ANKARAGUCU MAKE HEAVY WEATHER OF SECURING ONE POINT !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Yet another of those matches of two halves with an impressive fight back by Ankaragucu in the 2^nd half after huffing and puffing their way through the 1^st half against 10 men.

It was a frustrating 1^st half with Ankaragucu doing everything but put the ball between the sticks, so it wasn’t really a surprise that Denizli went in 2-0 up at half time with their only 2 serious attempts on goal.

ANKARAGUCU        2                Denizlispor         2

Team – Korcan, Cebrail, Alihan, Pazdan, Pinto, Sedat, Faty, Kitsiou, Canteros, Ilhan and Orgill

Substitutes – Scarione, Zaur and Aydin

The kankas assembled in the Metro AVM Cafe near the Eryaman Stadium – Maniac Kanka Harun, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Posh Kanka Ahmet, Kenan and Nurer.

The match exploded into life in the 10^th minute when Barrow received a straight red card for a high tackle into Cebrail’s head.   Fortunately, Cebrail was able to continue after treatment.

Denizli then sneaked a goal in the 22^nd minute and Korcan and his defenders must shoulder the blame for not defending the 6 yard box which is the goalkeeper’s domain.   A free kick was awarded to Denizli on the right touchline and the ball was crossed into the danger area.   Korcan stupidly stayed on his line instead of attacking the ball and Mustafa bulleted a header in to shock us all.   Korcan’s first real touch of the ball was to retrieve it from the net  !

That should have been a wake-up call for Ankaragucu, but Orgill and Ilhan both missed good chances to equalise.

Pazdan came to the rescue on the half hour mark with a timely interception to save a certain goal after some sloppy play from Ankaragucu in midfield.

Then, on the half time whistle came a reprise of the first goal from a cross on the right.   Again the ball was sent into the danger area and again Korcan stayed on his line.   This time it was Rodallega who bulleted in a header with Korcan stationary.      Aaaaaargh, terrible defending   !!!

The 2^nd half revival started with the introduction of Man of the Match, Scarione, for Alihan 10 minutes in.   He took the match by the scruff of the neck and showed his team mates how it should be done  !    God knows what the score would have been if  he had started the match, however, we Ankaragucu supporters are thankful for small mercies  !!

Prior to his first goal, Kitsiou had two chances and Orgill one chance to score but both blasted over and wide to increase our frustration.

At last, Scarione’s great play was rewarded in the 66^th minute when he went on a mazy run on the left, weaving his way past tackles, and shot into the bottom right for an outstanding individual goal.

10 minutes later and a huge sigh of relief when Pazdan made an uncharacteristic mistake to gift the ball to a Denizli attacker.   He bore down on goal one-on-one with Korcan who came rushing out to narrow the angle and his shot went just past the right post.

10 minutes to go and again Kitsiou was ideally placed to find the equaliser but he fired past when it was easier to find the target.

However, 3 minutes later and Scarione again showed his class by firing in a great shot to the top right with the goalkeeper well beaten.

Cue ........volume up ............ as Ankaragucu searched for an unlikely winner which didn’t materialise, but again Ankaragucu showed their fighting spirit to snatch a precious point.

So, despite some heroics in the past few weeks, Ankaragucu is still rooted to 2^nd bottom position in the league, but it is still very tight at the bottom with 6 Clubs within touching distance of each other.

With the transfer ban still in place, it is going to be a tense 2^nd half of the season.   The one worrying aspect is we must hope and pray that Ankaragucu can still pay their existing players their salaries, and also be mindful of other Clubs hovering over their players in the January transfer window.

If Ankaragucu can retain all their players, then we can at least be hopeful of the team moving out of the relegation zone at some point.

First up during the weekend of 18/19 January is a home match against fellow strugglers Konya and that most definitely falls into the category of a ........ must win match !

Keep watching this space for updates.

In the meantime, a Happy New Year to all footie fanatics who follow our reports on this blog.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI BLOWN AWAY IN A RED MIST !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.          

Genclerbirligi was blown away last Friday night in Istan.....spit.....bul in the 2^nd half after they received TWO red cards in the 1^st half.   I am unaware of the circumstances leading to the red cards, but the referee, Firat Aydinus, received the maximum 3 stars for his performance from that well known ‘lover of Ankara teams’ newspaper, The Hurriyet   (cough cough cough !!!).

Besiktas         4                 GENCLERBIRLIGI            1

Team – Ertac, Erdem, Bjarsmyr, Toure, Polomat, Yasin, Sessegnon, Candeias, Ayite, Sefa and Nadir  

Substitutes – Ilker, Rahmetullah and Seuntjens.

The first to go was Nadir in the 11 minute, followed by Yasin in the 36^th minute.   Sandwiched in between was the opening goal by Ayite in the 23^rd minute.   Miraculously, that’s how it stayed until half time, but Coach, Hamza Bey, was given a headache of how to set out their stall for the 2^nd half playing with only 9 players !

It was a mountain to climb for Gencler, and unfortunately a bridge too far  !

Vida equalised 5 minutes from the resumption and the writing was on the wall when BJK went ahead through Nkoudou half way through the 2^nd half.   Oguzhan killed the match off with 15 minutes to go, before Atiba (Man of the Match with 3 assists) added the 4^th in time-added-on.

I don’t suppose there will be an inquisition, since it was clear enough that you must have 11 players on the field to have any chance of challenging BJK when they are at home.   Gencler also had 4 yellow cards, so it goes without saying that Hamza will need to work on their indiscipline in the 2^nd half of the season.

So, going into the winter break, Gencler remain in 13^th place and still 4 points ahead of the relegation zone.  

For their first match after the winter break, Gencler will be away to Rize.     Never an easy place to go when you desperately need points.

A Happy New Year to all the Gencler supporters who follow this blog !

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI - ALMOST, BUT .......NOT QUITE !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

This headline gives me another opportunity to use my favourite idiom .......

Almost means .............. not quite.     Not quite means ........... not right.       Not right means .........wrong.       And wrong means ....... the opportunity to start again and get it right  !!!

That chance may come next Friday when Gencler travel to Istan....spit.....bul to take on 4^th placed Beshiktrash, and if they play like they did yesterday, there is every reason to believe that they might be successful.

Yesterday, they were on their way to causing an upset, but .........ALMOST  !!

GENCLERBIRLIGI        2                  Sivasspor           2

Team – Ertac, Baiano, Bjarsmyr, Toure, Halil, Yasin, Sessegnon, Candeias, Seuntjens, Sefa and Stancu

Substitutes – Berat, Ayite and Erdem

Kone put Sivas ahead in the 24^th minute and that is the way it stayed until Gencler let-rip with two quick-fire goals on the 56^th and 59^th minutes mark through Stancu and Ayite.

League leader Sivas was heading for only their 3^rd defeat of the season before Yatabare equalised 6 minutes into time-added-on.

It is understandable how the Gencler players must have felt.   After all, didn’t we see Ankaragucu do something similar to Galata.....spit.....saray and Antalya in the past 2 weeks  and watch their players rolling around on the turf crying their eyes out  ??!!

Gencler is still only 4 points above the relegation zone, so no time to be complacent.

With Beshiktrash still drying their eyes after losing to Fener last night, this is a golden opportunity to heap more misery on an Istan......spit......bul team yessssssssssss !!

Bring it on.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU NEVER FAIL TO AMAZE !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

That man Kitsiou did it again last Friday night in a reprise of his stoppage time goal against Galata.....spit......saray last week.

With 90 plus 4 minutes on the clock, Kitsiou found himself in a similar position inside the box to last week and stroked the ball in for the 2^nd equaliser.

In all honesty, Ankaragucu was fortunate to retun to Ankara with a point, but the bottom line is that they took their 2 chances well and punished Antalya for their profligacy.

Antalyaspor         2           ANKARAGUCU        2

The kankas watched the match in The Alerta Bar – Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Haluk and Atagun – and Ankaragucu started with much the same team as last week with the welcome return of ‘midfield general’ Canteros.     Ilhan led the line in the absence of Orgill who received a red card last week.

It was Ilhan who almost opened the scoring in the 1^st minute when he was put through inside the box.    However, just as he was about to lob the ball over the goalkeeper, he rushed out and parried the ball which was then cleared.

Antalya soon took control of the match and looked dangerous when breaking forward.    They almost scored in the 9^th minute when Kulusic’s weak header back to Korcan was almost pounced upon by an Antalya attacker, but Korcan was quick to dive and smother the ball.

A screamer of a shot went narrowly past the post in the 20^th minute with Korcan beaten before Antalya finally made the breakthrough.   A corner was sent over from the right which found the head of an Antalya attacker.    His glancing header was sent to the left post where 2 Antalya attackers were just a second ahead of Pazdan and Chico bundled it in.

5 minutes later it was almost 2 when an inviting cross came in from the right but the Antalya attacker just failed to connect and the danger was cleared.

Just on the half time whistle and another great chance for Antalya to make it 2 when Ankaragucu gave the ball away cheaply in midfield (not for the first time !!) and off went the Antalya attacker bearing down on goal.   However, just as he was about to shoot and score, the last gasp saving tackle came in from Kitsiou to deny him.

Ankaragucu’s tackling was what you would expect but their passing in the 1^st half was abysmal and they didn’t create enough goal scoring chances with Ilhan well policed by the Antalya defence.

However, smiles were back on our faces 10 minutes into the 2^nd half when Ankaragucu equalised against the run of play.   Canteros made a run from inside the Antalya half and Kitsiou delivered a great pass to him over the heads of defenders which Canteros latched onto.   He drove into the box and sent in a shot high into the top right corner for a great goal.

10 minutes later and Ankaragucu almost went in front when Kitsiou (Man of the Match) went on a run evading a few tackles before being brought down just outside the box.   Canteros stepped up and curled his effort just past the post.

Antalya wasn’t finished.   With 10 minutes to go, they almost scored when a shot hit the upright and went out of play.    However, one minute later they did find the back of the net and went in front.    A cross came in from the right to the back post and Gustavo came flying in between two defenders to bullet a header in with Korcan well beaten.

That was it, and it showed on our faces as the clock ticked down.

But ............ this team is made of stern stuff, and again they refused to throw in the towel.   4 minutes into time added on and there was Kitsiou to stroke the ball in when a cross came in, hit a defender and Kitsiou was in the right place at the right time to do the biz.

An amazing end to the match which was similar in many ways to last week, when both home teams ran the clock down assuming they had bagged all  3 points.   

The Hurriyet newspaper summed it up quite nicely when they said Ankaragucu fight to the end and never give up  !!!

Attention now turns to next Saturday and the last match before the winter break when Ankaragucu will be at home to mid-table Denizlispor.    As I said previously, the kankas will be attending this match in the Eryaman Stadium KO 3pm.

Let’s end the 1^st half of the season on a high.    It won’t be easy against a useful Denizli team, but it is do-able, especially with a full house guaranteed to make a typical Ankaragucu atmosphere  !!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI BOUNCE BACK IN STYLE !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

After last week’s heavy defeat, Gencler returned to winning ways to put a smile back on the face of Coach, Hamza Hamzaoglu and all connected with the Club.

Last week is best forgotten and time now to look to the future and securing Super League status for next season.

GENCLERBIRLIGI     3             Goztepe         1

Goztepe has proved to be formidable opponents for the past 2 seasons and have threatened at times to challenge the leaders.    However, with Stancu in sparkling form at the moment, it was no surprise when he added 2 more goals to his impressive tally this season.    Sio bagged the 3^rd and Gencler is now beginning to look like the real deal.

Of course, the acid test will come next Sunday afternoon when Gencler will be at home to high flying league leaders Sivas who gave Fener......spit.....bahce a footie lesson yesterday .......yessssssss !

The season has almost reached the half way stage and Gencler sit in 12^th position, but only 4 points above 3^rd bottom Antalya.

It’s as ‘tight as a duck’s arse’ down at the bottom of the league  !!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU DEMONSTRATE THE MEANING OF ‘NO SURRENDER’ !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

What an amazing match !

Ankaragucu showed all their fighting defensive qualities in the first half to go in all square.   However, it was a different story in the 2^nd half when Galatasaray came out with all guns blazing.

Bang, bang, with only 5 minutes till the end of the match, Galatasaray was cruising at 2-0 and strutting around like proud peacocks.

Orgill had been shown the RED card half way through the 2^nd half but Ankaragucu persisted in their efforts to break out and attack.   Then the match was turned on its head !

On the 85^th minute Ilhan was wrestled to the ground in the box by a defender.   Probably Mr Terim will explain the difference between wrestling and football next to him next week ?!

Ilhan kept his nerve and sent in the penalty to the bottom left with Muslera going the opposite way.   It was noticeable that celebrations were zero when 3 Ankaragucu players retrieved the ball and ran it to the centre circle for a quick re-start.

In all honesty, we were thinking that pride had been restored to a degree and an equaliser wasn’t considered.   But ....... Man of the Match for the first time ever, Ilhan, had other ideas.   Into time-added-on, he received a pass on the right near the goal line and won a tackle, looked up, spotted Kitsiou moving in unchallenged, and sent a classic cut-back to him to stroke in to send us all into raptures.

An unbelievable climax to a match which bodes well for the next 2 matches before the winter break.

Back to the beginning though, and Maniac Kanka Harun and I watched the match in The Bira Park Bar and I have to admit that optimism wasn’t on the menu ....... only yummy Efes !!

Team – Korcan, Kitsiou, Pinto, Pazdan, Kulusic, Alihan, Cebrail, Sedat, Faty, Ilhan and Orgill

Substitutes – Alper, Moke and Hasan

Both teams had chances in the first half.   Orgill was put through early in the match, but instead of shooting when well placed, he hesitated and had to play the ball back and the chance was lost.

Shortly after, Ilhan received a pass on the left and fired in a screamer which went just past the left post.

Falcao had a great chance for the home team but his shot was deflected by Pazdan for a corner, but the referee gave a goal kick !!

With everyone expecting an easy evening for Galatasaray, it was a good defensive and sound performance by Ankaragucu.

The 2^nd half was only 7 minutes old when the break through came for Galatasaray.

A free kick on the right was floated in and Feghouli out-jumped the defenders to send in an angled header which deceived Korcan.   Poor covering by the defence which gave Korcan no chance.

Galatasaray continued to attack and Pazdan saved on the line, Korcan saved a certain goal, and Orgill stupidly put his arm into the throat of a Galatasaray player in a fight for the ball to receive a RED.

10 minutes from the end and the miss of the match when a Galatasaray attacker had the goal at his mercy and sent the ball just past the post.  

However, a clumsy tackle by Kulusic 2 minutes later gave Galatasaray the chance to go 2 up when a penalty was rightly awarded.

Belhanda sent it in high to the centre with Korcan diving to the left.

That was it with Harun and I slouched in our chairs with long faces.     Not quite says Ilhan !!

What a rousing finish by Ankaragucu and the players can be proud of their efforts.    In a fine gesture they all went to the travelling supporters to applaud them.

With Orgill suspended for next week, it will be up to Ilhan to lead the line in Antalya with support from possibly Hasan and Cebrail.    We can certainly look forward to bringing back at least one point, and who knows, possibly THREE  !!!

We will be watch it in The Bira Park Bar next Friday KO 8.30pm.

Ankaragucu may still be propping up the league, but on this performance there is every hope that they can stage a fight-back after the winter break and start to put pressure on the teams above them.

Well done Ankaragucu !!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU IN DIRE STRAITS !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Well, let’s not shake our heads and gasp at the result.   As I’ve said more times than I care to remember, there are no ‘easy’ games in this league, especially against a strong Goztepe team who came to Ankara with their tails-up and to attack from start to finish..

ANKARAGUCU     1                Goztepe       3

I watched the match with Atagun in the warmth and comfort of the Alerta Bar with the temperature hovering at just below 0 degrees C outside.   Am I getting soft in my olde age ?    Answers not invited   !!!

Team – Korcan, Kitsiou, Kulusic, Pazdan, Pinto, Moke, Sedat, Canteros, Aydin, Ilhan and Orgill

Substitutes – Cebrail, Alper and Hasan

It was an amazing start to the match.   After only 30 Seconds on the clock, Goztepe broke with speed down the left with the Ankaragucu defence still in doze-mode.   The cross came in and the shot was destined for the back of the net, but Korcan made an instinctive save and the rebound went straight to Halil who made no mistake with Ankaragucu players still lagging and unable to protect Korcan.   What a sucker-punch  !!

Ankaragucu tried to respond and Ilhan had THREE genuine attempts in the next 15 minutes to find the equaliser, but from the first, his header was easily saved, and the other two were over and well past the post as he scuffed his shot for the latter.

Then, on the 20^th minute mark Ankaragucu should have had a penalty when a Goztepe defender used his hand to control the ball before clearing.   Sedat asked for VAR, but the referee waved his protests away.   The TV replay showed clearly that the penalty should have been awarded.    Win some, lose some  !

5 minutes later and panic stations in the Ankaragucu penalty area with their inability to clear the danger.    However, a plus point here for Ilhan when he tracked back to dispossess a Goztepe player who was gearing up to shoot.

A minute later and it was Pazdan to the rescue to block a dangerous goal attempt.

The equaliser came against the run of play on the half hour mark and it was much maligned Ilhan who was the hero.   Ankaragucu took a quick corner to catch the Goztepe defence sleeping and the ball was crossed in from the right.   The ball was cleared and was picked up Sedat, but before he could do anything constructive, Ilhan pounced first to fire a snap-shot into the top left for a classic predator’s goal.

Goztepe returned to the attack and a saving tackle by Kitsiou prevented a goal, and so Ankaragucu deservedly went in all square at half time, and it could be argued that this was down to their fighting spirit.

The 2^nd half was barely 2 minutes old when Ankaragucu again suffered a sucker-punch and conceded an early goal.   A cross came in from the right to the back post and there was the dangerous Serdar (Man of the Match) to bullet a header in with Korcan well beaten.

10 minutes later and it was all over for Ankaragucu when that man again, Serdar, collected a pass on the left and sent in a screamer to the top right corner with Korcan well beaten again.   There are few, if any, goalkeepers who would have saved his 2 goals, so no criticism of Korcan on all 3 goals.

Goztepe should have extended their lead in the 64^th and 80^th minutes but two great saves by Korcan kept the score ‘respectable’  !!

In all honesty, I can’t really complain about the result.   Goztepe was sharper and took their 3 goals well.   The Ankaragucu weaknesses are there for all to see, so no point in dwelling on the obvious.

Ankaragucu remain stuck in 2nd bottom place in the league, but if Kayseri win tomorrow night then they could replace Kayseri as the bottom club !!

Next Saturday Ankaragucu travel to Istan.....spit.....bul to take on Galata.....spit.....saray, so perhaps this will be another disaster waiting to happen   ??!!

As always, watch this space for the details.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI – DEFENSIVE FRAILTIES EXPOSED !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

The Gencler defence was torn to shreds last night in Kadikoy by a resurgent Fenerbahce team who attacked from start to finish.   As much as I hate to say it, this Fener team look strong favourites to overtake current leaders Sivas, and on this form could also be pencilled-in as League Champions.

Fenerbahce       5                GENCLERBIRLIGI       2

Team – Ertac, Candeias, Flavio, Toure, Halil, Baiano, Berat, Sessegnon, Sio, Polomat and Stancu

Substitutes – Nadir, Rahmetullah and Sefa

I was fortunate enough to see the match in snatches in the Red Lion Club when I was joined by two Gencler supporters (Steve and Oguz) for a darts match.

When Sio opened the scoring after only 8 minutes we were hoping for an upset and for Fener to engage panic mode.   However, our optimism was soon dashed when Fener settled and hit 3 goals through Muric (2) and the impressive Gustavo before the half time whistle.

On the resumption, Fener continued to dictate matters and it was unsurprising when they extended their lead through Ferdi with 15 minutes of the match remaining.

Gencler, to their credit, never gave up their efforts to penetrate the Fener defence and were rewarded with a 2^nd goal with a slick attack on the right.   The ball was played into Stancu just outside the box and he fired in an angled shot beyond the reach of Altay in goal.   A just reward for their efforts.

Fener was in no mood to extend their generosity further and Kruse added the 5^th near the end when Fener split the Gencler defence open and Kruse had the easiest of tasks to tap-in with Ertac left exposed.

Gencler have another difficult match next Saturday at home against Goztepe who are Ankaragucu’s opponents tonight.   Irrespective of that result, Goztepe will be a difficult nut to crack.

As always, watch this space for the details.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Alanyaspor 5-0 Ankaragucu

The future of Ankaragucu in the Turkish Super Lig looks extremely bleak at the moment after another thumping at the weekend against Alanyaspor. Its difficult to criticise any of the player or Manager at this stage as the problems off field with previous Management are the main reason why the club are in this position.

Team - Korcan, Cebrail, Pazdan, Kulusic, Pinto, Moke, Kitsiou, Canteros, Mehmet Sak, Hasan Kaya, Dever Orgill

The one bit of criticism that came Mustafa Kaplans way at the weekend was the decision to play Mehmet Sak in one of the winger positions instead of Berke Gurbuz. Mehmet Sak is at best an amateur league level player. He cant defend, cant beat players, doesnt have any skill and doesnt score. And it showed during the game where his only contribution was giving away the 2nd goal for Alanyaspor after sloppy play in the middle of the park.

Goals for Alanyaspor came through Bakasetas who grabbed a double, and Djalma Campos who scored a hat trick.

There was noting positive to write about the Ankaragucu performance who now must win next Saturday at home to in form Goztepe. The team are 3 points behind Kasimpasa who are just outside the relegation zone.