ANKARAGUCU - BETTER LATE THAN NEVER !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

As Oz Kanka reported in the previous post ........

ANKARAGUCU 1 Denizlispor 0

Having laid siege to the Denizli goal for most of the 2nd half it took until the last few minutes of the match to make the break through.

Our giant defender, Mercimek, (built like a brick shit house) came up for a free kick and rose above everyone in the crowded penalty box to power it in, much to the relief of an almost full house.

More details tomorrow afternoon (had a late night at The Knight and Flight after the match !!).

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim


MONDAY 30 NOVEMBER

Greetings Again Kankas and Kankies.

The 'fantastic four' (Kaleci Kanka Tansu, Yankee Kanka, Huso Kanka and Eski) met up in the Chopin on a cloudy Ankara autumn day with rain threatening. Later the clouds didn't disappoint us and the rain poured out of them !

Because of the local Kurban Bayram holiday the streets were unusually quiet and I was the only customer in the Chopin until the others arrived.

However, when we arrived at the Stadium it was just like deja vu, ie, teaming with Ankaragucu punters ! The Stadium was almost full and the 5 tribunes were in full voice in expectation of a vicoreeee. btw, as I've said many times, being an optimist is a pre-requisite for supporting Ankaragucu !!

New Captain, Hurriyet, led the team out -

Senecky
El-Yasa, Ediz, Baki Mercimek and Broggi
Hurriyet, Adem Koc, Mehmet Cakir and Aydin
Vassell and Meye

2nd half substitutes used were Konate (who showed some great touches when he came on), Emre and Barbaros.

The first half was a bore, and with Ankaragucu attacking the Gecikondu End we expected more.

Mehmet Cakir had a good oppotunity but he shot over. Aydin, attacking from the left midfield position also had a couple of chances but he tried to do too much on his own when an early ball into the centre was the best option. However, having said that, he had a good match and could well have cemented his place in the team.

The 2nd half was a different story with Ankaragucu on all out attack and Denizli restricted to sporadic breakaways. However, the Ankaragucu defence was solid, and with Senecky also looking and playing confidently, there was never any danger of Denizli causing an upset.

I lost count of the number of corners which Ankaragucu forced, and as the clock showed 10 minutes to go we were beginning to despair. But, I remember telling Kaleci Kanka that a goal was inevitable (there's that optimism again !!).

Then with 5 minutes to go from a free kick on the left, expertly taken by Broggi, the ball was floated into the crowded penalty area and Baki the Giant rose above everyone to fire in a bullet of a header. Goaaaaaaal and relief and celebrations all round !!

A great 2nd half team performance. However, on the downside it has to be said that Vassell and Meye both had quiet matches and rarely threatened. Most of the goal attempts came from Broggi, El-Yasa and midfield, and of course, the goal scorer Baki. OK, evey player has an off-day but we will need more penetration up front from our 2 strikers next weekend in Trabzon.

Final whistle and cue for all the players to do an Ankara Misket Dance in the centre circle. Fantastic !

So, the MUST WIN match was won and thank God for that !

Back to The Knight and Flight for Kaleci and Eski to have lottsa celebrations drinkies !

Looking forward to next week then and Ankaragucu travel to Trabzon. As far as I'm aware at the moment, this match will take place on Sunday KO 4pm. So, we will probably watch it in The Chopin. See you all there.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim