ANKARAGUCU FAIL THE ACID TEST !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies. 

 

Ankaragucu seem determined to spurn golden chance after chance in their efforts to retain their Super League status, and in the process, squandered the opportunity of taking 6 points from their closest rivals over the past 2 weeks.   It speaks volumes that they only managed a measly 1 point from these matches   !!

 

With only one match left to play, they now find themselves in the unenviable position of being relegation favourites, unless they can pull a rabbit out of the hat next weekend.

 

They must travel to 3^rd top of the league Trabzon and look to take all 3 points (unlikely !!).   In the event of failure to do so, and Hatay beat Rize (likely !!), then relegation will be assured.

 

As for last night’s match, there is very little to say, except that Pendik may have surprised Ankaragucu with their willingness to go toe-to-toe with them and dispel the notion that they were the ‘under-dogs’.

 

Sad to say that Bassogog was the only Ankaragucu player who looked capable of breaking the deadlock, and he almost did   !

 

ANKARAGUCU           0                       Pendikspor              0

 

Team – Bahadir, Kitsiou, Radakovic, Mujakic, Kazimcan, Tolga, Bassogog, Efkan, Pedrinho, Rodrigues and Ali Sowe

 

Substitutes – Alexis, Tasos, Ali Kaan, Macheda and Mert

 

Both goalkeepers were untroubled in the 1^st half.     Ankaragucu’s only real chance arrived just before the half time whistle when a cut-back was made to Rodrigues in the 6 yard box and he screwed his shot well wide.

 

Ankaragucu old-boy, Umut Nayir, almost scored for Pendik 10 minutes into the 2^nd half when he sent his well directed header inches over the bar.

 

With 15 minutes to go, Ankaragucu did score when a cross was sent from the left to the unmarked Bassogog on the right.   His first time shot went whizzing inside the right post ............BUT ........the goal was correctly chalked off for offside   !!

 

The match then fizzled out to an unsatisfactory conclusion.

 

So, the bottom line is that Ankaragucu only have themselves to blame for allowing themselves to be dragged into this position.

 

A bleak outlook to dwell upon for this week   !!!

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome of next weekend’s match.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU – OPPORTUNITIES FOR MANOEUVRE DIMINISHING !!!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankiues.

 

Ankaragucu took a giant step backwards last night when they succumbed to a team below them in the league, and in the process found themselves only 2 points above the relegation zone.

 

With only 2 matches left, Ankaragucu is leaving it late to salvage their season and optimism is in short supply right now   !!

 

Ankaragucu travel to 3^rd top of the league Trabzon for their final match, but next Sunday is, realistically, their last chance to take all 3 points when they host Pendik who are in the relegation zone.   Nothing less than 3 points will suffice to take to Trabzon   !!!

 

Last night Ankaragucu fought back to equalise with 5 minutes of the match remaining, but then, instead of shutting-up-shop and seeing the match out, they conceded the winning goal in time-added-on.      Aaaaaaargh    !!!     That goal may come back to haunt them in 2 weeks time   !!

 

Hatay           2                     ANKARAGUCU               1

 

Team – Ertac, Kitsiou, Mujakic, Radakovic, Atakan, Pedrinho, Tasos, Efkan, Alexis, Bassogog and Ali Sowe

 

Substitutes – Bajic, Rodrigues, Riccardo, Ali Kaan and Macheda

 

The 1^st half was a non-event.      However, the match exploded into life in the 70^th minute when Saglam put Hatay ahead.

 

With the match drifting towards the final whistle, Macheda equalised with 5 minutes to go.

 

Then the inevitable happened.     Into time-added-on and a cross came in from the right to the back post.     Who else but Atakan allowed Dadashov to ghost in and his header hit the back of the net   !!

 

So, to next weekend and Ankaragucu is staring into the abyss, unless they can contrive to put Pendik to the sword.

 

Istanbulspor is already relegated, and there is a scrap to determine who joins them.    With only 6 points separating the bottom 7 clubs, it goes without saying that Ankaragucu MUST win next Sunday.

 

Do they have the wherewithal and ‘bottle’ to deliver   ???!!!

 

As always, watch this space for the answer.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI FALL AT THE LAST HURDLE !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Gencler paid the price of failure yesterday due to their early season poor form, especially the massive 12 drawn matches, and in so doing, failed to make the play-off positions.

 

The Championship League concluded yesterday with Eyupspor and Goztepe taking the automatic places.   The play-off places were taken by Sakarya, Bodrum, Corum, Kocaeli and Bolu.

 

All 7 matches yesterday kicked-off at the same time so the TV channel kept switching from one to the other.

 

Tuzlaspor              1                      GENCLERBIRLIGI                1

 

Team – Ertugrul, Yasin, Babacan, Nzaba, Oguzhan, Akabueze, Bugra, Ensar, Amilton M. Yatabare and Melih

 

Substitutes – M. Cagiran, Ozgur and Oltan

 

In a day of high drama, the first action of the day was in Adana where Bandirma, pre-match favourites for the play-offs, were reduced to 10 men after only 10 minutes.   Djitte was the culprit when he blatantly kicked a defender in the back of his leg as the goalkeeper was clearing the ball up-field.   The VAR referee alerted the referee to the incident and he stopped play to check the VAR screen.   Unsurprisingly, he returned to the field and produced the RED card to Djitte   !!     It is fair to say that Djitte’s stupidity contributed to Bandirma’s failure to make the play-offs.

 

Gencler took the lead on the half hour mark with a scrappy goal and a slice of luck when Awuku scored an own goal following Bugra’s shot on goal which had been saved.    The ball rebounded into his path and he could do little except watch the ball dribble over the line.

 

Tuzla was unlucky half way through the 2^nd half when a fierce shot from just outside the box hit the post with Ertugrul beaten.

 

That was it, with the match heading into time-added-on and Gencler heading for the play-offs.    However, not quite   !!

 

With the final whistle approaching, Bas prodded the ball in after Ertugrul had spilled a right wing cross.     However, the referee signalled a foul on Ertugrul, but the VAR referee consulted with the referee before the free kick could be taken.    It took forever for a decision (easily 5 minutes) and then the referee changed his decision and awarded the goal to Tuzla.

 

A little too late for Tuzla to escape relegation after Bolu had scored a late goal to leapfrog Gencler for the play-off position.

 

So, another season in the Championship beckons for Gencler.   It was a close call, and it goes without saying that the team will need to re-group and strengthen in certain areas before the new season kicks off. 

 

In the meantime, thanks to all my regular readers this season   !

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU – TURKISH CUP DREAM PUT TO BED UNTIL NEXT SEASON !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

It was a long and enjoyable journey but Ankaragucu was eliminated from the Turkish Cup last night at the semi-final stage on a 1-0 aggregate.

 

Ankaragucu was unable to reach the final of The Turkish Cup last night despite some heroics by their goalkeeper, Ertac, and a defensive blunder by a defender half way through the 2^nd half, as the match looked destined to be heading for extra time.

 

This match now falls into the category of ............history   !!       More important matters are at hand in the here-and-now in the shape of retaining their position in The Super League for next season.   There are 3 matches left to achieve this, starting this coming Sunday   !

 

Besiktas            1                     ANKARAGUCU             0

 

Team – Ertac, Kitsiou, Radakovic, Mert, Mujakic, Tolga, Alexis, Efkan, Bassogog, Tasos and Bajic

 

Substitutes – Ali Sowe, Atakan, Pedrinho, Rodrigues and Macheda

 

There is not much to say about the 1^st half except the crucial save by Ertac and the follow-up goal-line clearance by Radakovic approaching the half time whistle.

 

At the other end, Bassogog and Tasos were creating space and chances, but Bajic and Efkan were unable to capitalise on them.    The closest Ankaragucu came was created by Bassogog on the right when he sent an inch perfect pass to Alexis, but his first time shot went narrowly past the post.

 

10 minutes into the 2^nd half and Ankaragucu almost found the opening goal when, from a sweeping move, Bassogog’s final goal bound shot was well saved by the goalkeeper.

 

Both teams were committed to attack but with 20 minutes to go, and with my thoughts on extra time looming, the match was turned on its head.   Ertac sent an innocuous pass to Radokovic to instigate a move out of defence, but the normally reliable and consistent Radokovic slipped as he was about to receive the ball.     Muci pounced on the ball and sent his shot in via the underside of the bar to give the exposed Ertac no chance.

 

The goal seemed to inspire Besiktas as they searched for the 2^nd goal. And it almost came 10 minutes later when Cenk’s goal bound shot was acrobatically saved by Ertac.

 

5 minutes later, Atakan was lucky to only receive a yellow card and not RED for sticking his head into Chamberlain’s face in a ‘handbag throwing moment’ between the two of them.

 

6 minutes into time added on and Man of the Match, Ertac, made another acrobatic save from a shot heading for the top right.

 

Ankaragucu must put this disappointment behind them now and focus on Sunday’s crucial ‘6 pointer’, in Hatay.

 

It is to be hoped that Trabzon see off Fatih Karagumruk tonight in the other semi final and keep the Cup out of Istanbul   !!!

 

As always, keep watching this space for the outcome of Sunday’s  MUST WIN match  !

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI GRAB A LIFELINE !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Gencler made hard work of scraping past already relegated Giresun yesterday, but in the process, they gave themselves one last chance to grab the one remaining play-off place.

 

However, even if Gencler win their last match next weekend they must rely on Bandirma to lose or draw their match against Adanaspor.   With Bandirma having a superior goal difference they must be regarded as favourites.   However, as we all know, football is unpredictable and the standard of football in this league is high.

 

There is also another team on the same points as Bandirma and Gencler and that is Bolu (with an inferior goal difference to Bandirma and Gencler), but as I said, Bandirma is surely favourites to grab the remaining play-off place.

 

Gencler only have themselves to blame for leaving it late after all the drawn matches they have had in the course of the season, ie, an incredible 11.

 

So, next weekend Gencler will travel to much improved Tuzla who have moved out of the relegation zone on the back of some excellent recent form.   They are only one point above the relegation zone so it goes without saying that they will be fired-up to take points from Gencler   !!

 

GENCLERBIRLIGI            1                     Giresun             0

 

Team – Ertugrul, Oguzhan, Nzaba, Babacan, Yasin, Ozgur, Amilton, Bugra, Ensar, M.  Yatabare and Melih

 

Substitutes – Elias Durmaz, Jimmy Durmaz, Baran and Akabueze

 

Due to the play-offs and relegation issues not being finalised, all 8 matches yesterday kicked-off at the same time, so the TV Channel was jumping from match-to-match.    Therefore, it was impossible to give a balanced report of the Gencler match.

 

However, the 1^st half statistics probably show that I didn’t miss much   !!        Gencler had 9 shots on goal, but only 1 on target.      Giresun had 6 shots with zero on target.

 

The 2^nd half didn’t seem much better until Gencler finally made the breakthrough with 20 minutes to go.

 

From a corner on the right, the ball was sent to the far post where it was met by Yatabare who sent his powerful header just inside the far post.

 

So, all focus turns to next Sunday now and the ‘all or nothing’ match against Tuzla.

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU – LEAGUE SAFETY POSTPONED !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Ankaragucu can consider themselves unfortunate last night when they were unable to collect all 3 points, when in the dying minutes of the match, they conceded a penalty.   Consequently, they still find themselves involved in the relegation struggle, but with 3 matches left to play, there is still all to play for.

 

Having looked the better team for most of the match, it must have been a bitter pill to swallow for the players, especially having survived a late surge by Alanya to find the equaliser.   Therefore, credit must go to Bahadir and the defence for resisting the onslaught in the final 10 minutes of the match.   The penalty decision therefore was a body blow, however, on the upside, at least one point was secured   !

 

With Istanbulspor already relegated, there are now realistically 7 teams in the mix to join them, so the point gained last night might be significant as the struggle nears conclusion.

 

ANKARAGUCU            1                     Alanyaspor             1

 

Team – Bahadir, Atakan, Radakovic, Mujakic, Kitsiou, Alexis, Pedrinho, Bassogog, Efkan, Tasos and Ali Sowe

 

Substitutes – Bajic, Ali Kaan, Rodrigues, Renaldo and Tolga

 

Apart from an early scare after only 5 minutes when Bahadir saved a goal bound shot at the near post, it was Ankaragucu who looked the likelier of the two teams when they pinned Alanya back with their free flowing attacks.

 

Therefore, it came as no surprise when the opening goal arrived 5 minutes later after a fast break out of defence.   The ball was swept out to Tasos on the left from the centre circle and he took off, cut into the box, and sent his curling shot around the goalkeeper and inside the far post for an exquisite goal   !

 

Buoyed by their goal, Ankaragucu took control of the match at this stage with Alanya’s defence having to work overtime.

 

Ankaragucu almost found the 2^nd goal just before the break with good work by Ali Sowe on the right.      He spotted Bassogog in the centre and sent a perfect pass to him.    Bassogog delayed his shot to wrong foot the goalkeeper, but his goal bound shot was athletically headed over the bar by a defender on the goal line.

 

15 minutes into the 2^nd half and Ankaragucu had another chance to put the match beyond Alanya when Tasos made a telling pass to Alexis, but his goal bound shot was tipped over the bar by the goalkeeper.

 

Approaching the final 10 minutes of the match and Alanya laid siege to the Ankaragucu goal searching frantically for the equaliser.    However, all credit to the defence for dealing with their attacks.

 

Then in the 5^th minute of time added on, the unthinkable happened when Ankaragucu conceded a penalty   !

 

Mujakic failed to win the ball on the right and the attacker had time to send the ball into the box, and as the attacker was about to shoot, Ali Kaan tackled him from behind and sent the ball out for a corner.   However, in the process he brought the attacker down and the referee pointed immediately to the spot.    It was interesting to note that he didn’t feel inclined to check the VAR   !!!

 

Ozgur sent his fierce shot straight down the centre with Bahadir diving to his left.

 

So, still searching for points, Ankaragucu travel to Hatay (4^th bottom of the league at the moment) next Sunday 12 May in what will obviously be classed as a ..........6 pointer   !!

 

However, prior to that important match, there is another important match on Tuesday when Ankaragucu travel to play Besiktas in the 2^nd leg of The Turkish Cup Semi-Final with the Aggregate score at 0-0.

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome of both matches.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI – PLAY-OFF PLACE STILL ON HOLD !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

It was mostly all one-way traffic yesterday towards the Gencler goal in the 1^st half with Goztepe unable to find the opening goal which their general all round play probably deserved.    Gencler on the other hand was unable to test the Goztepe goalkeeper   !

 

Goztepe             2                       GENCLERBIRLIGI            0

 

Team – Ertugrul, Yasin, Babacan, Yigit, Nzaba, Akabueze, Oguzhan, Ensar, James, Amilton and Melih

 

Substitutes – Musa, M. Yatabare, Bugra, Ozgur and Oltan

 

Goztepe laid siege to the Gencler goal in the 1^st half and had 4 opportunities to open the scoring.

 

Firstly, Ertugrul made a great save when he thwarted a one-on-one situation.     Shortly after that narrow escape, from a Goztepe corner on the left, the ball was headed to an unmarked forward at the back post, and with the goal at his mercy, he blasted the ball over the bar.

 

Then inside the 6 yard box a Goztepe forward side-footed the ball over the bar with the goal at his mercy.

 

Finally, and just before the half time whistle, a Goztepe forward blasted the ball over the bar when well placed in the box.

 

I was unable to watch the 2^nd half, but according to the statistics, it was more of the same with Goztepe pressure for the most part.

 

Goztepe finally made the breakthrough with 10 minutes to go when Uzum scored the opening goal.     The icing on the cake came in time-added-on through Lundqvist.

 

Gencler only managed one shot on target in the match and that came late in the 2^nd half.

 

This result means that Goztepe join Eyupspor in the Super League next season.

 

Gencler might still make the play-offs, but they must win their last two matches and hope that some of the teams in their vicinity in the league drop points.

 

Next up is a home match against already relegated Giresun on 5 May.      Giresun has had a torrid season having won only 2 matches, drawn 4 and lost an incredible 26    !!

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU DEMONSTRATE THE MEANING OF ................NEVER-SAY-DIE !!!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

We could have been forgiven for throwing our hands up in despair at the end of the 1^st half after a poor showing by Ankaragucu last night going in 2-0 down.

 

However, as we have witnessed in recent weeks, this Ankaragucu team is not for throwing the towel in, and they came storming back in the 2^nd half to claim a well deserved and crucial point in their efforts to stay above the relegation zone.

 

Granted that there was an element of good fortune which brought Ankaragucu’s first goal, but the introduction of Tasos for the ineffective Renaldo was also a turning point in the attack.   I should also point to the introduction Pedrinho and Rodrigues as contributing to Ankaragucu’s much improved performance in the 2^nd half.

 

This result has made a significant step forward and gives the team confidence and impetus in their last 4 league matches to move even further away from the relegation dog-fight   !!

 

Rizespor              2                            ANKARAGUCU               2

 

Team – Bahadir, Atakan, Mert, Radakovic, Kitsiou, Tolga, Bassogog, Efkan, Alexis, Renaldo and Ali Sowe

 

Substitutes – Tasos, Bajic, Pedrinho and Rodrigues

 

The alarm bells were ringing as early as the 5^th minute when Bahadir was called into action to save a goal bound shot as Rize looked for the early goal.

 

Unsurprisingly it came in the 25^th minute when the unmarked Gaich was allowed a free glancing header inside the 6 yard box from a cross.

 

Rize was rampant at this stage and went further ahead 7 minutes later.    A free kick on the right was sent into the box and Olawoyin was first to it to slide the ball inside the right post when he nipped in ahead of Atakan.

 

A few choice words were obviously used by Coach Emre at the break when Ankaragucu resumed the match with more purpose and it took only 10 minutes for the breakthrough to arrive.

 

It was a fortuitous goal when the Rize goalkeeper fumbled his save from a glancing header by Bajic.    This was the wake-up call and it was heeded by Ankaragucu as they continued to attack in search of the equaliser.

 

It almost arrived 3 minutes later when Tasos was unlucky to see his long range shot hit the bar.

 

It was constant pressure from Ankaragucu from this point and with 10 minutes to go the Rize goalkeeper made a crucial save to deny the equaliser.

 

However, it did come well into time-added-on when Ankaragucu was awarded a corner on the left.     It was sent into the box and Bahadir (who had joined the attack) was first to the ball and sent his glancing header to Rodrigues who reacted quickest to flick the ball in for an amazing equaliser.

 

A just reward for a truly magnificent 2^nd half fight-back   !!

 

After winning a point from the jaws of defeat, the scene is now set for Ankaragucu’s next home match on Friday against mid-table Alanyaspor.

 

Also, a Cup Final place is still within reach, but 100% focus must be in preparation for their league matches and gaining 3 valuable points from them.

 

Coach Emre must ensure that last night’s 2^nd half performance is repeated for 90 plus minutes in the remaining matches this season   !!

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU – CUP DREAM STILL ALIVE !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Ankaragucu kept their hopes of reaching The Turkish Cup Final alive last night and travel to Istanbul on 7 May for the 2^nd Leg of the semi final with still all to play for.   With so much at stake, it would be unwise to write off Ankaragucu’s chances after their never-say-die performance last night   !

 

Unlucky with VAR, hitting the woodwork and poor finishing, Ankaragucu should have taken at least one goal to Istanbul.    The one crumb of comfort is that they start all square and now it is purely in their own hands.   Play like they did last night and the final is within reach, but of course, without spurning their opportunities in the final 3^rd   !!

 

ANKARAGUCU           0                     Besiktas              0

 

Team – Bahadir, Atakan, Radakovic, Mujakic, Kitsiou, Tolga, Alexis, Morutan, Efkan, Bassogog and Ali Sowe

 

Substitutes – Macheda, Pedrinho, Ali Kaan, Kazimcan and Tasos

 

Ankaragucu started brightly and opened the scoring after 15 minutes, or so we all thought, when excellent play by Bassogog on the left and his well aimed pass to Ali Sowe at the far post allowed him to stroke the ball in.    However, the referee was called to the dreaded VAR and he indicated that there had been an offside in the build-up.     From the replay, it was a ‘hairline decision’ and, to be honest, I wasn’t totally convinced   !!

 

To their credit, Ankaragucu continued to press forward and another chance was lost 10 minutes later when a Besiktas defensive blunder was seized upon by Ali Sowe who drove into the box, and with one-on-one with the goalkeeper, blasted the ball over the bar when a cool head would have brought the opening goal   !

 

10 minutes later and another chance was missed when Tolga’s fierce shot from just inside the box was unfortunate to hit the bar and out.

 

It was mostly all Ankaragucu in the 1^st half and they could consider themselves desperately unlucky to go in all square at the break   !

 

It was more of the same in the 2^nd half with Bahadir having only one save to make when he punched the ball clear from a corner.

 

With 15 minutes to go Ankaragucu conjured up the miss of the match which was really unforgiveable   !!     The Besiktas goalkeeper parried a fierce shot straight to the unmarked Macheda who with the goal at his mercy, headed the ball downwards and the rebound sailed over the bar.   No doubt Macheda will have nightmares for some time about this glaring faux pas   !!!

 

Sadly, Morutan was stretchered off near the end when he suddenly pulled-up when jumping for the ball.    It is to be hoped that it is not as serious as it looked.

 

So, the onus of Ankaragucu’s tactics for the 2^nd leg must be quite straight forward, ie, adopt a ‘home match’ mind-set and attack for 90 plus minutes like they did last night.   They must shrug off the idea that they are underdogs    !!!

 

For now, the impetus swings back to league action for a crucial match in Rize on Sunday in which they must take at least one point.

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim