Eskisehirspor 1-3 Ankaragucu match report!

How many times can you say Ankaragucu rode their luck and came away with 3 points? Not very many would be the answer from most Ankaragucu fans who have had to endure more lows than highs over the last 6 years. Fortunately luck was on our side today with a hard fought 3-1 victory at rivals Eskisehirspor as the team now makes it 6 games without defeat.

Team - Korcan, Erdem, Gencer, Alihan, Mehmet, Sedat, Arif, Putsila, Kenan, Ilhan, Umut

Subs - Altay, Yusuf, Lukasz, Cheikhou, Kehinde, Abdulkadir, Mahmut, Enes

Just as the game started, the Eskisehirspor fans changed in protest against the ban on Ankaragucu fans saying it’s their right to travel to the game. Even though there is no love lost between the two clubs, their is still a mutual respect.

There was a great atmosphere at the Yeni Eskisehir stadium as the home fans cheered their team on and it seemed to have a positive effect on the players as Eskisehirspor dominated the early stages of the match.

Only two minutes in and Erkan Zengin saw his headed effort brilliantly saved from Korcan from close range. A minute later and Korcan dropped the ball in the box, the ball found its way to Hasan Acar who fired well over.

The Ankaragucu defence were all over the place and on the 11th minute Eskisehirspor should have taken the lead. The ball found its way to the unmarked Ofoedu but Korcan made a great save to keep the score at 0-0. Erkan Zengin was causing the Ankaragucu defence problems and he cut inside Erdem but saw his shot go wide.

It took until the 17th minute for Ankaragucu to create their first chance of the game. A good ball into the box for Ilhan but the forwards header was well saved from Kayacan. Five minutes later Anton Putsila shot from distance but was easily saved.

Two minutes before half time Erkan had a chance at the back post but his volley was deflected behind for a corner.

Just as it looked like Ankaragucu were heading into half time lucky to be on level terms, Putsila put Kenan through on goal with a brilliant pass and the little winger kept his calm before slotting the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 Ankaragucu.

Half Time

Altay Bayindir came on at half time for Korcan who was struggling the full game with a leg injury. It was Eskisehirspor who came out looking for the equaliser as Hurriyet saw his shot deflected just over by his own player on the 50th minute.

Three minutes later and Ofoedu missed the chance of the game, he was left at the back post with the simple task of putting the ball into the net but couldn’t even hit the target with only the keeper to beat.

Erdem Ozgenc beat two players before firing straight at the keeper when he should have squared the ball to his teammates in the box. A couple of minutes later and a mistake from Mehmet Sak gifted the ball to Ofoedu who saw his shot well saved from Altay.

A minute later and brilliant play from Kenan who crossed the ball for Umut who misshit his shot but Ilhan was on hand to put the ball into the back of the net. 2-0. Eskisehirspor at this stage must have wondered how they found themselves 2 goals down.

Eskişehirspor continued to push forward and Bruno Mezenga almost got lucky as Altay scrambled his headed effort away.

Altay Bayindir has a big future ahead of him and he showed why with an excellent save from a thunderous Hasan Ayaroglu effort from 25 yards. At the other end Kenan put Umut through on goal but Kayacan made a good save to keep Eskisehirspor in the game.

With time also set up Hasan Acar pulled a goal back for Eskisehirspor in injury time. It gave the subdued home support a bit of a lift, but minutes later Arif broke free down the right hand side and squared for Umut Nayir who put the ball into the back of the net with a brilliant finish. 3-1 Ankaragucu.

An excellent win for Ankaragucu with Anton Putsila and Kenan instrumental while Alihan put in another commanding performance at the back. Mehmet Sak will need to improve his defensive side of the game and their is still room for improvement for Ankaragucu. That said 3rd in the league and only 3 points behind leaders Umraniyespor is a fantastic achievement so far from the team.

Eskisehirspor need to pick themselves up and take the positives from the game. They are better than what they are showing but forwards Bruno Mezenga and Ofoedu need to finish their chances and they need to be better at the back.

Next up is a home tie next Friday night with Denizlispor, we will have the preview here on the blog midweek.