Been away for a while only to come back to Ankara to see that Gencler's season is basically over. Out of the Cup and no chance of relegation or a European place. Not only that, but our coach resigned mid-week. It seems as if Zumdick left on good terms and we will be coached by his assistant until the end of the season. So, all up, last night's Sivas - Gencler match meant bugger all. At least to us.
Sivasspor 1 - 1 Genclerbirligi
I was off at the Dutch National Day reception last night and as they had free Heineken it was with difficulty that I managed to get Mrs. Oz Kanka to take me to the Beer Bus. I finally did and walked in on the 62nd minute mark to find us 1-0 down. A minute later and Hursut sends across a perfect ball to Oktay who sent the ball into the net with a header.
High fives all round and the Gencler fans all treated my arrival as an omen.
Not long later and a Sivas player was given a second yellow for a dive. The crowd started getting angry and various objects were thrown onto the pitch. Fine coming up for Sivas I guess.
With a man up for 22 minutes it looked as if we were going to go ahead but some great keeping kept us out.
So, 1-1 it finished, and Sivas has to wait another week to see if they can mathematically avoid the drop.
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ReplyDeleteI would like to record a word of praise for Mr Zumdick, even if his passing goes by without a mention in other quarters.
He was initially in a no-win situation when the popular and charismatic Thomas Doll left suddenly in mid-season.
I have to confess that I don't know much about Mr Zumdick but what struck me every time his photo appeared in The Hurriyet was the fact that I never saw him with a smile on his face !!
However, the bottom line is that he pulled Gencler out of the relegation dog fight and took them to the semi-final of the Turkish Cup.
Getting to the semi-final was quite an achievement when you consider that Ankaragucu was the Group favourites after beating Fener so convincingly.
My message to Mr Zumdick is simple ...... gule gule !!