Sunday, April 04, 2021

ANKARAGUCU RETURN TO WINNING WAYS !!

 



 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

A fortuitous, but crucial 3 points won by Ankaragucu today, but they rode their luck, especially in the 1st half when it was Antalya who created all of the few chances on offer.

 

Ankaragucu had to wait until the 70th minute of the match to have their first shot on target  !!!

 

In hindsight, Antalya have only themselves to blame for losing after playing the boring game of pass-back to the goalkeeper for long periods, which probably accounted for their 60% possession.    Also, their shooting in good positions was wayward which probably gave Ankaragucu some measure of encouragement as the match progressed in the 2nd half.

 

ANKARAGUCU           1                       Antalyaspor            0

 

Team – Korcan, Kitsiou, Kulusic, Pazdan, Pinto, Ibrahim, Alper, Endri, Saba, Geraldo and Borven

 

Substitutes – Paintsil, Badji and Voca

 

It took until the 14th minute of the match for the first real action when Pinto cleared a dangerous attack.

 

9 minutes later and Antalya had another chance when a cross came in from the right, but the Antalya attacker had a downward header which Korcan easily saved.

 

5 minutes later and it was Pazdan to the rescue when he broke up an Antalya attack and cleared the danger when the attacker was about to shoot.

 

Ankaragucu had their first chance 5 minutes later when they were awarded a free kick just outside the box, but Alper sent his shot around the wall and just past the post.

 

5 minutes later and Podolski almost scored for Antalya, but his goal bound shot was deflected for a corner.     Then 2 minutes later an Antalya attacker was well placed to score and scuffed his shot past.

 

In the last action of the 1st half Saba missed a great chance to score when he received a pass from the left inside the 6 yard box, but he tried to control the ball instead of connecting first time and the ball was cleared.

 

So, Ankaragucu was perhaps fortunate to go in at half time all square, thanks to the efforts of the defence and some slow and sloppy play from Antalya.

 

On the resumption, Antalya had two good chances to open the scoring.    Firstly, an attacker missed an open goal after a quick breakaway when he sent his shot high and wide.   Then, Korcan saved a shot in the 6 yard box.

 

It took until the 70th minute for Ankaragucu to have their first shot on target and it was almost the opening goal.    From a free kick just outside the box, Endri’s shot was going in just under the bar but the goalkeeper made a great save to tip the ball over.

 

12 minutes later and the break through  !      Pazdan set the move up on the half way line with a pass to the left.    The cross came in and Borven ghosted in between 2 defenders to bullet a header in with the goalkeeper helpless.    A fantastic striker’s goal   !!!

 

There was just time for one more Ankaragucu goal attempt when Paintsil was put through on goal.    He saw the goalkeeper well off his line and tried to take advantage, but although the idea was excellent, the shot was weak and the goalkeeper was able to collect.

 

So, an excellent end result which takes Ankaragucu out of the relegation zone, but it is still very tight down there with teams scrapping for points.    

 

Yet another crucial match coming up on Wednesday when Ankaragucu travel to Konya.     There is no love lost between those 2 teams so we can expect a very close match, but with Hikmet Bey’s tactical genius there is every hope that Ankaragucu can bring at least one point back to Ankara.

 

It is quite obvious that Ankaragucu is not for quitting.    So, as always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

1 comment:

  1. Another great result under Hikmet Karaman. What a job he is doing.

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