ANKARAGUCU DELIVER, BUT …………..

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

The most important factor was securing the 3 points, but the overall performance of this Ankaragucu team does not auger well for the 2^nd half of the season.   The glaring weakness is in midfield which is the engine room of all strong teams, and Ankaragucu is in dire straits in this area of the team.  

Salih runs his socks off, but he is not up to this job.   Only Hasan Ayaroglu has the wherewithal but he wasn’t introduced until the 2^nd half for some reason, and in my opinion he should be the first name on the team sheet !

The obvious positives in the team are the consistent performances from attacking full-back Goksu who put in a great shift yesterday and was instrumental in a vital assist for Ankaragucu’s first goal.   Also, Omer made his presence felt up front.

ANKARAGUCU   2                  Tokatspor    1

The kankas met up in the Stadium – Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Posh Kanka Ahmet, Essex Boy Kanka Matt, Cider Kanka John and Apple Kanka Erman.   As usual, Gecikondu was full and the other tribunes were almost full.   There were about 50 in the ‘away end’, but unusually for supporters in that area, they were silent throughout.

The match exploded into life in the 7^th minute when Goksu went on a mazy run down the right wing.   He cut inside beating about 5 defenders in the process, and then slid the ball into the path of the unmarked Omer on the left side of the penalty box who unleashed a screamer into the top right.   A goal to savour and one which we supporters are unlikely to forget !

In the 16^th minute, just as we were singing ‘The Bursaspor Song’, Omer almost made it 2 but his shot from outside the penalty box was just over.

3 minutes later there was more trickery from Goksu on the right when he sent in an inviting cross, but there were no takers.

Then in the 22^nd minute Ankaragucu shot themselves in the foot with some woeful defending when the defence was dithering instead of feeding the ball to unmarked colleagues.   Tokat gained possession and broke down the right wing with the Ankaragucu defence posted missing.   An accurate cross came over to the inrushing forward who met the ball perfectly with his head to bullet the ball past Ferhat.

The wake-up call was heeded and there were no more slip-ups as half time approached.

It was mostly all one way traffic in the 1^st half but we were relieved that a Tokat revival didn’t transpire and fairly content going in all square with the prospect of attacking the Gecikondu end in the 2^nd half.

9 minutes of the 2^nd half played and Salih almost opened his goal scoring account when he made a rare forage into the Tokat penalty area, but his shot hit the bar and was cleared.

3 minutes later there was a double substitution when Emrah and Sertan were withdrawn and replaced by Enes and Hasan.

Enes almost made an immediate impact when his fierce goalbound shot was well saved.

Then in the 63^rd minute, Ankaragucu received their ‘get out of jail card’ !    Omer made an attacking run on the left and just as he entered the penalty box he was tripped as he was about to cross the ball.   The referee had no doubts and pointed immediately to the penalty spot and I have to agree with him that he made the correct call.

Timur stood up to the mark and gave the goalkeeper no chance with a well taken shot to put Ankaragucu back in front.

The match was almost made safe in the 77^th minute when Omer was unlucky to see his shot hit the post and cleared to safety.

Into the last 5 minutes and Tokat pressed forward looking for the equaliser.

Ankaragucu made their final substitution when Harun replaced Timur as Ankaragucu made it clear that they would settle for what they had.

It was panic stations in the Ankaragucu defence and they had Ferhat to thank for saving a goalbound shot almost on the final whistle.  

There was one last chance for Enes, but he fired over from an Ankaragucu breakaway.

The final whistle was received with relief by us all, and with Manisa only managing to draw, Ankaragucu moved 2 points closer to the league leaders.   However, as I said earlier, Ankaragucu will need to take their chances and remain focused for the entire 90 plus minutes if they are serious about challenging Manisa.   The onus is on Hasan and Goksu to supply the ammunition for the front men.

Back to the Red Lion Club to celebrate and watch ManYoo beat Liverpool and Hibs playing out a draw with Falkirk.

Next weekend Ankaragucu will be away against Karagumruk.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim