Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
It felt like a Scottish Spring day in Ankara today so Jim took the Scottish Saltire to the Stadium for Nadeem and the photo will follow soon. It's not quite as large as the flag Nadeem brings, but …. the thought is there !
I arrived in the Stadium to be met by Apple Kanka Erman and his buddy Mehmet, and later joined by Battle Damaged Kanka Damon. (Cider Kanka John was in Germany supporting Freiberg against Bayern !!). My great friend Murat Kaya and his wife was also there and photos were taken – they will probably be up on fb.
All the tribunes were full, especially Gecikondu and Maraton where there were no spare seats. Also, a great turnout by the Korfez fans ….. I counted 15 !!!
ANKARAGUCU 4 Korfez 1
Team – Bayram, Serhat A, Erhan, Serhat G, Telim, Volkan, Mehmet E, Emre, Muhammed, Umut and Mehmet Cakir
Substitutes used – Levent, Kaan and Hasan
Ankaragucu showed their intentions from the whistle and that was ….. all out attack. It was fast and furious and Korfez was restricted to breakaways with Bayram watching the ball go over or past. It was the same at the other end with the Ankaragucu forwards blasting over and wide.
Great to hear the Bursaspor song on the 16th minute from all tribunes !
Ankaragucu was enjoying the lion's share of possession and the break through almost came on the 25th minute when Mehmet Cakir sent in a fierce shot but only inches wide of the post.
Umut should have done better on the 30th minute mark when he had a great chance, but he lost control of the ball and it gave the defender that second to intercept and clear the danger.
The break through arrived 5 minutes later when a Korfez defender was adjudged to have made hand contact with the ball in a goal mouth melee. All credit to the referee (who had an excellent match) for having no hesitation in pointing to the spot.
With Levent on the subs bench, it was left to Umut to step up to the mark. He coolly placed the ball into the right corner with the goalkeeper nowhere.
It took until the 44th minute for Bayram to make his first save of the match, diving bravely at the feet of the incoming attacker to smother the ball.
One minute later it was TWO. A cross from the left and Volkan was on hand to flick the ball into the net ahead of the defenders.
So, in all honesty, at half time, a fair result on the balance of play and chances created.
During the half time break we had a visit from Muammer and his daughter who brought a present for my wife and I. He was referring to the lady who was sitting beside me for the Eyupspor match 2 weeks ago and who he assumed was my wife. None other than Naarrich Kankie Lucy !! So, now, Lucy, you will be officially know as Lucy Chalmers in the Stadium !!! He gave us 2 scarves and I will present yours Lucy when you come to our next home match ! This only goes to show how famous the Kanka Group is in the Stadium
5 minutes into the 2nd half and …... a RED card to the Korfez No 8. He brought down an Ankaragucu player and, fair play, it was a yellow, and that's what he got. However, he didn't accept it and obviously said something unsavoury to the referee and then pulled his shirt up in a show of dissent and received another yellow. OFF ….... to much cheering from the tribunes !
5 minutes later and Bayram pulled off his 2nd save of the match to thwart a dangerous cross cum shot with Korfez attackers lurking.
The match was then put beyond Korfez in the 62nd minute when Erdem produced some nifty footwork on the left to bamboozle 3 defenders and sending in a peach of a cross for Levent to nod in at the near post. (Levent had just joined the fray a few minutes earlier).
Korfez were not lying down and it took another good save from Bayram to deny them on the the 70th minute. However, 2 minutes later he could not be blamed when Korfez opened their account. The Korfez No 10 who is a really good player, went on a great run and carved open a space in the Ankaragucu defence to score a spectacular goal.
It was at this stage in the game when Ankaragucu was showing a distinct lack of urgency and even after Korfez scored I was contemplating another Korfez goal, and even with only 10 men.
Fortunately, Ankaragucu snapped out of their lethargy and the 4th goal arrived 6 minutes from the end.
It was a similar piece of skill shown by Erdem earlier, but this time it was Emre to show the skill down the left and place an inch perfect cross for Levent to side foot in.
Volume up and everyone standing now and singing our heads off. 2, or was it 3, Ankara waves going round the Stadium. Fantastic atmosphere today !
Man of the Match was too difficult today. I know Nadeem nominated Emre, but he was only one of many who contributed today. Serhat was a great stopper and sweeper. Mehmet Cakir was a great captain and general. The list goes on. So, my man of the match is the Referee who I thought had an excellent match. OK, so as an ex-Class 1 Ref, I'm biased, but I see a good future for this ref. I'll get his name tomorrow.
Lap of honour and the team singing to each tribune. Great stuff.
Damon and I back to The Chopin to celebrate and put the world to rights. Photo with our No1 Waiter Ismail ...........
A great day yesssssssssssssssssssss !
Photos up soon.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Great report Jim. A good day indeed.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fantastic report Jim, and well done with the photos :-), I'm glad to see the Scotland flag in the 19 Mayis stadium both on your jacket and also Ozan took it with him too :-)
ReplyDeleteI thought we played really well today up until their sending off where we took our foot off the gas. Agree their were a lot of good performances but Emre Tasdemir was excellent.
Disagree about the referee though, the penalty was defo very harsh, only way the defender could have avoided it was if he had no arms
" I'm going for a 4-0 win, and that's without me taking my optimism pills !!! "
ReplyDeleteGood Shot Jim . Congragulations..
What about the next shot. To Nazilli..
Volkan
To Volkan .... thanks buddy. I'm going for a 3-0 away win !!!
ReplyDeleteTo Nadeem .... yes, you are probably right about the penalty which we can't comment on because the incident occurred at the 'away end' and there was a melee of players to obscure our view.
However, I have to say that hand/arm ball is a contentious issue in refereeing circles and I have to refer you to the Law which states .... 'If in the referee's opinion .... blah blah ....
Speaking personally, I always used what I thought was a common sense approach, ie, if it is ball to hand/arm and the arm is below the waist then I would shout .... 'play on' !
As a referee, you have to assess the intent and that is obviously what the referee, Ali Bey, did. The decision making must be almost immediate, so there is no time to ponder incidents.
I think Ali Bey made his position clear from the 4th minute when he gave Muhammed a yellow card. Therefore, it was foolish of the Korfez No8 to show dissent after receiving a yellow.
As for Emre, yes Nadeem, you are absolutely right that he had a great game, and my point in the report was, that so did many others in the team. It is pleasing to see Ankaragucu playing as a team and that was highlighted when Levent praised the two players who gave him the assists for his goals.
Let's hope the momentum continues next weekend in Nazilli.