ANTALYA WELCOMES TOURISTS ....... BUT, NOT ANKARAGUCU !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

More trials and tribulations for Ankaragucu last night in Antalya. Not an auspicious start to the season .....yet again ...... and after so many personnel changes, the team now has a moutain to climb with matches coming up against Gencler, Antep and in-form team Galatasaray.

Antalyaspor 1 ANKARAGUCU 0

My dear wife and I arrived in Antalya last Saturday afternoon with vertical raining pouring out of the sky and that's the way it stayed most of the day. However, using my renowned initiative for such eventualities, I found an excellent 'watering hole' near the Stadium called 'Doy Doy'. Fici Efes mmmm yummy !

The weather cleared up on Sunday and after doing the usual touristic things to please (you know who !)I was all set for the match.

There was only one gate for Ankaragucu supporters which meant I was right in there with the Gecikondu, Anti-X and Genc Gucu boys. Hundreds of them in the area behind the goal - what a turnout. I met Nehri from the old Lacivert and a few other familiar faces.

We also had 5 policemen beside us, so I thought, oh well, no smoking for the next 2 hours which was not really a problem. However, when everyone around me started 'lighting up' the policemen didn't even bat an eyelid ! It is becoming quite clear to me that the no smoking ban is in name only !

The team had an unfamilier look about it with Ceyhun still suspended and Santos long-term injured -

Serkan
El-Yasa, Risp, Ediz and Broggi
Semavi, Murat Duruer, Hurriyet, Barbaros and Mehmet Cakir
Vassell

I have to say that it was not one of Ankaragucu's best performances with Antalya taking the initiative from the start and playing some fast attacking footie. Ankaragucu was always on the back foot and I don't recall Omer having to make one serious save in the entire match !

Semavi and Hurriyet were busy in midfield but 'lone ranger' Vassell was being well marked and no doubt frustrated at the lack of scoring opportunities. I have to ask the question which I posed so many times last season ............ why only one recognised striker ?? I could perhaps understand that tactic if we were playing CimBom in Istanbul, but ........... we were not !!

Also, I still can't understand why Hikmet Bey is using Murat Duruer in his starting line up ! He had a shocker of a match and it was no surprise therefore when he was replaced by Bebbe 5 minutes before half time. OK says I .... now we will see more attacking options with Bebbe supporting Vassell up front. Wrong !!!

Bloody Hell ...... 5 minutes after coming on and just before the half time whistle, Bebbe was going for an early bath !! Shock all round and none of us could understand the reason. Actually I thought that it was Semavi who had been carded in all the confusion.

I now know the real story 'straight from the horse's mouth' ! Well, you know me, I'm not usually a 'name dropper' but I spoke to Bebbe in the Departure Lounge of Antalya Airport this morning (the team were on the same aircraft as us !) and he admitted kicking one of their player's. Totally out of character I told him and he just smiled. Obviously perpetrated in the heat of the moment - the referee no doubt saw some malicious intent !

Anyway, we had a brief chat before boarding and I gave him our Blog addrress for him, Vassell and Henderson to check us out. It was a pleasure to talk with Bebbe and he is a real gentleman. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to chat to the other team members and ..... grrrrrrr ...... I didn't have my camera to capture that 'kodak moment' !!

Oh yes, back to the footie and that bloody goal after 25 minutes. Shit ! a schoolboy defensive blunder (couldn't see if it was Ediz or Risp) gifted the ball to Neceti (ex-CimBom) and he doesn't miss 'presents' like these. Serkan had no chance.

The 2nd half was a yawn for me. OK, the gallant 10 men didn't stop trying (Semavi in particular) but I honestly couldn't see them scoring, and so it was.

Serkan had his usual reliable match and saved Ankaragucu from further punishment with some goood stops, but what a disappointing result, and with all due respect to Antalya, we should be looking to beat teams like them !

Near the end of the match some of the Ankaragucu supporters in my vicinity began to break the plastic seats and hold them above their heads. I counted at least 20 around me ! And what were the 5 policement near me doing ? Good question ! In two words ..... bugger all !!

So, I was thinking ....... errrrmmmmm ..... what's going to happen to those plastic seats at the final whistle ?? No need to answer that one ! Therefore, I made my way to the exit 5 minutes before the end and gave the Police Officer the usual 'verbal diarrhoea' about being his 'Asker Kardes' (brother soldier) and it worked !! I beat a hasty retreat before all Hell broke out and I scurried away from the Stadium back to my hotel. Sensible decision me thinks ??!!

OK, so we lost, but at least my long-term ambition to visit this Quaint Stadium was achieved. For those of you who haven't been to Antalya, it is situated near the Harbour/Castle with a panoramic view of the Mediterranean Sea. Will I return in the future ? Definitely !

So to next weekend and the Ankara Derby against Gencler. That, of course, pre-supposes that Ahmet Gokcek has resigned as Chairman and the TFF don't pospone any of Ankaragucu's matches ! More on that subject when known.

Providing the match goes ahead, it will be on Saturday 19 September KO 9pm. Meeting as usual in The Chopin from 6.30pm.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim