Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
The Ankara Sportswriters Cup was won by Gencler 8-6 on penalties last night after a tedious 90 minutes of what could only be labelled an early season bore of a match !
The only two occasions when the crowd were roused from their slumber was when it was announced that there would be no extra time, and when Mehmet Cakir, true to form, missed his penalty !
It was a sultry August evening when we met up in the Beer Bus. Dan the Man was first to arrive, and surprise surprise, he wasn't wearing his Liverpool top !
Brat Kankie Laura and I were next, followed by Oz Kanka Chris, Maniac Kanka Harun and Hazal Kankie. Long-term absentee Marash Kanka Hakan was next accompanied by Guzel Kankie Asli and his buddy Serkan.
Off to the Stadium 'in different directions' where we met up with Rip Off Kanka Erman, Yankee Kanka and Huso Kanka.
Quite a large Ankaragucu crowd in the Stadium considering it was a 'friendly' match and in the middle of summer. Gecikondu was full and Maraton was almost full.
Maniac Kanka did a 'head-count' of the Gencler supporters and came up with 'that number again' ............ 39 !!!
As I mentioned previously, it was not a footie match which will stay in the memory. OK, it is early in the season, and lots of new faces were appearing in both teams, but there was little goalmouth action to cause an adrenalin rush !
Both teams had only one serious effort on goal in the 1st half, and but for a great reflex save from Serdar from Aydin's bullet of a header, the result could have been defferent. Meye blasted the rebound high over the bar and that was about it for the 1st half. Yawn yawn !
The 2nd half was played in Gencler's half of the field for the most part, but a combination of good defending and poor finishing resulted in a 0-0 stalemate.
Man of the match, Meye, was full of running and enthusiasm - in fact he reminded me of Bebbe's style of play.
Stanislav and Vittek both looked 'out of sorts' but no doubt they will form a successful partnership with Meye up front when the season gets underway in earnest.
Both defences were solid enough, and Ozden playing his first match for Ankaragucu between the sticks didn't make any mistakes.
Zec for Gencler caught the eye and he gave Guven a few scary moments in the match. Stewart had a quiet match but didn't put a foot wrong. Billy Mehmet came off the bench near the end of the match and showed a few glimpses of his talent. I'm sure he will bag a few goals this season.
Time now for both teams to stand-up and be counted. It would be a comforting thought if I could say that they will be up there challenging at the top of the league this season, but ...... I can't !!
Gencler will be in Eski's City next Saturday for a 10pm KO....... yes, I'll repeat that ........ 10pm ! Oz Kanka is still debating whether to go !
Ankaragucu will be at home on Sunday (7.30pm KO I believe) playing Super Cup Winners Trabzon in an empty Stadium, so we will watch it in the Beer Bus.
Congratulations to Cup Winners Gencler for holding their nerve at the penalty shoot-out. Unlucky Ankaragucu had the lion's share of possession, but they had one big problem ......... Mehmet Cakir !!!
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
The Round Ball in Ankara! Dedicated to football lovers in Ankara (Except for those who follow Osmanlispor)
I think you summed it up quite well. From a Gencler point of view I too liked Ermin Zec. Stewart looked good for the first 20 minutes. But it was also good to see Jedinak back in the side. Why we ever sent him out on loan last year I have no idea.
ReplyDeleteI tried to post a comment earlier today. It didn't go through. I am trying one more time:
ReplyDeleteYesterday I was wearing a shirt more important than a Liverpool top. It was the "Save Liverpool FC" t-shirt (www.savelfc.org). I am going the revolutionary road these days.
On a different note: Gencler won the cup but the price ... you name it... Mustafa Pektemek is out for 6 months because of a twisted ankle (or worse). so much for the quality of the pitch.
i sat and watched the score on sporyolu website in turkish. 2 hours of my life that i will never get back lol.
ReplyDeleteIm a but concerned with how much we have struggled against decent teams in pre season with scoring goals. If Vittek doesnt score then no one else does.
As jim says this game against Trabzonspor will be a tough game. Im predicting Besiktas as champions with Trabzonspor as runners up, thats how much i rate them.
But ill take the optomistic pills jim has been taking and predict a home win.
Well done to gencler on there win, massive blow loosing pektenek though.
nadeem
Yeah, keep taking those optimism pills Nadeem - we will probably needs lots of them before the season is out !
ReplyDeleteAs I said in my report, I think we need to give Vittek, Stanislav and Meye a few more games together before we hit the panic button. It may not happen this weekend, but I'm confident that we will see some goals from all three of them as the season unfolds.
Looks like we are going to try and bring Ariel Broggi back. Would be good if we did, i liked ariel and we need a left back badly
ReplyDeletenadeem