ANKARAGUCU - ANOTHER BLAST FROM THE PAST

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

With footie still at the pre-season `friendlies` stage....... (well, apart from the Aussies playing the footie giants of Asia - Oman, Iraq and Thailand !!!), I thought it would be an opportune time to have another look back into ANKARAGUCU's past.

You will recall that in a previous post (A European Adventure from the 1970s) I mentioned that ANKARAGUCU was the first Turkish team to play a Scottish team (Rangers) in YooRo footie.

The 1st Round, 1st Leg of The European Cup-Winners Cup was played at The 19 Mayis Stadium in Ankara on 19 September 1973 in front of a capacity crowd of 30,000.

The following report of the match was nicked from the Rangers match programme which was printed for the 2nd Leg in Glasgow .......... QUOTE............

LIGHT BLUES SIZZLED IN THE HEAT !

Strike first - that's the classic answer to the problem of tackling virtually an unknown team in conditions which are awkward and demanding. And that's just what Rangers did in the first meeting with ANKARAGUCU in Turkey.

The conditions were to say the least, testing - a hard, rutted pitch, a light ball and blazing heat with the kick-off advanced unexpectedly by several hours to the hottest part of the afternoon.

But despite all this, plus the absence of key players Johnstone because of injury and MacDonald because of suspension, the Ibrox men took control from the start.

Even a 1st minute tackle which laid low Alfie Conn and meant him going off for treatment for several minutes didn't upset the Light Blues who kept cool all the way.

And it was in a way only justice that Conn returned to put the Ibrox men into the lead in the 11th minute. Conn was on the spot to ram the ball home from close range after defender Ismail mis-kicked at a Young cross.

The Turks came on to a game for 10 minutes in the 2nd half, and it was then big Peter McCloy in goal turned on the style aided by skipper John Greig and Colin Jackson.

Then came the clincher - and a goal which was pure Turkish delight for Rangers. Wee Tommy McLean picked the ball up deep, moved past a couple of defenders, worked a 1-2 movement with Parlane then beat two more defenders before slamming in a left foot shot.

Even the partisan Ankara fans were on their feet cheering that one. That brilliant goal really deflated ANKARAGUCU and Rangers were never troubled after that...... UNQUOTE.

What we need now is more nights like this in Ankara !! With the obvious all round improvement that Turkish footie has made in the last 30 years since this match took place, there can be no more thoughts of Turkish teams being classed as `minnows`.

Recent results by Genclerbirligi and Kayseri in YooRo for example are clear indicators that Turkish footie has made giant strides since the 1970s.

So, here's hoping for a SERIOUS challenge in the league this season from ANKARAGUCU and Gencler for YooRoo qualification.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim