CHRISTMAS ARRIVES LATE IN ANKARA !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Ankaragucu gave their Christmas present to Kirklarelispor in the form of 2 points yesterday obviously thinking that this was December and forgetting it was January !!!

As well all know too well, possession counts for nothing if you are firing blanks.   Little did we realise that the euphoria at half time going in at 1-0 up and shooting into the Gecikondu end in the 2^nd half was not to last.

However, before you all hold your heads in your hands and say ............. ‘oh no, he’s not going to say it was a game of two halves again’ ................ relax !    It most definitely wasn’t !

ANKARAGUCU  1        Kirklarelispor      1

It was a sunny, but bitterly cold day in Ankara yesterday when we all met-up at the Sports Cafe and inside the Stadium.    Maniac Kanka Harun, Posh Kanka Ahmet, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and Cider Kanka John.    Also, new kankas attending their first Ankaragucu match – Lessstirrr Kanka John and 2^nd Chans Kanka William (shhhh ....... whisper it ......... William WAS a Galata....spit....saray supporter in a previous lifetime !!!).

Gecikondu and Maraton were almost full and the away end had about 50 fans decked-out in my favourite colour of HIBERNIAN GREEN and waving their large flags.

A total and respectful one minute silence was observed prior to the National Anthem for the passing away of long serving Genclerbirligi President Ilhan Cavcav before the action began.

It was pretty much end-to-end stuff with no serious efforts on goal until the 25^th minute when Ankaragucu had a golden opportunity to break the stalemate.   However, with the goal at his mercy, Erhan screwed the ball wide.

It took a piece of determination and skill by Harun to bring the match to life in the 33^rd minute when he chased a ‘lost cause’ to the right touch line, brought the ball under control, and sent in an inch perfect cross for Muharrem to tap-in.    Harun was ably assisted by Serkan in the build up and I made Serkan my Man of the Match for his marauding down the right and causing all sorts of problems to the Kirklareli defence.    Unfortunately, there were no takers for all his good work !

Approaching half time and Kirklareli had a chance to equalise, but the Ankaragucu goalkeeper recently signed from Sivasspor was equal to the goalbound strike.

Then, just before the half time whistle, a scuffed shot by and Ankaragucu player (couldn’t see who the culprit was !) with an open goal beckoning was easily cleared, which was a sign of things to come in the 2^nd half.

I repeat .............. this was NOT ‘a game of 2 halves’ with Ankaragucu having most of the possession, but their passing and attempted shots on goal was abysmal !

It only took Kirklareli 10 minutes to equalise when they scored from a well taken corner on the left and an undefended attacker headed in powerfully to give the goalkeeper no chance.

Ankaragucu huffed and puffed and attacked, but they could have played all night and they couldn’t have burst a balloon.   Well, maybe until the last minute when they almost got ‘out of jail’ when a shot hit the post and was cleared.

In summary, a terrible performance against a team which is going nowhere, except perhaps ..... down.

Lots of pessimism abounding, especially as Ankaragucu travel to ‘brother team’ Karsiyaka next weekend and I doubt if there will be any ‘brotherly love’ shown by their team who are also ‘knocking on the door’ and in the mix for promotion.

I feel a lot better today having got my ‘Oz Kanka Rant’ off my chest.    I’ve always tried to modify my language in my reports, but it was extremely difficult today !!!    However, I’ll leave it to Nadeem and Harun  to use their choice adjectives in the comments section !!!!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim