ANKARAGUCU FIRING BLANKS ........AGAIN !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Ankaragucu scorned a great opportunity to make a genuine attempt to exit the relegation zone tonight in the Eryaman Stadium.

 

With 72% possession in the 1^st half they should have had the ammunition to put the match to bed against an average Rize team.   However, they finished the match with 55% possession and ran out of ideas how to break down the Rize defence.

 

ANKARAGUCU          1                       Rizespor             1

 

Team – Korcan, Kitsiou, Kulusic, Erdi, Atila, Ibrahim, Voca, Saba, Lukasic, Paintsil and Borven

 

Substitutes – Endri, Pinto and Geraldo

 

Ankaragucu shot themselves in the foot in the 2^nd minute of the match with some schoolboy defending from Rize’s first attack.    A pass was made inside the Rize half to the left where an attacker had all the time in the world to control the ball and send in a cross to the back post which should have been dealt with by Erdi.    However, he allowed Donsah first bite and he sent in a header just inside the right post with Korcan flat-footed probably expecting Erdi to clear the ball.

 

Ankaragucu was up to their old negative tactics of having lots of possession in their own half and midfield, but clueless what to do with the ball in the final third  !     Also, the 4 Ankaragucu corners were weak and sent straight to Rize defenders at the near post with none of them going into the danger zone where the Ankaragucu attackers were waiting.     This is something for Hikmet Bey to resolve   !!!

 

Ankaragucu eventually had a shot on target on the half hour mark but Paintsil shot tamely at the goalkeeper when he really should have buried it   !

 

Half time approaching and I must confess to thinking that we would lose this match when Borven showed his predatory instinct 2 minutes into time added on.    Ankaragucu had a free kick just outside the box on the right which was sent into the danger zone and headed clear by a defender straight to the unmarked Borven.    He calmly stroked the ball in to the right with the goalkeeper stranded.

 

Ankaragucu only had one other serious effort in the 2^nd half when Endri’s goal bound free kick just outside the box was well saved.    From the resultant corner, Kulusic (I think) headed just past the post.

 

Korcan saved a goal bound shot at the other end when he saved at the near post from a free kick on the right.

 

Ankaragucu move above Gencler at the bottom with both on the same points.     However, with Ankaragucu still 5 points off the safety zone the future is looking gloomy.  

 

Taking only 1 point from fellow strugglers Rize and Kayseri last week does not bode well for the run-in, especially the next 5 matches against quality opposition.    Hatay (6^th), Galata.....spit.....saray (1^st), Fatih (8^th), Goztepe (10^th) and Trabzon (4^th).

 

It goes without saying that Ankaragucu must take something from those matches starting with the visit to Hatay on Saturday.

 

As always, we live in hope   !!!

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim