ANKARAGUCU – GRATEFUL TO WIN A POINT ......IN THE END !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

It is said that ‘one man doesn’t make a team’, but Rasheed of Menemen tended to disprove that statement last night when he was a constant ‘thorn in the flesh’ of the Ankaragucu defence.    He was responsible for putting the Ankaragucu defence under pressure for most of the match every time the ball was played to him, and as Damon said, it was questionable whether The Coach, Mustafa Bey, did his homework on the Menemen team, especially Rasheed   !!

 

It is often said here that there is a high standard of football in The Championship League, which is probably open to discussion, but players of the calibre of Rasheed, Fofana of Samsun and our own Ariyibi can light up a match with their skill and pace.     There is no such thing as ‘an easy match’ in this league   !!!

 

ANKARAGUCU          2                     Menemenspor            2

 

Team – Akin, Erdem, Yusuf, Sinan, Pinto, Abdullah, Ali Kaan, Zahid, Geraldo, Ariyibi and Eren

 

Substitutes – Cem, Ciftci, Aatif and Murat

 

The kankas, Maniac Kanka Harun, Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and I, met-up at The Bira Park Bar full of optimism, and Harun’s pre-match prediction that Ankaragucu would score an early goal proved correct   !!

 

The match was only 2 minutes old when Ariyibi went on a fast run down the left, evading 2 tackles as he went.    He took the ball to the goal line, looked up briefly, and played the classic cut back into the centre where the unmarked Eren drove the ball into the net to prove Harun’s prediction spot-on  !

 

Ankaragucu tails were up and we were all smiles, and even shouting for an avalanche of goals   !!!

 

However, we were brought back down to earth again when that man Rasheed decided to change the complexion of the match.   It was the 13^th minute and the first time Menemen had been able to escape from their half of the field.     Rasheed went on a run down the left and cut in near the goal line, evading two poor attempted tackles in the process.   He sent in his cut-back to the centre and the 1^st shot was blocked by Akin, but the 2^nd shot by Sagat was poked in despite the fact that he was surrounded by 3 defenders.    A catastrophic piece of defending by the Ankaragucu defence  !!

 

Ankaragucu did have one good chance before the half time whistle when Geraldo was put through with an excellent pass, but instead of burying the ball in the net, he decided to hit the goalkeeper in the face with a feeble attempted shot.      Aaaaaargh   !!!      Question ........will Geraldo ever score a goal or make an assist for Ankaragucu   ???       Answer .......... Mmmmmmm......... I doubt it  !!!

 

The players came out for the 2^nd half with Cem replacing Geraldo to loud cheers by the kankas   !!!

 

Mustafa Bey’s half time team talk didn’t seem to have had any effect when that man Rasheed took matters into his own hands again after only 5 minutes played.    There was another ‘comedy of errors’ in the Ankaragucu defence allowing Rasheed the easiest of chances to put Menemen ahead.       Much work needs to be undertaken this week in the Training Ground, especially with defensive tactics   !!!

 

Menemen seemed to be strolling their way to a surprising win against red hot favourites Ankaragucu as the kankas sat with glum faces.     However, with 15 minutes of the match remaining they suddenly woke-up and turned that match around with an equaliser.   It came from a surprising source, but a joy to watch.   A cross came into the centre from the right and Yusuf was first to  it with a diving header to send the ball inside the left post with the goalkeeper well beaten.

 

It was all Ankaragucu now searching for the winning goal which almost came.   Ankaragucu hit the bar and then Erdem had a goal bound shot well saved by the goalkeeper, but this was the style of play which had taken Ankaragucu to 2^nd top of the league.     The question then arises ............ why can’t they play like this with full on attack for the entire match instead of allowing teams to take control of phases in the match.     Another problem for Mustafa Bey to solve   !!

 

Well, the bottom line is that Ankaragucu remain undefeated after 6 matches into the season, but another mountain to climb approaches next Sunday.

 

Ankaragucu travel to ‘Brother Team’ Bursa and you will have to go back into the history books to find out the last time Ankaragucu won a match there.     There will no doubt be another ‘love in’ between the supporters, but there is never much ‘love’ shown on the field of play when the match kicks off   !!!

 

Hopefully Owusu is back from injury to partner Ariyibi and Eren up front.     Also, a victory in Bursa is long overdue.       Bring it on   !!!

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim