One of footballls most fascinating games is upon us when Ankaragucu travel to brother club Bursaspor on monday night. I have been to many football matches but never seen to sets of fans love and respect each other the way these two teams do. Lets hope the love stays in the stands and not the park, as Ankaragucu have won only 1 of the last ten meetings.
The last time we met, Ankaragucu took the lead after 6 minutes through Stanislav Sestak, but ended up loosing 5-1 in Ankara. Bursaspor who need to win to keep there title challange up, as Fenerbahce and Trabzonspor look like they will go head to head. Bursa havent had the greatest of form since the winter break finished. Kenny Miller will be a threat, with his pace and hes settled in well scoring goals what he does best.
Ankaragucu under new manager Mesut Bakkal have been playing well, with good wins over Konyaspor and Galatasaray. This is his biggest test though, a win over Bursa would all but kill off there title hopes, but would also give us an outside chance of been still in with a shout of a UEFA Cup place.
Key players in this game, for Bursaspor will be Kenny Miller, his pace against the Ankaragucu backline can cause problems. For Ankaragucu it will be Marek Sapara, he has the ability to create chances for the likes of Stanislav Sestak and Robert Vittek.
My prediction is a 1-1 draw which i would be happy with.
good preview nademm...ı think we will win 2-1....
ReplyDeleteThanks for the preview, Nadeem.
ReplyDeleteBursa have been having a horrific second half. But we have a record of not doing so well against them (kinda like aginst Gencler). I'm going with 2-1 but in favor of Bursa.
Obviously I would like to be wrong, but low expectations is the secret to happiness--especially when you support Ankaragücü.
will be a difficult game damon but im going with harun and saying 2-1 us lol, but your right , dont expect much and we may get a surprise lol
ReplyDeletenadeem
Like I said, I'd like to be on the losing side of this bet.
ReplyDeleteI'm with Harun and Nadeem. A 2-0 or even 3-0 is my prediction, and ..... that's without my optimism pills !!!
ReplyDeleteI'm also betting that The Messiah gives Bednar a place in the starting line-up alongside Sestak.
I know we are riding a high, but I just don't see us walking away with this, Jim. Nadeem's 1-1 prediction is a more distinct possibility--but the ball is round, and Mesut's messianic age may very well have begun, so we shall see, and again--not to beat a dead lion, ha ha--but I do very much hope that I am off on this one.
ReplyDeleteNow, let's turn to what The Hurriyet newspaper has to say about Bednar. Found a pretty nice feature on Roman in the Ankara section today. The title roughly translates to
Roman Bednar is bold
Ankaragucu's seasoned striker says he will soon have a place amongst the starting eleven.
I could see that happening.
Injury update:
ReplyDelete--Vittek has started training with the team.
--Fatih Tekke didn't train with the team but did individual training in the sports center.
--Aydın Toscali has resumed running and may be in shape for the match.
--Murat Duruer is out with a groin injury.
--Metin Akan has a problem with one of his lungs. Apparently on account of having air in it he gets to recover for two weeks. I thought air was what lungs were supposed to have in them. Checked with my wife. I translated it correctly. Maybe it was a misprint.
--Guven's groin injury is persisting, and he has left the country for medical treatment.
--Ishak Dogan's treatment is also continuing.
thanks for the injury update damon, was wondering when guven varol would be back. Good to have Vittek back and hopefully aydin and tekke will be back soon to.
ReplyDeletenadeem
The Hurriyet reported this morning (Saturday) that Sestak has a torn tendon or muscle and will be doubtful for the Bursa match. Therefore it looks like Bednar will be given his chance on Monday night. Who plays alongside him will be revealed later.
ReplyDeleteThat is most unfortunate--both for him and for us. The good news is that it is a first degree muscle strain which is the mildest form, so as injuries go, we got lucky.
ReplyDelete