Enes looked a lonely figure up front and was getting no support from the midfield. Nigde were causing problems down the right hand side wth Mehmet Tasci struggling to keep their attack at bay.

The only real chance of the half for Ankaragucu was a cross into the box from Erhan Senturk for Alihan who headed the ball stright at the keeper. It must also be noted that the Ankaragucu defence and midfield were very slack in possession today and a better side would have punished them. Nigde also had a good chance just before half time from a free kick but Emrah made an excellent save to keep it 0-0.

Into the second half and it was much the same, Nigde looked dangerous and had a couple of good efforts that went close. Nigde almost went ahead after 50 minutes. Sloppy play from the Ankaragucu defence lead to a chance for the visitors, a shot from just outside the box went inches wide.

The turning point of the match came after 64 minutes. Gokhan Özer was sent off for Nigde for what looked like an off the all incident. It took Ankaragucu only 3 minutes to take advantage and what a goal it was. Erhan gathered the ball on the right before beating 3 defenders and firing an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner. 1-0 Ankaragucu.

Ankaragucu had 3 good chances to finish the game off from counter attacks, but the finishing from the forwards Enes and Erhan were woefully bad and they made a mess of it. Enes then went past his man before shooting straight at the keeper. It looked like he may have pulled a muscle as he went down injured and was replaced with Muharrem Ozan.

Ankaragucu held on despite a late onslaught from the visitors to claim all 3 points. There's no doubting Ankaragucu need to up their game if they want to compete for the title. They now lie 2nd after Gumushanespor moved top on goal difference as they beat Hatayspor 3-0 away from home.

Next up is an away match at Sariyer next weekend which will be another tough game for Ankaragucu.

Lig 2 Scores


Hatayspor 0-3 Gumushanespor
Tuzlaspor 1-1 Sariyer
Polatli 4-2 Eyupspor
Kastamonuspor 1-3 1461 Trabzon
Kayseri Erciyesspor 1-1 Tokatspor
Aydinspor 1-1 Inegolspor
Kirklarelispor 0-1 Karsiyaka
Menemen 1-1 Etimesgut

Genclerbirligi fight hard to no avail

Oh for the days when I condemned the draw. Genclerbirligi lost for the first time this season, but probably deserved a draw.

Genclerbirligi 0 - 1 Galatasaray

Just a couple of us down at the Alerta Pub for pre-match drinks, Alex, Jimmy, Little Oz and me, but at the stadium we ended up with 10 more new and old Kankas! Possibly our biggest turnout in years.

The view of the Galatasaray stands from where we were sitting. 

Not just us either. Galatasaray filled their behind the goals away section (Saatli) as well as their Kapali part. Us Gencler fans pretty much filled Maraton... In the old days for a match like this we would fill Gecekondu as well... but those days are long gone.

Lots of great enthusiasm as the game kicked off and both teams looked to play fast football. It was looking good too when Gencler went on the attack in the 10th minute only to stupidly lose it. Cim Bom launched a counter attack and after all sorts of comicly inept defending the ball was in the back of the net. Oh dear.

Down 0-1 after just 10 minutes could have signalled a rout. Fortunately Gencler decided to try and get back into it. Towards the end of the first half and for most of the second half they played their best football of the year. There were moans of frustration when shots and headers went just wide or were saved but there were no moans like those of the last few weeks when the Gencler fans started to get angry at some rather lacklustre play.

A draw should have been the result but Gencler were unlucky. We had a goal scored off a free kick ruled offside and the referee was annoying. Still it was a good match to watch and I'm sure some of the new kankas, for a couple of the kids it was their first ever football match, will be back.

TITA

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Altinordu  3    Mersin  1

Watched the Championship match on TRT this afternoon and ex-Ankaragucu Brazilian attacking midfielder Tita (photo above) strutting his stuff for Mersin.   He may be 35 years old, but we could do with him back here as Ankaragucu’s midfield general, a position that hasn’t been satisfactorily addressed by Ankaragucu.   His passing and vision was excellent, but the final efforts from the Mersin forwards were abysmal.

There was a good standard of footie on display from both teams and if Ankaragucu do gain promotion to The Championship this season it’s a definite MUST DO to strengthen the team for this league.    However, first things first, and 3 points tomorrow against Nigde to consolidate their position at the top of the league.

PS – Guven Varol was another ex-Ankaragucu player today for Mersin, but he had a poor match by his standards.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ankaragucu vs Nigde Belediyespor match preview!

League leaders Ankaragucu host Nigde Belediyespor on Sunday at another empty 19 Mayis stadium due to the stadium ban. After a good 2-0 win at Tokatspor the team will be looking to keep the momentum with another 3 points.

Although Ankaragucu were deserved winners at the weekend, they still haven't delivered the perfect performance which gives you confidence of them being Champions. Defensively the team looks solid enough but we just lack some pace and creativity in attack.

Enes Kubat returned to the team last weekend and showed why he is the key player to the teams title hopes. His tireless running off the ball was rewarded with a goal and he will be looking to add to his tally against Nigde.

Harun and Muhammed rekindled their partnership in midfield and both impressed again. Harun is fast becoming a very important player for the team and also got on the scoresheet with an excellent goal.

After a good start to the season, Nigde have only won 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions. Although they will need to be taken seriously this is a match Ankaragucu should be winning comfortably. However this is Ankaragucu and as well all know, anything is possible!

Ankaragucu 2-0 Tokatspor match report!

Ankaragucu returned to the top of the table with a good 2-0 win at Tokatspor much to the delight of the 500 odd travelling Ankaragucu fans. It was a nice location for Sunday afternoon football in Tokat and both sets of fans can be proud of the way they backed their team.

Ankaragucu Team - Emrah Tuncel, Serkan Balci, Alihan Kubalas, Cenk Kaplan, Mehmet Tasci, Harun Aydin, Muhammed Gonulacar, Ferhat Culcuoglu, Omer Bozan, Erhan Senturk, Enes Kubat

Subs - Emre Koyuncu, Orhan Gulle, Onur Atasayer, Adem Saglam, Sezgin Coskun, Emre Sahin, Muharrem Ozan

Their were much anticipated returns to the starting line up for Cenk Kaplan and Enes Kubat who had been missing in recent weeks through injury, indeed Cenk was actually making his debut and impressed helping the side to a clean cheer. Muhammed returned to the midfield adding more protection to the back four and again played well.

Enes proved yet again that he is going to be vital to Ankaragucu this season with another tireless performance and he was rewarded with a goal after 24 minutes. A nice cross into the box from Erhan straight onto the head of Enes who guided the pall past Atacan Ozturk in the Tokat goal. 1-0 Ankaragucu.

Ankaragucu dominated possession in the first half without creating many chances and at times struggled to breakdown the Tokat defence, but more often the final ball was the main problem. The only other real chance in the first half was a weak effort from Harun Aydin which was easily saved from Ozturk.

Into the second half and for the first 15 minutes Ankaragucu struggled to keep the ball. Tokatspor had two chances, the first one a header which went over the bar and the second was a cross to the back post which came back off the crossbar.

Myself and Harun were discussing how poor we were playing in the second half when Harun scored a screamer. The ball was played into his path just inside the box, before he unleashed a ferocious shot which hit the underside of the bar and went in. Their was a lot of protests that the ball hadn't crossed the line from the Tokat players and to be honest i didn't think it did either, but it was 2-0 and the Ankaragucu fans were delighted.

The last ten minutes was a love affair between the Ankaragucu and Tokatspor fans as the both sang to each other in appreciation. Good luck to Tokatspor for the rest of the season as they fight against relegation.

Ankaragucu move back top of the league with other results going on our favour and it's a home match with Nigde BB next Sunday.

Eyupspor 1-2 Menemen
Sariyer 2-2 Polatli
Gumushanespor 1-0 Kayseri Erciyesspor
Inegolspor 1-0 Hatayspor
Etimesgut 1-0 1461 Trabzon
Nigde 2-2 Tuzlaspor
Karsiyaka 3-4 Aydinspor
Kirklarelispor 0-0 Kastamonuspor

Ankaragucu vs Tokatspor match preview!

Their were som strong words today from President Mehmet Yiginer as he stated that the team must win this weekends match with Tokatspor and get their title hopes back on track. Three defeats in a row, with two of them coming in the league aren't good enough for the team with the best squad on paper in the league.

As we are all aware, stats and paper don't win titles, but teams who work hard, find consistency and put the ball in the back of the net do. Ismet Tasdemir has been working the team hard in training this week trying to address the problems in attack and lack of creativity.

It's expected that Ismet will make some changes to the starting line up. Many have been surprised with the inclusion of Mehmet Tasci in the starting line up instead of the experienced duo Adem Saglam and Sezgin Coskun. One of them will almost certainly come in to join Alihan Kubalas at the back.

Orhan Evci can also count himself unlucky to have been dropped for Serkan Balci. The later has found himself in the team based in his pedigree and past. He needs to improve in his fitness and shape if he is to continue keeping Orhan out of the team.

The one change that MUST happen at the weekend, is the removal of Emrah Tuncel the bombscare in goal. He is arguably the worst goalkeeper I've ever seen and we have a talented young Turkish international in Altay Bayindir waiting to take his place, we also have Emre Koyuncu signed in the summer who can't be any worse than Emrah. President Yiginer was critical of the keeper after last weekends 2-1 defeat against a Gumushanespor.

Up front the team has badly missed the injured Enes Kubat. His movement and work rate were a big part of our success in the first four weeks. Murat Yilmaz although he has scored 2 goals, he is very slow and doesn't have the same effect.

Tokatspor are lying 2nd from bottom having only taken 2 points from their opening 5 games and lost 3-1 at Tuzlaspor last weekend. Without being disrespectful this is a match Ankaragucu should be winning comfortably by 2-3 goals or more.

Will the real Ankaragucu please stand up this weekend and be counted and show us you are title contenders???

Ankaragucu 1-2 Gumushanespor match report!

Watching Ankaragucu today and last week has been like watching replays of last seasons matches. The same problems exist, not enough pace or work rate in the team, poor finishing, not creating enough chances and dreadful goalkeeping.

Team - Emrah Tuncel, Serkan Balci, Alihan Kubalas, Mehmet Tascis, Onur Atasayer, Harun Aydin, Ferhat Culcuoglu, Erhan Senturk, Omer Bozan, Emre Sahin, Murat Yilmaz

Subs - Emre Koyuncu, Sezgin Coskun, Adem Saglam, Muhammed Gonulacar, Muharrem Ozan, Ahmet Yavzar, Hasan Kaya

The 19 Mayis Stadium was near empty again due to the stadium ban, the 100 odd Gumushanespor fans did their team proud as they backed them for the full 90 minutes. It was a nice day in Ankara but unfortunately the teams performance on the pitch didn't match it.

Ankaragucu started the match on the front foot and had a couple of half chances before Hasan in the Gumushanespor made a couple of nice saves to keep the score level.

With their first attempt on goal Gumushanespor took the lead after 15 minutes. A cross into the box was met by Ridvan who knocked the ball past Emrah a Tuncel in the Ankaragucu goal. The goal came against the run of play and straight from kick off Ankaragucu went up the field but a weak header went past the post.

You could be forgiven for thinking the Ankaragucu attacking players were missing on purpose as its hard to believe professional footballers can be so bad at shooting and finishing. Gumushanespor made it 2-0 seven minutes later. Poor defending from Ankaragucu led to a nice exchange of passes from the visitors, Ali shot from the edge of the box and the ball rolled past the hopeless Emrah Tuncel to make it 2-0.

Emrah Tuncel should not be starting as first choice goalkeeper, in fact he shouldn't even be here at all, he is utterly hopeless and was lucky not to give away a penalty to for a horrrible challenge in the area. Ankaragucu have one of the best young goalkeepers in Turkey in Altay Bayindir, it's time for him to play.

Into the second half and it was all Ankaragucu. Hasan in the Gumushanespor made some excellent saves to keep his team 2-0 up. That was until the 90th minute where Murat Yilmaz scored a consolation goal for Ankaragucu.

So another defeat for Ankaragucu which makes it 3 defeats in a row scoring only 1 goal. Not good enough and it looks like same old rubbish from Ankaragucu in this miserable league.

Genclerbirligi grab another point

Aren"t we supposed to be happy with an away draw?

Akhisar 0 - 0 Genclerbirligi

This won't be long.

Friday night and we had a packed Alerta Pub, outside and inside. Beers were flowing and the atmosphere was great. This was in contrast to the Akhisar stadium in Manisa where there was almost no one in the stands and on the field itself Gencler just couldn't cut through.

We started off with Aydin Karabulut on the right instead of Irfan and it looked like the right decision. Aydin got through a couple of times and made a nuisance of himself, setting up a few good chances.

Finishing was poor though with weak shots on traget or balls smashed miles away. Very frustrating  

Both teams had chances, both keepers did just enough.

Still undefeated this year... but next up we face Besiktas.

Ankaragucu vs Gumushanespor match preview!

Ankaragucu will be looking for a win tomorrow against Gumushanespor after a bad week at the office last week. Knocked out of the cup and a defeat at Inegolspor while failing to score in both games will give Ismet Tasdemir cause for concern.

Last weekends 1-0 defeat at Inegolspor was a mirror image performance of last season, as Ankaragucu failed to muster any real threats on goal. The team missed the pace and movement of Enes Kubat as the immobile Murat Yilmaz took his place in the starting line up.

Gumushanespor have started the season with 1 win and 3 draws as they remain undefeated. They drew 1-1 at home to Tuzlaspor last weekend and will be capable of coming to Ankara and winning. The 19 Mayis Stadium will be empty again as Ankaragucu serve their 3rd match of their stadium ban.  Former Ankaragucu striker Cagalyan Alpastan will be in the Gumushanespor squad and the 23 year old will be hoping to return to haunt his former club.

Ismet Tasdemir will be aware that his side need to take all 3 points and maintain their early promise. Another defeat will add more pressure on the manager and players and we all know how difficult it can be playing in front of the fans when the team isn't playing to its full potential.

Erhan Senturk and Omer Bozan will again be key to Ankaragucu attacks as they supply the main source of creativity for the forwards. It will be interesting to see if the coach makes some changes to the team after last weeks defeat.