PTT Lig Week 1 Roundup!

I was pretty much bang on the money with Week 1 predictions as Caykur Rizespor already set an early benchmark at the top, while poor Gaziantepspor look too be facing and impossible task of avoiding relegation.

Ankaragucu kicked off the PTT Lig 2017/18 campaign at home against Erzerumspor and with both sides having overhauled their squads, the 0-0 scoreline was a fair reflection on the game. Ilhan Parlak missed two golden opportunities for Ankaragucu although one of them should have resulted in a penalty after his effort was hand balled off the line. Hamza Younes also had two great chances at the other hand end but failed miserabley with his finishing.

Next up it was Caykur Rizespor who I believe are the favourites having kept their key players from last seasons Super Lig team. They swept Manisaspor away with a 4-1 win, two of the goals coming from ex Ankaragucu player Ozgur Cek, a sole goal for Ogulcan Caglayan and an own goal sent their fans home happy.

The Istanbulspor vs Eskisehirspor was a 4 goal cracker and the home side showed they will be no pushovers this season. Just a couple of years ago Istanbulspor were playing amateur football while Eskisehirspor were playing in the Europa League. It was Eskisehir who took the lead through Ofoedu. Onur Kolay and a Mehmet Celik scored two goals in 5 minutes to put Istanbulspor 2-1 up before Hasan Acar gave Eskisehirspor a share of the points.

Adanaspor got off to a flying start with a comfortable 3-0 win over Denizlispor. A brace from former Everton forward Magaye Gueye and a Bahuttin Kose strike gave them all 3 points.

Their rivals Adana Demirspor had a hard fought 2-2 draw Balikesirspor and will be disappointed they didn't take all 3 points having lead. Savas Yilmaz and Robert Tambe twice gave them the lead before the impressive Foxi Kethevoama and Mehmet Boztepe gave he home side a share of the points.

Samsunspor played out a 0-0 draw with Gaziantep BB in the first competitive game at their new stadium. The Samsun fans will be hoping for more goals in their next home game.

Rydell Poepon will again play a big part in Boluspor's season and he got off the mark in their 2-2 draw with Giresunspor. Boluspor were heading for all 3 points until a last minute striker by Fatih Atik levelled the game. A cracking match where both sides had plenty of chances.

Gaziantepspor have a beautiful new stadium but sadly their were only a couple of hundred fans who attended their opener with Umraniyespor. The team have serious financial problems and have a transfer ban in place. They look to be facing the same fate as Kayseri Erciyesspor which is a shame as they have a lot of history within Turkish football. Umraniyespor ran out 3-0 winners with Ibrahim Akdag scoring a double.

The last game of the week was Elazigspor vs Altinordu and it was the visitors who ran out 2-0 winners with an impressive performance. Two brilliant goals from Mirkan Aydin and Fatih Aktay were enough to see off Elazigspor and Altinordu will now welcome Ankaragucu at home this Sunday.