Ankaragucu succumb, but not without a fight

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

I arrived at the Stadium direct from school only 5 minutes before KO and found the Ruzgarli Ticket Box closed, so I used my initiative and use my Season Ticket !

I entered an eerie empty stadium again, and what do you expect from an effin 3pm KO on a Monday !!! There was barely 200 in Gecikondu and only about 50 in the whole length of
Maraton !

Ankaragucu 1 Karabukspor 5

Ankaragucu was straight into attack and almost scored in the 7th minute when a goalbound header from a corner was well saved.

Ankaragucu was continuing to attack and they really should have scored on the 13th minute mark when a shot came in but just wide. But, 4 minutes later I was up on my feet when a screamer was fired in with the goalkeeper beaten, but the ball came off the post and out.

Karabuk attacked from the clearance and the young Ankaragucu goalkeeper (didn't get his name) made a good save.

20 minutes in and from another Ankaragucu corner swung over to the back post the left winger (I think it was Hasan) shot over when it looked easier to score. He was at it again 4 minutes later when he jinked his way past a few defenders but his final shot was well saved.

Then, against the run of play, the No58 of Karabuk (looked like the senior citizen of the team, a bit stocky and balding !) burst through the middle, held off the challenge and shot into the corner to open the scoring. 10 minutes later it was No2 when a Karabuk attacker burst through at speed in a similar move and fired passed the helpless keeper. I have to say there was a suspicion of hand-ball for the 2nd goal, but the referee obviously didn't agree with the Ankaragucu defenders or me.

So, Ankaragucu went in at the interval 2 down but could feel aggrieved at the situation after all the chances that were spurned.

Similar to last week's match, it was a different story in the 2nd half with Karabuk enjoying the lion's share of possession and taking advantage of Ankaragucu's defensive frailties.

It only took Karabuk 8 minutes to extend their lead and it was a messy goal. From a Karabuk corner the ball landed in the area with the players playing ping-pong only for one of the Karabuk
player's to make contact and tap it in.

Ankaragucu had a good chance to cut the deficit on 60 minutes, when from good work from Sinan on the right, he decided to shoot when a cut-back was the pass for the incoming attackers. His shot
was well aimed, but well saved by the goalkeeper.

5 minutes later it was 4 when the goalkeeper cleared the ball to the half way line. The Ankaragucu defender slipped as he was about to head clear and the Karabuk attacker had all the time in the world to home-in on goal with a one-on-one with the goalkeeper. He committed him, drew him out and slid the ball into the empty goal.

Ankaragucu was tiring now and No5 arrived when Karabuk attackers played a one-two with each other and fired in. This was the signal for Karabuk to play possession and run the game down.

However, there was still time for Ankaragucu to score the Goal of the Match with a few minutes of the match remaining. A cross was swung over and Sinan sent in a bullet of a header which rebounded off the bar. Fortunately, the ball rebounded back to him and he took great delight in sending it in for a great goal.

Let me not take anything away from Karabuk. They were clinical in their finishing and gave Ankaragucu a torrid time in the 2nd half.

Having seen most of the Mickey Mouse Cup matches, I can honestly say that the Ankaragucu Youth Team showed lots of potential for their future. The standard of footie in the 1st half last week against Ordu and today against Karabuk was really encouraging and if they hadn't been so unlucky in front of goal it could so easily have been another story. Hakan Kutlu must be aware of this, and will no doubt be working on it in pre-season training.

So, they travel to Samsun on Sunday for their last match in the Mickey Mouse Cup, and with nothing to lose for both teams it will surely be a high scoring match. I doubt if it will be on TV, but if it is, I will let you know by telephone on Sunday morning.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim