Ankaragucu vs Antalyaspor match preview!

Its do or die as they say on Sunday as Ankaragucu host Anyalyaspor knowing that only a win will give them hope of staying in the Super Lig and other results must also go their way.

Ankaragucu gave themselves a lifeline last weekend with a 1-0 win over Galatasaray thanks to an Oscar Scarione penalty. Sadly the performance has been overshadowed again by off field problems with Gerson Rodrigues sent home from the squad due to punching Ante Kulusic in training.

According to reports, this was due to Rodrigues questioning Ibrahim Uzulmez in which Ante Kulusic spoke up and it ended up in a heated argument before Rodrigues threw the punch. The Luxembourg International has been a key player for the club since signing in January but his attitude and behavior seems to be an issue at any club he plays for.

The Ankaragucu management team met this week with the team who refused to forgive Gerson, and the decision was made to terminate his contract. The team will also be without Dever Orgill for Sundays match due to suspension.

This leaves Ibrahim Uzulmez with the decision of giving Gelmin Rivas his first start for the club, or playing Ilhan Parlak. Hopefully Gelmin is giving the nod as Ilhan just isnt good enough to lead the line with his poor control and touch and link up play.

Stelios Kitsiou was rumored to have signed with Antalyaspor after news broke yesterday on Twitter from various Turkish media outlets, but both the player and club have denied this. Kitsiou has been one of the teams most important players and the timing of the news is far from ideal an thankfully has been rubbished.

Antalyaspor are one of the form teams in the Super Lig since football has resumed. Only 1 defeat since they returned with wins against Besiktas, Alanyaspor, Rizespor and a draw at Trabzon shows how difficult a task it will be for Ankaragucu. The experienced Adis Jahovic will be the man to watch as he is one of the best finishers in the Super Lig. Ankaragucu actually tried to sign him in January but due to being unable to lift the transfer ban until the last day they missed out.

With Antalyaspor having nothing to play for, and Ankaragucu fighting for survival the extra motivation should be there for the team. They have also asked for Gerson to be removed from the team, its now up to them to show that it was the correct decision. Konrad Mikhalak and Saba Lobjabidze will be key players in attack and will need to take any chances that come their way.

At the back for Ankaragucu Pazdan and Kulusic were back to their best last weekend and will have Kitsiou and Pinto on either side. Ricardo Faty has come in for a lot of stick from the Ankaragucu support at times, but there is no doubting his effort and work rate. Another big performance will be needed if Ankaragucu are to take all 3 points.

THE PROSPECT OF ANKARAGUCU RETAINING THEIR SUPER LEAGUE STATUS LOOKS BLEAK !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

After the abominations in Konya and Denizli last night when top of the league Basaksehir lost to Konya 4-3, and 2^nd top of the league Trabzon lost to Denizli 2-1, Ankaragucu’s future in the Super League is hanging by a thread  !

So, even if Ankaragucu win their last two matches against Antalya and Denizli, they must rely on other results to assist their ‘escape’  !

Ankaragucu is still propping up the league on 29 points.

Above them on 32 points are Malatya, Rize and Kayseri, with Konya one point better off on 33 points.   Denizli is probably looking safe on 35 points.

Rize and Malatya play each other on Sunday and that match has a draw written all over it.

Kayseri travel to Basaksehir and Denizli travel to Alanya on Saturday.

Konya appear to have the most difficult task facing Trabzon away on Saturday.

Basaksehir and Trabzon are still fighting it out at the top of the league, so they will both be looking to bounce back to form after last night’s results.

So, depending on next weekend’s results, it may well come down to the last day of the season on Sunday 26 July to see who is making the drop.

After last night’s shock results I’m wisely not making any predictions.   I’ll keep my thoughts secret to prevent giving any team the kiss of death  !!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU LEAVE THE DOOR AJAR !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

A great result last night in Ankara leaves the door ajar for Ankaragucu to record a famous escape from relegation.     BUT..........only if they can conjure up two more victories in their last two matches, and hope that some of their fellow strugglers slip-up.

The end of the season at both ends of the league table are on a knife edge with still all to play for.   There would have been few punters putting their money on an Ankaragucu win last night against last season’s champions, but for followers of Ankaragucu, we have never given up hope, especially with our famous fighting spirit and never-say-die attitude.

Of course, Galata....spit.....saray is not the same team as last season, but that does not detract from the result last night and Ankaragucu’s determination to refuse to lie-down  !

ANKARAGUCU       1                 Galatasaray         0

Team – Ricardo, Kitsiou, Kulusic, Pazdan, Pinto, Faty, Pukasik, Saba, Scarione, Michalak and Orgill

I only managed to see the highlights, and it seems to have been one of those end-to-end matches with both goalkeepers kept busy.   Scarione, Orgill and Pazdan had chances and I noticed that Pazdan was also busy in defence with his renowned blocking tackles.

Ricardo had another good match in goal and is quite rightly forcing our other excellent goalkeeper, Korcan, to warm the bench.

The crucial goal came in the 60^th minute when a penalty was correctly awarded when an Ankaragucu player was tripped in the box.    Scarione made no mistake with his trademark accuracy  !

With 3 successive defeats, Galata.....spit.....saray is now struggling to qualify for the Europa Cup, BUT ..........do we care   ???!!!

With those 3 vital points, Ankaragucu took closer order in the league with the bottom 5 who all play tonight, Rize, Konya, Denizli and Malatya all having difficult matches against teams in the top 5.

So, if Ankaragucu needed motivation then perhaps they will have it later tonight  ?!

Ankaragucu has another home match next Sunday against Antalyaspor which falls into the category of ‘only a win will suffice’   !!

Their destiny is in their own hands now.   Win the remaining two matches and hope for the other 5 teams to slip-up.   Will they manage ‘The Great Escape’   ??

As always, watch this space for the answer.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI NOT FOR FOLDING !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Gencler took a massive step to secure their Super League status last night in Izmir.    It’s not a done deal yet, but who in their right mind would bet against them retaining their position in the Super League  ?!

Goztepe         1                 GENCLERBIRLIGI           3

Team – Ozbir, Ozgenc, Ramols, Toure, Polomat, Ozdemir, Yilmaz Dikmen, Candeias, Sio and Stancu

Gencler only had 4 shots on target, but they made 3 of them count with their two hit-men doing the biz.

Sio opened the scoring on the half hour mark and Stancu bagged the 2^nd on the half time whistle.    Substitute Sessegnon sealed it with a penalty with 15 minutes remaining, and Ozturk scored a consolation goal for Goztepe in time added on.

So, with only 2 matches to go, this welcome win puts Gencler 5 points clear of 3^rd bottom Kayseri.   However, the bottom 6 clubs all play tomorrow and Monday which will no doubt change the situation, but as I said, this was a crucial win for Gencler.

First up is Ankaragucu against Galata......spit......saray tonight with Ankaragucu looking like the red hot favourites to go down.      The others (Rize, Kayseri, Konya, Malatya and Denizli) all play on Monday with Konya and Denizli playing against the top 2 (Basak and Trabzon), and Malatya hosting Beshiktrash.

Next up for Gencler is a home match against Beshiktrash next weekend.

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU DELAY THE INEVITABLE !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

I was unable to watch the match last night, but it seems that Ankaragucu’s mini-fightback will only delay the inevitable of relegation to The Championship League.     For those of you who were able to watch it, please correct me if you disagree  !

Goztepe           2              ANKARAGUCU           2

Team – Ricardo, Kitsiou, Ante, Pazdan, Pinto, Faty, Lukasik, Sedat, Ilhan, Rodrigues and Orgill

Under normal circumstances this result would have been classed as acceptable since Goztepe have always been a difficult nut to crack at home.

However, with Ankaragucu propping up the league, one point is insufficient to mount a late revival similar to what Kayseri has achieved   !

Orgill’s goal drought vanished last night as he opened the scoring with a well worked goal after 15 minutes and we could have been forgiven for daring to think of 3 points.      Pessimism returned 10 minutes later when Goztepe was awarded a penalty after a clumsy challenge in the box.

Wilczek despatched it, and then Aydogdu put Goztepe ahead in time added on in the 1^st half, with an excellent constructed headed goal.

Hopes were raised 15 minutes into the 2^nd half when Ankaragucu was awarded a penalty after a needless foul on the goal line on the right which was gratefully put-away by Rodrigues into the right corner of the goal.

From the brief highlights which I was able to watch, Ankaragucu could quite possibly consider themselves unlucky not to have snatched victory from the jaws of yet another 2 points lost.

It was Scarione (returning to the team as a substitute) who almost did the damage with 3 excellent efforts, two of which were only just wide, and the third an excellent save from Beto.

So, It’s back to Ankara to prepare for the visit of deposed champions Galata.....spit......saray on Sunday who will be in no mood to take their foot off the gas.    They may well not be champions this season, but they still have a fight on their hands to win a place in the Europa Cup next season.    An intriguing encounter is guaranteed and a last chance for Ankaragucu to keep their season alive.

As Vitoria Kanka Miguel said to me last night ...........’it is still mathematically possible for Ankaragucu to avoid the drop’ ...............but, with only 3 matches left to play, the clock is ticking  !!

Tonight, Rize (3 points ahead of Ankaragucu) play Kayseri (5 points ahead of Ankaragucu).    Also, Konya (4 points ahead of Ankaragucu) travel to Gaziantep.

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI REFUSE TO SURRENDER !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Just when I’ve written Gencler off as relegation fodder, they bounce back and leave me with ‘egg on my face’  !!     All credit to them for refusing to surrender their Super League status.

GENCLERBIRLIGI       1                Fenerbahce           1

Team – Nordfeldt, Ozgenc, Toure, Ramos, Pehlivanoglu, Ozdemir, Baiano, Candeias, Dikmen, Yilmaz and Stancu.

As I said to Nadeem a few weeks ago, the difference between Gencler and Ankaragucu is that Gencler has Stancu and Ankaragucu has Orgill  !!

He was the difference last night when he opened the scoring on the hour mark.      Fener.....spit.....bahce had the lion’s share of play in the 2^nd half and Belozoglu eventually equalised with 10 minutes to go.     However, Gencler held on to win another valuable point in their quest to avoid being sucked into the relegation zone.

Having said that though, they can’t breathe a sigh of relief just yet with 3 difficult matches coming up, starting with Goztepe away on Saturday.

It is generally accepted by some of us that Ankaragucu and Malatya will be going down, but who is going to join them remains to be seen  !!

Keep watching this space for the outcome.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI – ALMOST, BUT NOT QUITE !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Malatyaspor          0                GENCLERBIRLIGI        0

Team – Nordfeldt, Pehlivanoglu, Toure, Ramos, Ozgenc, Ozdemir, Baiano, Candeias, Ayite, Yilmaz and Stancu

Genclerbirligi fought out a no-scoring draw in Malatya last night and I’m secretly pleased that I wasn’t able to watch it.       Malatya had zero shots on target and Gencler had one  !!     An exciting match  ?      Mmmmmm....... doubtful  !!

So, some Gencler supporters might have been celebrating winning an away point in Malatya last night, but the realists will not be fooled by Gencler’s league position.    Some might say that ‘we are almost safe’ and others might say ‘but not quite’.     Much will hinge on the 4 remaining matches to find out which of the teams in the relegation zone has ‘the bottle’ to climb out of danger.

There are 7 teams who could drop down, with Ankaragucu being the favourite.   The other 2 places are not so easy to estimate, but looking at Gencler’s 4 remaining fixtures, I would not bet against them sliding into the relegation zone, eg, with Fener, Goztepe, Sivas and Beshiktrash coming up, it will require a mega effort to collect points from those matches.

Of course, it is not mission impossible, but much will depend on the home match against Fener......spit....bahce tomorrow night.

Watch this space for the outcome.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim