GENCLERBIRLIGI GRASP A LIFELINE !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.      

 

At times, Gencler never cease to amaze, and last night was a classic example of how they can turn things around when you least expect it   !

 

In the relegation zone and playing away against the team challenging Samsun for top spot in the league, and only a foolish man would have bet on a Gencler victory.     However, Gencler fully deserved to take all 3 points after making it quite clear from the outset that they intended to attack and were not there to make up the numbers   !

 

Eyup on the other hand did little to impress and I have to say that their lofty league position flatters them.    In fact, they now find themselves under pressure for that 2^nd top spot from Sakarya, Rize and Pendik who all ‘smell blood’   !!

 

Eyupspor             0                             GENCLERBIRLIGI           2

 

Team – Philipp, Yasin, Thomas, Alperen, Muhammed, Abdullah, Khadfi, Erkan, Enes, Mete Kaan and Souleymane

 

Substitutes – Jaime, Tiago, Ivan, Hayrullah and Emmanuel

 

Gencler received the reward for their attacking play in the 12^th minute when Yasin broke with the attackers and received the ball just inside the box on the left.     He struck the ball first time sending in what was obviously a cross to the back post, but the ball flew over the goalkeeper’s head and into the top right corner.     Unintentional it may have been, but a goal is a goal   !!!

 

Gencler almost made it 2 approaching half time when a shot was made just outside the box but the ball hit the post and was cleared.

 

Gencler went in 1-0 at half time looking the more purposeful team and fully justified their lead with Eyup having zero shots on target.      In fact, I have to be honest and say that it was Gencler who looked like the team in 2^nd top position in the league and certainly not a team in the relegation zone   !!

 

The 2^nd half was only 5 minutes old when Gencler increased their lead when the Eyup defenders went to sleep.     A goal kick from Philipp was sent to inside the Eyup half and was latched onto by Mete Kaan who left 3 defenders in his wake before surging into the box and giving the goalkeeper no chance with a well directed shot.

 

10 minutes later Eyup had two great chances to score within 2 minutes of each other but both were skied over when it looked easier to ground the ball and score.

 

Then with about 20 minutes to go till the final whistle, and it looked like the 3^rd Gencler goal.     The Eyup goalkeeper was out of his area in the centre circle to head the ball clear from a Gencler breakaway, but misdirected his header straight to Tiago who raced off towards the goal with defenders unable to catch him.      He then stroked the ball into the net, but the goal was ruled out when VAR was used to inform the referee that Tiago had used his arm to control the ball at the outset of the move.

 

Eyup was unable to trouble Philipp as the match played out and Gencler quite rightly celebrated in front of the small group of travelling supporters.

 

Gencler now have 6 matches left (2 of which are against teams in the relegation zone) to perform another magical escape  from the relegation zone and if they can replicate last night’s performance, it is game-on   !!

 

They will have the perfect opportunity on Monday 17 April at home against Altay, who are now only 4 points ahead of Gencler, to show that last night’s result was not a ‘one off’   !!

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU SECURE THREE CRUCIAL POINTS !!!

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Towards the end of the match, and especially in time added on, Ankaragucu was hanging on to their lead as Istanbulspor pressed forward looking for the equaliser, which at times looked likely to come.

 

However, let’s not detract from the result which will go and long way to calm frayed nerve ends   !!       Ankaragucu is not out of the ‘danger area’ in the league yet, but hope is still alive and well   !

 

I don’t like to criticise players who obviously don’t try to be ineffective, but I have to say that Tasos’s days at the Club are surely numbered.    Milson must play up front in support of Ali  !!

 

Diack had another excellent match and seems to be growing into a commanding figure in the midfield ............and attack   !!

 

Not a full house as one could have reasonably expected for a Saturday afternoon, but noisy and in full voice as usual.    I had to smirk when I looked at the ‘away end’ and spotted TWO lonely souls   !!

 

ANKARAGUCU             3                             Istanbulspor             2

 

Team – Gokhan, Firatcan, Radakovic, Mujakic, Matej, Diack, Taylan, Tasos, emre, Zahid and Ali Sowe

 

Substitutes – Milson, Atakan, Andrej and Kitsiou

 

With the match swinging from end to end for the first 9 minutes, it suddenly took an unusual twist and a piece of quick thinking by Ali to make a statement of intent.     A routine looking back pass was made to the Istanbulspor goalkeeper who looked like he was out for an afternoon stroll in the park by surveying all around him.     However, he underestimated the speed of Ali bearing down on him and in his panic to clear the ball it rebounded off Ali and into the back of the net.   As our Honourary Kanka, Murat Kaya, said to me .........  ‘a lovely present from the goalkeeper to Ankaragucu’   !!!

 

10 minutes later and Gokhan saved a certain equaliser when he pushed the shot around the post for a corner.

 

Approaching the half hour mark and Ali again figured in the 2^nd goal.      He did all the hard work in an attack down the left and eventually the ball was deflected into the path of Diack on the right just inside the box who sent a first time shot inside the left post.

 

With Ankaragucu attacking the Gecikondu end in the 2^nd half, any thoughts that this was going to be an easy victory for Ankaragucu disappeared just one minute into the 2^nd half when and defending by Ankaragucu in a goalmouth melee allowing Sen to apply a final touch to give Ankaragucu a wake-up call   !

 

Ankaragucu had a great chance to restore the two goal cushion 3 minutes later when Zahid and Ali combined well to set-up Taylan with a chance in the box, but he dithered over the ball and the chance was lost when he was dispossessed.

 

The goal did come 3 minutes later and it was that man Ali again who is fast becoming a master of the angled shot.      Good work by Milson on the right and his pass was met by Ali on the right just inside the box.    He sent his fierce angled shot inside the left post for Goal of the Match.

 

That’s it we thought, but ............aaargh ................. 2 minutes later and Istanbulspor snatched an unlikely 2^nd goal.     The Ankaragucu defence must accept responsibility again for this.    A poor headed clearance from inside the box was sent direct to Lokilo lurking unmarked just outside the box and he sent a harmless looking shot at goal which crept inside the left post.    Gokhan, on reflection, will surely ask himself why he didn’t react quicker to save this effort   !!!

 

Into the final stages of the match and Istanbulspor started to look like snatching the equaliser with the Ankaragucu defence all over the place and looking disorganised.    They almost found it on two occasions before the final whistle.     Firstly, Gokhan made a great save from a goal bound shot and then another melee in the box with the ball bobbing around was eventually cleared in a panic situation   !

 

12 minutes of time added on made for a tense run-in to the final whistle with Ankaragucu guilty of time wasting   !!       Sighs of relief all round when the referee blew for time ................ nail biting stuff which is not recommended viewing for those with a weak heart   !!

 

So, looking to the future, and as we all know, and has been said here many times....... there are no ‘easy’ matches in this league, and next Saturday certainly fails into that category.

 

Ankaragucu travel to take on a strong Fenerbahce team who are in the Semi Final of The Turkish Cup and challenging Galatasaray at the top of the league.    So, obviously Ankaragucu will need to improve on yesterday’s performance, especially in defence where they looked so vulnerable in the 2^nd half.

 

It’s a big ask for the team to go there a return with at least a point, but as they have shown from time to time this season, they have it in them to do it   !!

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU BRUSH ASIDE THE LEAGUE CHAMPIONS TO REACH THE SEMI FINAL OF THE TURKISH CUP !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

This was more like the Ankaragucu that we became familiar with a few months ago when Omer Erdogan was the Coach.

 

Hopefully this performance last night was not a one-off and can be reproduced and bettered in the remaining league matches.

 

In the meantime, we will savour a Cup run into the semi final for the first time in hundreds of years ............. well, a long time anyway   !!!

 

ANKARAGUCU            3                         Trabzonspor            1

 

Team – Bahadir, Atakan, Mujakic, Radakovic, Keven, Zahid, Andrej, Matej, Taylan, Emre and Ali Sowe

 

Substitutes – Firatcan, Diack, Tasos, Arda and Gokhan

 

The match sprang into life in the 22^nd minute when Trabzon prised open the Ankaragucu defence to score a well crafted goal and I have to confess that I wasn’t hopeful of an equaliser at this stage of  the match.

 

A long telling pass was  played from the half way line to Abdulkadir, who had ghosted in behind 2 Ankaragucu defenders, and he  had the easiest of chances to slot the ball in with Bahadir exposed by slack defending.

 

Ankaragucu wasn’t for throwing the towel in   !        They had 2 good chances to find the equaliser but were unlucky with both.    Firstly, from Zahid’s corner kick, Ali glanced his header just past the post, and secondly, Emre had a goal bound shot well saved by the goalkeeper.

 

Trabzon went in ahead at half time, but after they had gone behind, Ankaragucu had shown fighting spirit and attacking intent which had been lacking in their recent league matches.

 

That perseverance paid off 6 minutes into the 2^nd half when Ali did the biz.     A cross came in from the left to Ali in the centre who’s header came back off the bar, but he was first to the rebound and headed in for the equaliser.

 

Ankaragucu’s tails were up now and they poured forward searching for the breakthrough to take the lead.

 

It almost came in the 62^nd minute when Taylan’s goal bound shot, heading for inside the left post, was well saved for a corner.

 

Another chance arrived a minute later when the ball was played to Ali in the centre, but surrounded by 3 defenders, he was unable to put his shot in on goal.

 

However, the goal which their attacking play merited finally arrived 5 minutes later.    The corner kick on the left was sent over into the near post by Zahid and Diack rose above everyone else to send his powerful header into the top left.

 

The 3^rd goal almost arrived 10 minutes later from a smart piece of football at a set piece situation.      Ankaragucu had a free kick just outside the box on the right which was taken by Emre to Ali who had peeled away on the right.     He took the ball to the goal line and cut it back for Diack, but his shot went whizzing past the right post.

 

However, the 3^rd goal deservedly arrived 5 minutes later.    A long clearance was made inside the Ankaragucu half which was headed on to Ali in the box.    He swivelled to wrong foot the defender and sent his shot from the left to inside the right post to cap an excellent match, which I may add was an all round great team performance.

 

So, into the hat Ankaragucu goes for the Semi Final Draw which will obviously take place after all the Quarter Final ties had been completed, ie ............

Galatasaray v Istanbul Basak

Fenerbahce v Kayseri

Probably Sivas with Gaziantep unable to play at the moment

 

First up though it is back to league business and the vital match against Istanbulspor at home on Saturday which falls into the category of ............ MUST WIN.      Another performance similar to last night’s will do nicely   !!!

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

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

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Gencler almost stole all 3 points in Manisa yesterday, but of course, almost means ............. not quite   !!     They were the more purposeful team in the 1^st half and were well worth their half time lead.

 

Manisa, on the other hand, seemed out of sorts and didn’t look like a team challenging for the play-off positions.    Manisa had several chances in the 1^st half, but their finishing was woeful and they couldn’t muster any shots on target.

 

Manisa            2                       GENCLERBIRLIGI           1

 

Team – Nurullah, Yasin, Thomas, Alperen, Muhammed, Abdullah, Khadfi, Bugra, Enes, Kaan and Souleymane

 

Substitutes – Erkan, Tiago, Ilker, Jaime and Sekou

 

There was only one moment worthy of mention in the 1^st half on the half hour mark when Gencler opened the scoring with a well crafted goal.    Yasin took a quick throw-in on the left to set-up an attack down the left wing.    The ball was passed into the box to Souleymane who cut the ball back for Muhammed to score with the goalkeeper having no chance.

 

The Manisa dressing room at half time must have been red-hot with the Coach breathing fire, and it obviously worked as the Manisa players came out showing more fighting spirit and resolve.

 

It only took one minute into the 2^nd half for the equaliser to come and it arose from a Gencler loose pass which was pounced upon by an attacker who drove forward,  cut the ball back for Ballou to stroke in via Nurullah’s body, and even the 2 defenders on the goal line couldn’t prevent the ball crossing the line.

 

Halfway through the 2^nd half and the Manisa goalkeeper made an outstanding save to prevent Gencler taking the lead again.      Yasin sent in a perfect cross for Souleymane to bullet in a goal bound header, but the goalkeeper was equal to it and tipped the ball over the bar for a corner.

 

Then 10 minutes from the final whistle, and undoubtedly the goal of the match, and possibly the weekend   !      Yasin committed a foul on the goal line just outside the box on the right.    Kaan stepped up and he curled his shot with his left boot directly into the top right with Nurullah well beaten.    A piece of pure skill by Kaan   !!

 

Gencler is now staring relegation in the face and will need to do something dramatic to climb out of the relegation zone before the run-in begins.

 

Their next match is away to 3^rd top of the league, Eyupspor, on Wednesday 12 April, and with Eyup in a fight alongside Rize, Sakarya and Pendik for the 2^nd spot in the league, they will not receive any favours from a fired-up Eyup team   !

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU – CRISIS LOOMING !!!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

It was quite clear when the team was announced yesterday that the new Ankaragucu Coach, Tolunay Kaftas, was opting for a defensive line-up with very few attacking options available to support Ali, The Lone Ranger, and so it proved with Ankaragucu managing only two shots on target in the match.

 

The main talking point of the match was that Ankaragucu shot themselves in the foot by scorning the opportunity of at least taking a point back to Ankara when they failed to convert a penalty in the 2^nd half.

 

Apart from that, they had Gokhan to thank for keeping the score line respectable   !!

 

Istanbul Basaksehir             1                      ANKARAGUCU              0

 

Team – Gokhan, Kitsiou, Radakovic, Atakan, Mujakic, Hasan Ali, Taylan, Diack, Pedrinho, Emre and Ali Sowe

 

Substitutes – Zahid, Matej Hano, Andrej Dokanovic, Beridze and Oko

 

The first real action of the match came in the 22^nd minute when Gokhan made a spectacular save from a goal bound shot heading inside the right post.

 

The warning went unheeded when Basak opened the scoring 15 minutes later.    A long ball was sent from just inside their own half on the right to Gurler who had peeled away from the Ankaragucu defenders on the left, and with them in his wake, he headed the ball over Gokhan to score a well constructed goal.

 

Emre had a chance to equalise near the half time whistle when he drove into the box on the right and shot narrowly past the left post.

 

The only good news at this point was that Zahid replaced the ineffective Pedrinho for the start of the 2^nd half   !!

 

5 minutes in and Gokhan saved another stinging shot which was goal bound.

 

5 minutes later and Ankaragucu was handed a lifeline when Zahid was brought down in the box when he had received a pass and looked like he was about to shoot.     Ali stepped up and sent his effort to the right which hit the post and rebounded into play only for the 2^nd effort to be skied well over   !     I recommend that Zahid be entrusted with penalty kicks in the future   !!!

 

10 minutes later and yet another great save by Gokhan from a goal bound shot heading inside the left post.

 

5 minutes later and Ankaragucu had another chance to equalise when a cross came in from the left and hit the post.      The rebound was headed against the post by Ali and the 2^nd rebound was sent past the post and out after Ali looked to be off balance.     It was just not Ali’s day   !!

 

10 minutes to go and a scare was avoided of a possible handball in the Ankaragucu box.    However, VAR was not consulted, the referee obviously deemed it was ball to arm and not arm to ball.    A sensible decision at last from a referee and his interpretation of the handball rule   !!!

 

8 minutes into time added on and Gokhan saved a certain goal on a 1 on 1 situation, the last action of the match.

 

The possible crisis is looming, but the panic button has yet to be pushed   !!     Miracles do happen sometimes and relegation is not a done deal yet.     Having said that, the next league match on Saturday 8 April against fellow strugglers Istanbulspor will be the acid test   !

 

Prior to that, on Tuesday 4 April Ankaragucu will face another stiff test in the Quarter Final of The Turkish Cup against Trabzonspor, but to be honest, all the focus will now be on winning league points with the Cup match a mere distraction.

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI FIND THE BACK OF THE NET AT LAST.......... BUT ......

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

An impressive fight-back in the 2^nd half today for Gencler, who played the entire 2nd half with only 10 men, to deservedly share the spoils.

 

On this performance, it is difficult to believe that Keciorengucu is challenging for promotion to The Super League.    They may have had the lion’s share of possession today, but in the entire match they only managed one shot on target and the gift of an own-goal from Gencler.    Nurullah probably had his quietest match of the season  !!

 

Gencler showed their old fighting spirit and probably felt aggrieved when they went behind in the 2^nd half, but the equaliser near the end was worthy of gaining a valuable point.    It is not often that we can witness a goal scored direct from a corner kick without anyone touching the ball  !!

 

Keciorengucu              2                        GENCLERBIRLIGI                 2

 

Team – Nurullah, Yasin, Thomas, Alperen, Ugur, Abdullah, Khadfi, Mete Kaan, Bugra, Ivan and Jaime

 

Substitutes – Erkan, Ilker, Gabriel, Hayrullah and Ozkan

 

The match woke up from its ‘dreamy’ start in the 24^th minute when a Gencler breakaway started around the centre circle.    However, a Kecioren defender reached the ball first, but his back pass intended for the goalkeeper was mis-hit and pounced upon by Mete Kaan who drove forward to score easily with the goalkeeper totally exposed.

 

Then in the 35 minute Ugur saw RED for an unnecessary tackle from behind on a Kecioren player’s ankle.     The referee brandished a yellow card, but before the free kick could be taken, he was directed to the VAR screen.     He returned and changed the card to Red which on reflection was the correct decision for a wild and dangerous tackle, especially from behind.

 

One minute into time added on in the 1^st half and Kecioren was back in the match.   A great pass by Dembele in the centre to the left, and when the cross came into the box, it was deflected by Ivan at the near post to the top of the far post.      Kecioren’s first serious attempt on goal in the 1^st half   !!

 

The 2^nd half was only 10 minutes old when Kecioren took the lead and an excellent goal it was too.    Anderson flew down the right wing and crossed into the box to the far post where the ball was nodded down to the unmarked Dembele who sent a screamer inside the right post.

 

That looked like game-over, but Gencler wasn’t quite finished.    10 minutes to go and they had a corner on the left.     Bugra sent in a curved cross which eluded everyone, and the ball sailed into the top right with the goalkeeper stranded on his line in the centre and a defender unable to reach the ball.

 

Gencler is still stuck in the relegation zone, but there are 6 teams within 11 points of each other in the bottom half with still all to play for.

 

Next up for Gencler is an away match against mid-table Manisa on Sunday 2^nd April.      Manisa is still within touching distance of the play-off positions, so Gencler will need to be at the top of their game for this one.

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU ......AND FALSE HOPE !!!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

(Headline courtesy of Battle Damaged Kanka Damon).

 

We were all expectant of a repeat of last week’s performance, but unfortunately it didn’t materialise when Ankaragucu was brought back down to earth when they were comprehensively beaten by a hungrier and superior team, which doesn’t augur well for Ankaragucu’s future fixtures.

 

Remembering the ease in which Fiorintina brushed Sivas aside in midweek, I think we could  be forgiven for expecting Ankaragucu to brush Sivas aside and equal that result (or at least take the 3 points), but we never seem to learn the lesson that we take nothing for granted as far as Ankaragucu is concerned.

 

Sivasspor               2                     ANKARAGUCU           0

 

Team – Gokhan, Kitsiou, Radadovic, Atakan, Hasan Ali, Taylan, Diack, Zahid, Milson, Emre and Ali Sowe

 

Substitutes – Tasos Dokanovic, Tore, Bevic and Bahadir

 

It only took Sivas 7 minutes to make their intentions clear when they forced Gokhan and a defender to make a double save from 2 goal bound shots.

 

One minute later and Ali was celebrating scoring the opener but it was offside ................ but only just   !

 

22 minutes in and the opening goal came at the other end.      A fast break on the right and the cross came into the centre for the unmarked Cofie to bullet in a header inside the right post.

 

2 minutes later and it was almost the 2^nd goal when Gokhan made a poor clearance straight to a Sivas player whose cross into the centre to an unmarked attacker was deflected for a corner by Radakovic.

 

Ali almost found the equaliser when he was put through on the left    He rounded he goalkeeper and shot, but the angle was tight and he looked off balance as he shot.

 

Then on the half hour mark Sivas scored what would have been a contender for Goal of the Match when Saiz picked up the ball about 30 yards out in the centre, and with 3 Ankaragucu defenders not close enough to put in a tackle, he let fly and the ball whizzed inside the right post.     However, the celebrations were cut short when the referee was directed to the VAR and there was an offside in the build up   !

 

4 minutes later and Ankaragucu thought that they had found the equaliser, but again it was ruled out for offside........... but again, only just   !

 

The 2^nd half was only 10 minutes old when Gokhan had to be replaced by Bahadir.    It was unclear what the problem was, but Gokhan was holding his head and stomach.     Hopefully it isn’t serious   ?!

 

Half way through the 2^nd half and Ankaragucu was guilty of returning to the bad old days of passing back and sideways, running out of ideas and looking like they were settling for damage limitation   !!!

 

Sivas was awarded a free kick just outside the box in the centre which resulted in another double save by Bahadir and Diack from 2 goal bound shots.

  

Then with 15 minutes to go Sivas put the sword in and made the end result a formality.    Atakan was the culprit when his poor clearance went straight to a Sivas player, and when the ball was played into the box the shot was deflected by Atakan with his arm.   Penalty, and no question about it   !      Saiz sent his shot down the centre with Bahadir diving to his left.

 

Sivas was in total control from this point to the end with Ankaragucu looking like a well beaten team.

 

Despite the fact that Ankaragucu had 63% possession in the match, they could only muster one shot on target which speaks volumes about their failure to penetrate the Sivas defence.   I have to say that the Sivas players gave Ankaragucu no time on the ball and were chasing everything (even lost causes  !!).

 

I don’t like to criticise the New Coach, Sedat Bey, who is still no doubt feeling his way in, but I really must question his tactics last night.     If the team can’t match Sivas for skill and speed, then they must show more passion in the way that they did for Omer Erdogan when he was Coach    !!

 

There is a mountain looming in the next match away to Fenerbahce who are challenging Galatasaray at the top of the league.     The date has yet to be notified, and when it is, I will put it here in the comments section.

 

In the meantime, all eyes are on the other teams in the bottom half of the league in the hope that they lose points.    Ankaragucu can’t allow themselves to be cut adrift with 8 teams at the bottom only 6 points apart (excluding Hatay and Gaziantep who will not be relegated).

 

As always, keep watching this space.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim