ANKARAGUCU - ANOTHER STEP FORWARD TO UEFA CUP QUALIFICATION PERCHANCE ??!!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Another tentative step towards that elusive UEFA Cup slot by ANKARAGUCU today ??

ANKARAGUCU 1 Manisa 0

I was unable to attend the match today (again !!) due to work commitments, but at least I was able to meet the kankas after the match in the Cappadokia Bar for celebration drinkies for ANKARAGUCU's victoreeeee and to listen to Oz Kanka's frustrated raves about Gencler's current predicament !

Mountaineering Kanka and his promise of bringing lottsa Bilkent Babes didn't materialise....... boo hiss and boo hiss again (waiting for an explanation, and a hangover will NOT be accepted as an excuse !!!). However, loyal and devoted fan Battle Damaged Kanka was there, also, Maniac Kanka, Oz Kanka, Rip Off Kanka, Cherry Kanka Rob and his wee boy Steven (he has inherited his mother's good looks and his mother's extrovert character ...... and his father's love of ANKARAGUCU !!!). `New kanka on the Block` Gunners Fanatik Kanka Rory was also there for his first visit to 19 Mayis Stadium. Unfortunately he is only here for a few more weeks but he is a true footie fanatik having been all over the place supporting Arssssssssinal.

Back to the match, and Battle Damaged Kanka will produce a report tomorrow which will be added as an edit here. All I can say is that Bebbe (Eski Kanka's fav player) scored the goal, but that Battle Damaged wasn't impressed with his performance during the match. I find that difficult to believe !!!

The reasons and all the action from the match will be revealed tomorrow.

Let's leave on a high note....... Ankaraspor lost ..... again..... yessssssssss !!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim


1st EDIT..... Got that one wrong didn't I !! Bebbe didn't score the goal. It was Kirita from a penalty. Must have been a wee bit under the influence last night me thinks ??!!


2nd EDIT......

The following report is courtesay of Battle Damaged Kanka Damon.....

Thanks to Jimbo those of you who were not lucky enough to make it to the match at least know that we won one-nil against Manisaspor picking up three very valuable points which launch us into sixth place pretty much neck and neck with fifth place Denizli and only three points away from the eight ball (Besiktas). Admittedly, we will have a bit more of a challenge ahead of us next week as we will be playing an away match in Konya while Besiktas will be playing a homematch against Rize, but who knows where the winds of football fortune will carry us--I know where Jim is hoping for: The UEFA Cup.

While my last match report from Bursa was a saga of Brobdingnagian proportions, this one regarding the match between Ankaragücü and Manisaspor will be--relatively speaking--a parable of Lilliputian dimensions--although not quite as short as the report in the newspaper Hurriyet, which was so generous as to devote two whole sentences to the match.

Our story begins with Montaineering Kanka Robbie who, after weeks of promising not only to come to the match but to also bring along a bunch of other supporters, did not show up (although I have to say that he did call and apologize before hand).

Then there is the lack of co-operation between Jim and Harun. Harun insists on going to Cappadokia bar and Jim insists on keeping the pre-game meeting place Chopin bar. As a result we wind up divided. (Note from Jim..... Harun MUST obey our Kanka rules !!!).

And yesterday we were even divided inside the Chopin. I was sitting there waiting for Rory and Rob only to find that at some point they had arrived and been ushered to a corner table. So, apparently, we were all sitting in there unaware of each other's presence until I called them to find our where they were just as I was leaving the bar.

And then we have the rest of the Bilkent contingent that cannot seem to wake up early enough to make it to the Chopin at the time specified in the e-mails. After Rory, Rob, little Steven and I had already made it to the Stadium, I received a few phone calls from a couple of Bilkenters. Judging from the voices, I would say that I heard Ananda and Alexandra. Unfortunately, reception was bad and I kept losing them. Hopefully they were able to make it to the match. One Kanka who I did run into by chance was Bad Hat Kanka Ian (although I should mention that he wants his moniker changed to Good Hat Kanka). Unfortunately, we lost each other amidst the throng of Gücü supporters soon after I showed him where to get tickets. Eventually Rory, Rob, Steven, and myself were able to get in and find Maniac Kanka Harun and Rip Off Kanka Erman.

The lesson of this parable is that we fans displayed in life the same flaws that Gücü did on the pitch: a lack of unity and organization. Gücü won but they got lucky. Here's more or less how it went down.

We dominated the first half of the match but both teams played pretty sloppy with occasional flashes of class. Standouts I would say were Kirita and Murat Erdogan, and in defense Emre and Serkan. The biggest disappointment was Bebbe who, no matter how hard he tried, just couldn't pull it together. The match went into half-time scoreless.

Things continued as in the first half until the 54th minute when Yasin who was trying to enter the penalty area was knocked down by Ferhat of Manisa. The ref Bülent Yildirim called for a penalty shot (there was some discussion amongst us kankas as to whether or not Yasin was pushed or whether he slipped on what must be the worst pitch in a Süper Lig level stadium; Harun, however, maintains that Yasin was definitely fouled). In any case, Kirita took the penalty shot; the Manisa goalie Bülent lept in the right direction but lept too far and missed blocking it. We were ahead 1-0.

From this point on, things started looking bad for Gücü. Manisa understandably became more aggressive and took four shots on goal which were all too close for comfort. Luckily none hit the mark. Bebbe also had a one on one face off with the Manisa goalie which should have put us up 2-0, but somehow Bebbe sent it flying out. It was just not his match.

And that was it. Watching this match was like watching a long volley in a tennis match as the two players keep hitting the ball back and forth. Both teams were having that much trouble maintaining possession. Rob, who hadn't been to a match in awhile, turned to me at one point and said "I forgot how lame it was." Rory, who is obviously a see the glass half full kind of guy, however, did say that he did see some flashes of good football. And little Steven captured the essence of the matter when he said, "We won."

After the match it was off to Cappadokia were we were later joined by Eski Kanka Jim who made up--in part--for having missed the match by sporting one hell of a spiffy tie--blue and gold of course!

So, in closing, I make an appeal to all the Gücü supporters in the Kanka group: let's get our act together. If we can't, how can we ask it of our boys on the pitch.

P.S. For those of you who want some great action shots of this match, go to the official Ankaragücü web page:

http://www.ankaragucu.org.tr/news.php?id=1166

Even if Bebbe didn't have the best of matches, look at the heart the man displays.

Great report. Thanks Damon. You are fast becoming a legend in Ankara, and should you wish to leave teaching and take up journalism, I'm sure Oz Kanka can point you in the right direction !!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim