ANKARAGUCU - WRONG COLOURS !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

ANKARAGUCU took to the field yesterday in an all black outfit in memory of all the Turkish soldiers who were killed in the east of Turkey by the PKK recently. A commendable sentiment shared by all in the Stadium, but it certainly did not do anything for the performance of the team !

OFTAS 2 ANKARAGUCU 1

Flying Dutchman Kanka Carlo and I met in the Chopin Bar and after a few `refreshments` (Carlo was drinking coffee - good boy !!) we left for the Stadium to find that the `home` Gecikondu was closed. So we hiked around to the other side of the Stadium and joined the thousands queuing to enter.

It never fails to amaze me how so many supporters can attend midweek afternoon matches ! The `away` Gecikondu was full and there must have been at least 5,000 ANKARAGUCU supporters there !

Lots of singing pre-match. However, not the usual ANKARAGUCU songs ! Lots of protest songs against the PKK and the majority of the supporters were waving the Turkish flag. Carlo and I looked on in awe ! Actually, it reminded me of the feeling generated by Scotland supporters when they play Ingallind !!!

Another interesting and unusual thing when the players took to the field. Serkan was wearing an ANKARAGUCU sari/lacivert top for the match !! Surely that must be a first and a contender for The Guinness Book of Records ?!

The match got underway with both teams in an attacking frame of mind and if ANKARAGUCU thought that they could have `a stroll in the park` they were sadly mistaken. The OFTAS defence was dealing with most of the ANKARAGUCU attacks and their goalkeeper, Recep, was in inspired form dealing with all the high balls played into the penalty area.

OFTAS were being restricted to breakaways for most of the time and their forwards certainly had the speed to outrun the ANKARAGUCU defenders (Herr Briegel, please note !!). It was on one of those breakaways on the half hour mark that Serkan scrambled the ball away and stayed down injured. After trying to continue for a few minutes he had to go off (he broke one of his finger’s) and was replaced by `olde boy` Zafer.

Shortly after this, and no fault attached to Zafer, OFTAS took the lead against the run of play. Another breakaway with Savas and Da Silva chasing the same ball, but Savas had the speed and left Da Silva chasing his shadow. Bang…… Zafer had no chance with the ball screaming into the top left hand corner.

Prior to this, the OFTAS goal had led a charmed life. Jaba screwed one wide from close in when it would have been easier to score. Murat blasted the ball over twice from good positions when it would have been easier to score. Kirita blasted the ball over twice from free kicks in good positions when it would have been easier to score. Bebbe had a go at hitting me with the ball in the crowd when it would have been easier to score ! It was frustrating !!

Then, just before the half time whistle, another break down the right wing by OFTAS and the tackle was going in from Emre. However, he decided to slip at the crucial moment ! Thank you very much said Serkan of OFTAS, and he had all the time in the world to take aim and fire another rocket into the top left hand corner which gave Zafer no chance.

Shock horror ! Having had most of the chances, ANKARAGUCU went in 0-2 down.

I also have to mention the fact that I lost count of the number of times the ANKARAGUCU players slipped and lost possession. Was it the pitch or their boots ? Herr Briegel to investigate !! It could easily has cost ANKARAGUCU dearly but for backup defenders and Zafer digging them out the shit !!

The 2nd half was all about ANKARAGUCU attacking which especially in the latter stages was more panic than skill. Even with Augustine on for Mustafa there was not controlled football being played from midfield to the attackers. Still too many `f***in` long balls being played out of defence for my liking !

Bebbe had a great chance to score when the ball was slung over from the left and he headed it perfectly towards the top left hand corner. I was up cheering the goal, but……. Recep had other ideas and pulled off the save of the day. Recep definitely receives my vote as Man of the Match.

With 15 minutes to go, Jaba scored a scrambled goal and the crowd was baying for more. However, what with more blasting over and wayward shots it was not to be. I also have to pay credit to the OFTAS defence for their obdurate defiance at everything ANKARAGUCU threw at them during the match.

Did ANKARAGUCU under-estimate the newcomers to the Super League ? If so, I doubt they will make that mistake on Sunday when Rize come visiting.

So, back to the Cappadokia Bar for some nourishment, but no celebrations !

Every team suffers hiccups from time to time during a season. Let’s hope this was a minor one !

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim