Greetings Kankas
and Kankies.
Ankaragucu
almost won all three points, but a controversial decision by the referee in
time added on in the 2nd half put paid to that. So, despite a convincing 2nd
half display by Ankaragucu they had to share the points with draw specialists
Rize.
ANKARAGUCU 2
Rize 2
Team – Altay,
Pazdan, Karayel, Kulusic, Mehmet Sak, Sedat, Moke, Canderos, Sacko, Boyd and
Orgill
Substitues –
Moulin, Ilhan and Sadaev
Maniac Kanka
Harun, Hazal and I met-up at his shop, TShirmatik, and we then watched the
match in The Anasson Bar where we were joined by Battle Damaged Kanka
Damon. We did attempt to obtain tickets
for this match but unfortunately were unable to do so for reasons which I won’t
bore you with. However, we will
definitely have tickets for our last home match of the season in 2 weeks time
against Sivas.
Ankaragucu had
little to offer in the 1st half as Rize gradually took control of
the match and impressed with their speed and flowing attacks. Ankaragucu’s only goal attempt was in the 4th
minute but the shot was blocked by the Rize defence. Shortly after that, Moke limped off injured
and was replaced by Moulin.
Rize almost
opened the scoring in the 8th minute when a cross from the left was
met with a fiece shot which eluded Altay and was on its way to the back of the
net until Pazdan managed to retrieve the situation by clearing off the line.
Not for the
first time we saw Canderos dithering on the ball and being dispossessed which I
imagine was frustrating for the Ankaragucu attackers. With Rize in control of the match what was
needed was cool heads.
15 minutes in
and another Rize attack when a cross came in from the right but the goalbound
header was saved by Altay.
It only took
another 10 minutes for Rize to score the opening goal and it was probably a
goal constructed on the training ground.
The move was started in the Rize half and was a free flowing move
between 4 or 5 players with Ankaragucu players chasing shadows. The ball finally ended up on the left and
Meinjak fired it across Altay’s outstretched arm and into the net via the right
post.
On the half hour
mark and Altay had to look smart to smother the ball with a Rize attacker
lurking.
5 minutes later
and Rize increased their lead when they had a quick throw-in on the right and
another flowing move when the ball was cut-back and crossed to the left. Another cross into the centre and a bullet
of a header with the Ankaragucu defence all at sea. However, a let-off for Ankaragucu when
the referee was advised to look at the VAR from an assistant through his
earphone. He then decided that a Rize
player was offside before the goal was scored. Phew .......... relief all round !
Approaching half
time and a rare attack from Ankaragucu but, not for the first time, the final
pass went astray in the final 3rd.
Into time added
on and Rize almost scored again when a cross came in from the left, but the
header went just past the post.
So, there was no
argument from us concerning the scoreline with Ankaragucu lucky to go in only
one goal down. I was thinking, using
the olde cliché, ........... I hope it’s a game of two halves !!!! And so it transpired !!!
The 2nd
half was only 3 minutes old when Boyd was brought down in the box and we were
all up on our feet shouting .......... penalty ! Sacko made a run down the right, cut the
ball back for Boyd and as he was about to shoot he was brought down. The referee didn’t point to the spot
immediately and ended up going to the VAR again. He returned and took play back into the
Ankaragucu half for a foul by Mehmet prior to Sacko’s run down the right. Mehmet received a yellow and .............
no penalty ............ aaaargh !!!
Ankaragucu was
in full attack mode now and 10 minutes later Orgill was brought down on the
right near the corner flag. The ball
was flighted over but the header was over the bar.
However, we only
had to wait another 5 minutes for the equaliser. Ilhan had only been on for 2 minutes as a
replacement for Mehmet when he received a pin point pass from Sacko on the
right and stroked the ball in with the defender in attendance unable to clear.
Ankaragucu
continued to attack, but so also did Rize, and with 20 minutes to go Rize
almost regained the lead when a shot from outside the box hit the post with
Altay beaten. The rebound was won by
Rize and another shot from outside the box went just over the bar.
10 minutes to go
and Sadaev had a great chance to score after a sweeping move down the left but
under no pressure he skied his shot over the bar.
5 minutes later
and the goal of the match. A corner on
the right was sent over and the unmarked Pazdan arrived through a ruck of
players to head powerfully in at the near post.
Yessssssssssss
that’s it we all thought ............. 3 valuable points won after a great 2nd
half fight back. Wrong !!!!
Almost on the
final whistle and a Rize attack down the middle. The ball was sent into the box to a Rize
attacker who was being shadowed by Sedat.
Both players went for the ball which was too high for either to reach
and Sedat lost his balance, fell back and his arm made contact with the Rize
player as they both fell. No way was
that intentional by Sedat as he made a genuine effort to reach the ball and
with the Rize player behind him there was no way of knowing exactly where he
was.
The referee
consulted his VAR yet again and returned to point to the spot. Suat Bey, you will never receive your FIFA
badge with performances like this !!!!!
Up stepped
Muriqi and coolly despatched the penalty to take the smiles off our faces
............. aaaaaargh !! A cruel
ending for Ankaragucu !
Ankaragucu has
still not escaped from the relegation fight, although they are 7 points clear
of 3rd bottom Goztepe with 3 matches left to play. Antalya can do us a favour by beating
them today and I’ll put that result up in the comments section tonight.
Next Sunday
Ankaragucu face the difficult task of beating top of the league Basaksehir in
Istanbul, but with Basak going off the boil in recent weeks it is not
inconceivable that Ankaragucu could nick a point at least.
As always, watch
this space !
All the best
from Eski Kanka Jim
Goztepe thrashed Antalya 5-1 today to move out of the bottom 3. Despite winning yesterday, Erzurum replace them which leaves Ankaragucu only 5 points in front of Erzurum.
ReplyDeleteAkhisar is stuck on the bottom with 25 points, Bursa is 2nd bottom on 30 points and Erzurum on 32 points.
Erzurum travel to Malatya next Sunday and KO at the same time as the Ankaragucu match, ie 7pm.
Getting tense isn't it ??!!
Thanks for the report Jim
ReplyDeleteThe referee robbed us of 2 valuable points. How he could look at VAR and decide that was a penalty is called cheating. Its a disgraceful decision. I never criticise referees but to get that wrong when he could watch the replay is embarrassing.
Its getting tight as you say and we badly need a victory.
Correction ........ Goztepe won 4-1 and not 5-1 as originally reported.
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