Greetings Kankas
and Kankies.
Ankaragucu swept
Sivas aside last night in Ankara with a sustained attacking performance
throughout which secured their status as a Super League team for next season.
Despite being
without three key players (Djedje, Faty and Pinto) who left the Club last week
for financial reasons, it didn’t seem to affect the team as much as
anticipated. It was a controlled
performance from start to finish and a consolation goal by Sivas half way
through the 2nd half didn’t have any bearing on the final outcome.
ANKARAGUCU 3 Sivasspor 1
Team – Korcan,
Kitsiou, Kulusic, Pazdan, Cebrail, Moke, Canteros, Boyd, Ilhan, Sacko and
Orgill
Substitutes –
Moulin, Sedat and Sadev
Maniac Kanka
Harun, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and I met-up at the Sumer Cafe in Kizilay
full of optimism, but I was wondering yesterday if we would end up like this
photo from yesteryear ??!!
My quote last
night pre-match was (with all due respect to Sivas) ............’if we cant’ beat Sivas we don’t
deserve to be in the Super League !!’
Harun’s quote was more measured ............’I’ll settle for one point’
!!
Ankaragucu went
straight into attack from the kick-off when Orgill was put through on the left
channel, but with two Ankaragucu attackers free on the right he decided to
shoot, but his shot was blocked for a corner.
Not long after
that, Boyd was put through but he got tangled-up with defenders and the ball
was cleared. Then we witnessed some
great skill from Sacko on the right, but he couldn’t get his cross in due the
close attention of defenders.
The break
through came in the 23rd minute when Man of the Match, Sacko, picked
up a pass just outside the box in the centre and sent in a left foot shot to the
right corner with the goalkeeper helpless.
Smiles all round and sighs of relief.
I said prior to KO that to go in 1-0 up at HT would be imperative to
give them the impetus in the 2nd half !!
Ilhan and Boyd
had other ideas ! On the half hour mark
a sweeping attack on the right when Ilhan chased the ball down to the touch
line and played the cut-back expertly for the inrushing and unmarked Boyd to
sweep the ball in for No2.
Approaching half
time and Korcan had to be smart to cut-out a dangerous Sivas attack which could
have proved costly.
On the half time
whistle and Canteros had a free kick just outside the box but his shot was sent
over.
Ankaragucu
started the 2nd half as they had in the 1st half on full
out attack. It was only 2 minutes old
when Ilhan almost scored from a deft flick on the right at a difficult angle,
but his attempt found the side netting.
However, 3
minutes later and Ankaragucu put the match to bed. It was a sweeping move which saw Boyd’s
shot saved, but Canteros was in the right place to pick up the rebound from the
save and send in a well controlled side-foot shot to the left with the
goalkeeper rooted to the spot.
At this point,
the cameraman zoomed in on our Coach, Mustafa Kaplan, who was shedding tears on
the touchline. Tears of happiness yes,
but probably also tears of relief that he would not be the man to take
Ankaragucu back down to The Championship League !!!
Half way through
the 2nd half and Sivas grabbed a consolation goal which was down to
Ankaragucu’s defenders day-dreaming. A
cross came in from the left to the far post where 2 attackers were lurking
unmarked with the Ankaragucu defence oblivious to their presence. All credit to Braz who headed in with the
unprotected Korcan flapping at air.
Ankaragucu didn’t
allow that goal to alter the pattern of play.
It could almost have been 4 when Moulin’s shot hit the post with the
goalkeeper beaten. The rebound was
picked up by Sacko who’s shot was miraculously saved and tipped over for a
corner.
15 minutes to go
and the referee made his one big mistake of the evening when he waved play on
after Sacko was unceremoniously brought down inside the box. He really should have consulted his VAR for
that incident !!!
10 minutes to go
and Korcan saved a certain goal when he got down smartly to save in the centre.
Ankaragucu was
running the clock down in the last few minutes but Orgill almost made it 4 when
his shot went just past the post.
So, Ankaragucu
travel to Izmir next weekend for the final match against Goztepe and can relax
in the knowledge that Super League footie is preserved for next season. However, the result of that match will have
a bearing on the relegation issue.
Akhisar and
Erzurum look certain to go down, but it is still unclear if Goztepe or Bursa
will join them. If Ankaragucu can beat
Goztepe and Bursa can beat Malatya then Goztepe will go down, but if not, then
it may be curtains for our brother team Bursa.
I guess lots of
the Bursa Teksas Group will travel to Izmir to support Ankaragucu !!!
Well done
Ankaragucu and let’s hope that the Management Team solve the present financial problems
before the resumption of League action next season !!!
All the best
from Eski Kanka Jim
Again a precious report from Jim. You and Nady has spent significant efforts to prepare Ankaragucu reports throughout the season. Thanks for all. I would like to Hope that AG makes a good transfer planning W M.Kaplan and we read them with your comments in your blog this summer. Volkan.
ReplyDeleteThanks Volkan
ReplyDeleteAs long as me and Jim are still alive we will always have the reports and match previews lol
Thanks for your support on this blog Volkan. As Nadeem said, we are here for Ankaragucu and this blog will continue to be a useful aid to footie fanatics who love the Ankara teams.
ReplyDelete