ANKARAGUCU AND THE GALLANT 10 MEN !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Ankaragucu maintained their unbeaten start to the season last night in Ankara with a hard fought win against Karagumruk.

ANKARAGUCU   2                  Karagumruk   0

Team  - Ferhat, Orhan, Sedat, Gurkan, Mehmet, Harun, Salih, Omer, Mustafa, Emrah, Yildiz

Subs - Turgut, Murat, Sertan, Hasan, Muhammed, Enes, Timur

Three new kankas joined the gorup – Ballet Dancing Kanka Emre, Essex Boy Kanka Matt and Jaggy Kanka Alan.   Into the Stadium we assembled with regulars Maniac Kanka Harun, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Keleci Kanka Tansu, Posh Kanka Ahmet Arif and Apple Kanka Erman.

An excellent attendance as you would expect from the first home match of the season with Gecikondu full, Maraton almost full, Kapali half full and the away end with all of 30.

Lots of new faces wearing the Sari/Lacivert, but it was a confident start with a quote from Damon 10 minutes into the match .......... ‘they are playing less impulsively and more controlled footie’.   Agreed, and for the most part of the match they endeavoured to do this which is a big improvement from the past 2 season !    Also, it has to be said that Salih’s presence in midfield was crucial during the match.

4 minutes later, only 14 minutes into the match, and Ankaragucu was down to 10 men !    Mustafa made a high challenge on a Karagumruk defender and caught him in the head with his boot.   The referee decided red, however, I have to say that yellow was the correct decision.   Mustafa was going for the ball and not the man, and in hindsight should have headed the ball instead of raising his boot so high.    Unlucky decisions happen !

Ankaragucu could have folded at this point, but they kept their shape and continued to attack when possible.   It was end to end with Ankaragucu looking the more likely to score with Karagumruk’s attacks breaking down in the final quarter with some excellent Ankaragucu defending being a contributory factor.

Approaching half time with 36 minutes gone on the clock and a super goal from Ankaragucu.   A good fast move down the right with a cute flick to the overlapping attacker, almost to the goal line, the classic cut-back, and there was Orhan well positioned to slot in.

So, going in at half time one up was a bonus for the 10 men !

Into the 2^nd half and 10 man Ankaragucu continued to look the better team.   Midfield General, Salih, was controlling the pace of the match and Mehmet Yilmaz was running his socks off up front and causing all sorts of problems for their defenders.

Halfway through the 2^nd half and I was thinking that the word from the Coach was ............... ‘defend what we have’ !    However, perhaps I guess I was wrong when the match exploded into life again on the 67^th minute.

Another great goal with a sweeping passing move from left to right with about 6 passes pulling Karagumruk’s defenders all over the place.   The cross came in and Sertan (who had just come on as a substitute) was on hand to head in to send us all into wild celebration.

Then came another quote from Damon ............. ‘nobody can doubt the tenacity of the 10 men’.    Absolutely spot on !

15 minutes to go and last season’s star player, Hasan, joined the action to beef-up the midfield.

Mehmet Yilmaz was still hunting for a 3^rd goal and had 2 good efforts thwarted when his half-volley went just past and another when a last minute tackle prevented his shot on goal.

Man of the Match, Salih, went off injured and we must hope that it’s not serious.   Also, a pat on the back to the other 9 players for their performance which bodes well for the remainder of the season.

5 minutes to go and time to perform the Mexican Wave around the Stadium.    Even the away supporters joined in !!!

Well played the Gallant Ten !

Next weekend is an ‘away match’ in Ankara when we will go to Kecioren.   Watch this space and emails for KO time and meeting details.

Back to The Chopin Bar to celebrate a truly memorable victory, and as Alan said ........... ‘it’s the first time he has witnessed 10 men win 2-0’.    Me too !!!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim