Ankaragucu put Sanliurfa to the sword!

 

One of Jims favourite sayings when Ankaragucu won, "we put them to the sword" as Ahmet mentioned in our Whattsap group. The first competitive match without our great friend Jim ended in a 2-0 win for Ankaragucu against Sanliurfaspor. 

Team - Bahadir, Ismail, Mert, Mahmut, Dursun, Tolga, Efkan, Ali Kaan, Bassogog, Garry, Bajic

Subs - Ertac, Fatih, Arda, Sirac, Hayrullah, Dadashov, Cem, Dioga, Osman

Despite being named in the squad Renaldo Cephas failed to turn up for the game and has also been missing from training all week. Cihat Arslan said after the match that the club has an offer from an Israeli club which they rejected and no one knows where Cephas is. 

It was an overall good performance from Ankaragucu considering some of the issues that the coach has with the team. Both Tolga and Efkan have been looking for a move to the Super Lig, and earlier this week Kitsiou, Bassogog and Cephas have all been subject to interest from other clubs. 

Having to put out a team that has multiple players who clearly dont see their future with Ankaragucu isnt an easy task. 

Apart the first 5 minutes where Sanliurfaspor had a couple of half chances, it was Ankaragucu who dominated the game. 

Goals from Riad Bajic, with a left footed shot from outside the box, and a brilliant team goal finished off by Renat Dadashov were enough to seal the 3 points for Ankaragucu. 

Sanliurfaspor were very poor and could be in for a difficult season as they look to have a lack of quality all over the pitch. 

At the back Ankaragucu looked pretty solid, apart from Dursun at left back who doesnt offer much at either end of the pitch. He is weak defensively, and isnt good enough on the ball to be considered effective from an attacking point of view. 

In midfield, Tolga had a decent game and Ali Kaan worked hard. Efkan showed some nice touches at times but then let himself down with his final ball or decision making. It also looks like Efkan is playing at half the effort of others. 

Up top, Bassogog again showed some nice moments, but similar to Efkan looks like he isnt bought into playing in Lig 1. Riad Bajic didnt have much to do the full game but took his goal well, although no smile and limited celebration tells its own story. 

Renat Dadashov who just signed for the club during the week, gave an impressive debut with his link up play, work rate and finishing off with a great goal.

The only negatives from the game is, it should have been a bigger winning margin, and when Bassogog came off, instead of bringing on Sirac the coach brought on Haryullah instead. 

When your 3rd choice right back comes onto the field, instead of one of the most talented young wingers in Turkey, it says a lot about the development of young players at Ankaragucu. 

Next up is an away match at Erzurumspor on Saturday against Hakan Kutlu and his team!