ANKARAGUCU DELIVER ......UNDER PRESSURE !!

                                                                                           

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Ankaragucu pulled out all the stops last night against promotion rivals Erzurum to remain 3 points clear at the top of the league.

 

The Ankaragucu defence was in sparkling form, especially in the last 15 minutes of the match when they were reduced to 10 men.   They resisted wave after wave of Erzurum attacks, but it has to be said that the Erzurum accuracy was wayward for the most part.

 

Erzurumspor          0                        ANKARAGUCU        1

 

Team – Akin, Yasin, Yusuf, Sinan, Erdem, Ishak, Abdullah, Zahid, Geraldo, Murat and Owusu

 

Substitutes – Babacan, Pinto, Ariyibi, Ali Kaan and Cem

 

The first real action and the only goal of the match arrived in the 21^st minute and it was a goal worthy of winning any match.     A corner was sent over from the right by Erdem to the far post where Yusuf had ghosted in unmarked to power in a bullet of a header inside the left post.

 

5 minutes before the break and Ankaragucu had Akin to thank for saving at point blank range and then the rebound was deflected clear by a defender.

 

Owusu did score just before the half time whistle, but his goal was correctly ruled offside.

 

The 2^nd half was mostly waves of attacks by Erzurum with the Ankaragucu defence holding firm, but then 15 minutes from the end Yasin was shown a 2^nd yellow for holding an Erzurum player after he had avoided the tackle.

 

Still the Ankaragucu defence held firm and tried to initiate counter attacks.   5 minutes to go and Ariyibi made a great run down the left from near the half way line, cut inside the box and his shot smacked the outside of the right post and out.

 

Into time added on and that’s when the supporters frustrations behind Akin’s goal boiled over and some ugly scenes resulted.

 

Akin saved a shot near the left post on the goal line, and before he stood up he was hit by a missile from the crowd behind the goal (probably a cigarette lighter  ?!).    That was the cue for more missiles to be thrown, including bits of plastic chairs.

 

I have to say that it was not as serious as the similar incident at the Ankaragucu v Konya match a few years ago in which Damon and I were caught up in and which caused the match to be abandoned at half time and Ankaragucu receiving a hefty punishment.    However, there is absolutely no excuse for throwing pieces of plastic chairs with sharp edges  or any other type of missile at players.

 

All credit to Emircan of Erzurum who tried to appeal to his supporters to stop, but at one stage he was also hit with something   !!

 

Erzurum will no doubt receive a fine and stadium ban when the TFF meets to decide on what action to take   !!!

 

Back to footie, and Ankaragucu will be in action again next Saturday 5 March when they will be at home to Bandirma, another team in the top 5 who are looking to compete for promotion.   Hopefully Eren and Aatif will be fit to be included for selection.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI ACCEPT THEIR PRESENT GRATEFULLY !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Gencler was never in any danger of a shock defeat last night.

 

Balikesir came to Ankara 10 points adrift at the bottom of the league and they proceeded to show why that was the case.   Gencler, on the other hand, still trying to negotiate their way back into mid-table safety, had an ideal opportunity to do that against the basement team.

 

Balikesir are way out of their depth in this league, totally outclassed last night and lucky they didn’t meet a more clinical team.    Their passing and defending was panic driven and quite honestly they never looked like troubling Ramazan in goal.

 

GENCLERBIRLIGI          2                     Balikesir              0

 

Team – Ramazan, Serdarcan, Metehan, Gokhan, Omurcan, Lualua, Hrechyshkin, Baris, Lima, Sahindere and Eleke

 

Substitutes – Berisbek, Tshibola and Altiparmak

 

It was a boring match........yawn yawn ............ with two teams in the bottom half of the league fighting for survival.

 

The only action worthy of note in the 1^st half was a goal scored by Eleke.    A free kick was sent from the left touch line to the back post where the ball was headed into the centre for Eleke to poke in.   I have to say that there was a suspicion of hand-ball by Eleke before he scored on the referee’s blind side, but without VAR the goal stood !!

 

Eleke then made the match safe in the 67^th minute when he stole in between 3 defenders to stroke the ball in for an easy goal.

 

So, the bottom line is ........... 3 valuable points for Gencler to move them up into a mid-table position in the league, and with only 6 points separating them from the relegation zone, they are not safe ......... yet !        However, the signs are that the corner has been turned.

 

Gencler will not be in action again until 13 March when they take on Kocaeli at home in another bottom half of the table clash.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU BURSTS BURSA’s BUBBLE !!

 

 

Greetings kankas and kankies.

 

With Ankaragucu looking down and out yesterday losing 0-1 at home to Bursa, they were staring defeat in the face with only 20 minutes to go till the end of the match.

 

Then, they staged a remarkable recovery to send the fans in the Stadium, and us in The Bira  Park Bar, wild with delight.    Two fantastic goals within 2 minutes of each other turned the match on its head   !

 

Top spot in the league is therefore retained, and with 2^nd top Umraniye playing today, and only 3 points behind, it was essential to maintain the pressure on them.    On the other hand, it has been a slow decline in Bursa’s fortunes and they remain stuck in the relegation zone, but of course, there is still a long way to go until the end of the season and for this great Club to avoid the drop.

 

It was a strange starting line-up with Geraldo preferred to Ariyibi, but when he was introduced in the 2^nd half to replace Geraldo there was a noticeable improvement in Ankaragucu’s attacking options.   Owusu seems to thrive on Ariyibi’s style of play and they compliment each other.   Hopefully Mustafa Bey will have noticed this and will take the necessary action next week  !!!

 

ANKARAGUCU           2                 Bursaspor              1

 

Team – Akin, Pinto, Yusuf, Sinan, Erdem, Ishak, Abdullah, Zahid, Geraldo, Cem and Owusu

 

Substitutes – Ariyibi, Sahverdi, Eren, Ali Kaan and Alperen

 

Ankaragucu was first to threaten with Owusu’s goal bound shot being well saved, and then Cem’s shot from an acute angle hit the post and was cleared.

 

Bursa won a corner on the half hour mark and from the resulting clearance they went ahead.   The ball was headed clear to just outside the box and from the rebound Mehmet sent a fierce shot inside the top left with Akin well beaten.

 

Lots of glum faces at half time, but Ankaragucu started the 2^nd half in full on attack.

 

Owusu was put through on the left and his goal bound shot was pushed around the post by the goalkeeper.     A few minutes later, Owusu passed to Zahid inside the box but his shot went past the post.      10 minutes later a one/two passing movement between Zahid and Owusu almost produced the equaliser but a defender deflected Owusu’s shot.

 

At the other end, Pinto made a crucial tackle to prevent a certain goal.

 

Then in the 70^th minute the match exploded into life.     Ankaragucu was awarded a free kick just outside the box on the left.     Erdem curled the shot around the wall and into the top left for an exquisite goal.      

 

At this point, I have to make a confession, and I promised Damon that I would mention it   !!!    Just before Erdem took the free kick I confess to saying that he shouldn’t be taking it because his previous free kicks and corners were a bit wayward.     However, how wrong can I be and I promise not to criticise Erdem again  !!!

 

From the re-start, Ankaragucu gained possession and Owusu picked the ball up around the centre circle and took off.     He looked up and from about 35 yards out sent in a swerving shot inside the right post with the goalkeeper totally deceived.      A truly fantastic goal  !!

 

That was it.    Ankaragucu shut up shop and sighs of relief all round when the final whistle was blown.

 

Ankaragucu will continue their endeavours to retain top spot in the league next Sunday 27^th February away to 3^rd top Erzurum.     This match will be the acid test for Ankaragucu at a difficult Stadium to visit.     However, if Ankaragucu continue to show the fighting spirit that they did yesterday then they have every reason to go there confident of bringing all 3 points back to Ankara.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI .......AND THE ALARM BELLS WILL SOON BE RINGING !!!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Both teams were playing the long ball game today, especially in the 1^st half, with defences on top and goalkeepers untroubled and certainly not much to admire from the football purist viewpoint.

 

Boluspor           3                GENCLERBIRLIGI           1

Team - Adiyaman, Muhammed, Gokhan, Metehann, Omurcan, Hrechyshkin, Tshibola, Byelyayev , Lima, Baris and Eleke

Substitutes - Berisbek, Lualua, Arda and Ilker

It took until the 1^st minute of time added on in the 1^st half for any real action when Bolu deservedly took the lead.    A corner was crossed from the right and Kasongo on the back post out-jumped a defender to head into the top left.

 

Gencler almost equalised 10 minutes into the 2^nd half when the ball was played into Lima just inside the box on the right, but his shot rebounded off the right post and was cleared.

 

With 15 minutes to go it was a penalty for Bolu after Muhammed tripped Roshi inside the box as he was about the shoot.    Gokhan sent the ball to the top centre with Adiyaman getting his fingertips to it.     Muhammed was then shown the RED card after receiving the 2^nd yellow.

 

With 10 minutes to go, it was almost 3 on two separated occasions when Adiyaman saved two goal bound shots with two excellent saves.

 

Gencler pulled a goal back in the 90^th minute with their one and only shot on target in the match when Baris made a run down the right, drove into the box, and fired a shot inside the left post from a difficult angle.

 

Time for one last piece of action when Metehan handled in the box and Bolu had another penalty.    Berk shot low to the centre with Adiyaman diving to the right and it was 3.

 

A well deserved win for Bolu, but Gencler is staring the relegation zone in the face now with the Alarm Bells in readiness for the following weeks   !!!

 

However, Gencler has a chance to dispel fears when they take on bottom of the league Balikesirspor next Saturday at home in what is most certainly a MUST WIN match for them.  

 

Watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Menemen 1-1 Ankaragucu!

 

Since Faruk Koca said Ankaragucu will win the league despite failing to lift the transfer ban, the team has failed to win a game. A home defeat against Istanbulspor last weekend was followed up last night with a turgid 1-1 draw at Menemen. 

Team - Akin, Erdem, Sinan, Yusuf, Yasin, Abdullah, Huseyin, Zahid, Owusu, Murat, Eren

Subs - Bahadir, Pinto, Ishak, Ulas, Ali Kaan, Arif Emre, Atakan, Sahverdi, Cem, Geraldo

Im not going to go into much of last nights match as it was the usual slow, turgid boring nonsense from a Mustafa Dalci team. Menemen took the lead early in the first half through Aydin after another silly error from Sinan and poor goalkeeping from Akin. 

Ankaragucu equalised late on when we were awarded a penalty and Ishak stepped up to slot the ball home into the back of the net. 

As soon as the Ankaragucu team was named, i mentioned in our Kanaka Group Whatsapp group that we wouldnt win this match. How can any coach think that a team full of slow players and out of shape players could take anything from this match?

We have a 33 year old striker in Eren who is only effective in the penalty box and cant move or run. You decide to surround him with a midfield of Abdullah, Huseyin and Zahid? Abdullah cant complete 90 minutes due to his age and shape, Huseyin hasnt been fit since the day he signed for the club, and Zahid who we had high expectations for just hasnt delivered. 

In defence you have an ageing Erdem who is still effective from set pieces and crossing, but struggles to get up and down the pitch, a hopeless Yasin and then two centre backs in Sinan and Yusuf who will provide a mistake a game at the moment. 

Behind that defence we have Akin who somehow keeps his place in the team, while Mert who was man of the match in his only performance fails to make the bench. 

Onto the substitutions, lets talk Geraldo first. 37 games 0 goals, 0 assists for a winger??? Show me another winger in world football with worse statistics than that? But he still gets minutes ahead of the talented Atakan Dama? Why? Because the teams Sporting Director is Emre Yildiz who is his manager like many other players in this team. Cem is another one who came on and simply isnt good enough. 

We have Arif Emre Eren, Ulas Yilmaz, Atakan Dama, Furkan Ceylan, and Mert Topuz all talented young players ignored by Yildiz and Dalci. Instead we have to watch unfit old men put in these performances every week.

Dont let the table fool you, Ankaragucu may be top, but we had 3 games where the opposition were reduced to 10 men. We now have some tough games coming up with injuries and suspensions mounting too. 

Even if Ankaragucu do go up, which players are Super Lig ready? Potentially Owusu and Murat? Apart from them no other player can play every week in the Super Lig. This means we will need to sign a minimum of 12-15 players, maybe more if we do go up. 

Great work Emre Yildiz, Great work!!! Istifa

GENCLERBIRLIGI’s MINI REVIVAL SUSPENDED !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Genclerbirligi missed a golden opportunity to gain 3 points and  move further out of the relegation struggle.

 

Of course, it is not all done and dusted with so many teams fighting to avoid the drop, but Gencler is only 6 points above the relegation zone and all the teams below them have games in hand.

 

However, with the match almost won last night they allowed themselves to ‘go to sleep’ and be ‘shot in the foot’ in time added on for Samsun to score a deserved equaliser.

 

It was a fair result on the basis of what I saw  !!

 

GENCLERBIRLIGI             2                       Samsunspor            2

 

Team – Adiyaman, Omurcan, Metwhan, Gokhan, Muhammed, Tshibola, Hrechyshkin,l Lualua, Lima, Byelyayev and Baris

 

Substitutes – Berisberk, arda and Ilker

 

The first goal arrived after only 8 minutes when Gencler made a fast break down the left.    Lualua passed to Lima and he cut the ball back from the goal line for Baris to stroke in for an excellent goal.

 

An equally excellent goal arrived only one minute later when the talented Fofana showed his skill on the left touch line and avoided 3 or 4 tackles, did a one/two with a colleague inside the box and shot inside the right post.

 

3 minutes later Lima worked his way into the box having avoided 3 tackles, but his shot was well saved by the goalkeeper who took the ball in his face and required medical attention.

 

Tomane of Samsun almost scored just before the half time whistle but his header hit the bar and out.

 

With 15 minutes to go in the 2^nd half I was thinking that this was a 1-1 match, but the match suddenly exploded into life after a dull 2^nd half.   From a Gencler corner on the left Metehan rose above 3 static defenders to head in.

 

That’s it I thought, and allowed myself a toilet break in the 86^th minute.   On my return I had missed the RED card for Kahraman.     They didn’t show a replay, so I still don’t know anything about the incident   !!

 

Then, with the clock on 89 minutes, there was a loose ball in the Gencler penalty box, and with 3 Gencler defenders static and looking at each other, Melih had a free shot on goal and said .............. thank you very much   !!!

 

Gencler tried to find the winner in time added on and almost did.     However, Berisberk missed an open goal after fine work by Lima to set him up.

 

As I’ve said many times, things don’t get any easier in this league, and that applies to Gencler’s next match.     They travel to Bolu on Saturday who are 2 points behind Gencler but have THREE games in hand, including an away match against Istanbulspor today   !

 

As always, watch this space next weekend.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU POSTED ABSENT !!

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Ankaragucu’s recent impressive winning run came to a shuddering halt yesterday in Ankara against a determined and hard working Istanbulspor team who fully deserved to take all 3 points.

 

Istanbulspor had obviously done their homework on the Ankaragucu danger-men who were well marked throughout the match, especially at set-pieces.    However, Ankaragucu players were also to blame for failing to capitalise on playing against 10 men for most of  the  2^nd half.    Also, Ankaragucu was generally out fought in 50-50 ball situations, passes going astray and crosses into the box from free kicks and corners going directly to Istanbulspor defenders for the most part.

 

A poor performance by Ankaragucu’s standards and there must be a significant improvement for the midweek visit to Menemen and net weekend’s match at home to Bursa.

 

ANKARAGUCU              0                           Istanbulspor            1

 

Team – Akin, Yasin, Yusuf, Sinan, Erdem, Ali Kaan, Abdullah, Zahid, Owusu, Murat and Eren

 

Substitutes – Ishak, Pinto, Geraldo, Hasan and Cem

 

Ankaragucu only had 2 serious chances in the entire match which is a sad reflection for the team top of the league and playing at home   !!

 

The first one occurred in the 5^th minute when the Istanbulspor goalkeeper mis-kicked a clearance which fell conveniently for Eren.    However, Eren was too slow to take advantage of the mistake  !       If he had taken the ball first time with his left foot it might have been a goal, instead of transferring the ball to his right foot and allowing a defender time to tackle and dispossess him.

 

The second attempt arrived just before the half time whistle and it was Eren who was involved again.    A cross came in from the right wing to the centre where Eren was unmarked inside the 6 yard box.    He made a perfect diving header which was destined for the top right, but the attempt was acrobatically saved by the goalkeeper.

 

In between those two attempts, Istanbulspor went ahead in the 22^nd  minute when they carved open the Ankaragucu defence in a swift break down the right.      The Ankaragucu defence went to sleep and were well and truly caught out when 4 attackers raced towards the Ankaragucu goal with 3 defenders scurrying back to defend the break.    The ball was played to the unmarked Valon on the left and he shot inside the right post for a well constructed and executed goal.

 

There were only 3 more incidents of note in a frustrating  2^nd half.       The first occurred 10 minutes in when Ologo tripped Eren just outside the box as he was about to shoot and the referee produced the RED card.

 

There was a 2^nd RED card for the Istanbulspor goalkeeper near the end when he was shown a yellow card for time wasting and a 2^nd yellow for something he said to the referee  !!

 

Also, near the end, Eren went down clutching his chest, and after treatment, was able to walk off for further treatment.       Mustafa Bey made a statement this morning that Eren had a spasm in his chest and he is now fine.      Good news  !!

 

As I said, this was a poor performance by Ankaragucu and we hope it was a one-off !!!       

 

They have a chance to put the show back on the road on Wednesday night when they travel to play Menemen who are 5^th bottom in the league.

 

However, in the meantime, the focus is on today’s match between 2^nd top Umraniye and 3^rd top Erzurum.       A draw will be considered a good result by Ankaragucu   !!!

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI END EXTENDED LOSING STREAK !

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Genclerbirligi can consider themselves fortunate that they met a poor Altinordu team yesterday devoid of ideas and error prone.    Most of their passes were too short or too long and crosses into the box pitiful  !

Altinordu          1                   GENCLERBIRLIGI              2

 

I was unable to watch the 1^st half due to work commitments, but if it was anything like the 2^nd half I didn’t miss much  !!

 

Team – Ramazan, Muhammed, Gokhan, Metehan, Omurcan, Hrechyshkin, Serdarcan, Byelyayev, Lima, Baris and Eleke

 

Substitutes – Musa, Berisberk and Ilker

 

It was all square at half time with Aydin scoring in the 25^th minute and Lima equalising just before the half time whistle.

 

The only point of interest in the 2^nd half was an excellent goal well crafted by Baris.   A break down the right and a well weighted pass away from the chasing defenders to Eleke in the centre who took the ball around the goalkeeper and stroked it into the empty net.

 

This win pulls Gencler 6 points clear of the relegation zone, but sterner tests await them, starting at home against Samsun on Tuesday 15^th February.  

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU TAKE THE DERBY HONOURS ........WITH EASE !!!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Ankaragucu took over the top spot in the league last night with a comfortable win against Genclerbirligi in the Ankara Derby, even without two regular forward players, ie, Ariyibi and Eren.

 

This is the 2^nd time this season that Ankaragucu has seen-off Gencler and it plunges Gencler further down the league and only 3 points above the relegation zone.

 

With Umraniye losing in Bandirma yesterday afternoon, this win moves Ankaragucu 3 points clear at the top of the league and looking in good shape to stay there  !

 

It was an impressive attacking performance by Ankaragucu last night and the return of Owusu in the forward line certainly contributed to that.

 

GENCLERBIRLIGI              0                   ANKARAGUCU           3

 

Gencler Team - Ramazan, Metehan, Arda, Gokhan, Muhammed, Tshibola, Hrechyshkin, Sallallich, Byelyayev, Altiparmak and Eleke

 

Substitutes – Omurcan, Lualua and Serdarcan

 

Ankaragucu Team – Akin, Erdem, Yusuf, Sinan, Yasin, Abdullah, Sahverdi, Zahid, Murat, Aatif and Owusu

 

Substitutes – Ali Kaan, Geraldo, Hasan and Ishak

 

Ankaragucu made it quite clear that they intended to attack from the kick-off and almost opened the scoring in the 12^th minute when Aatif and Owusu combined on the left to allow Owusu to curl a shot inside the right post, but Ramazan was able to get his fingertips to the ball and out it went for a corner.

 

Erdem sent in the perfect weighted corner for Sinan to power in a header to the top left  with Metehan and Arda looking on in awe  !!       This is the 2^nd time Sinan has scored vital goals from a corner this season  !!

 

Ankaragucu almost found the 2^nd goal on the half hour mark when Aatif’s goal bound shot was well saved by Ramazan and then a few minutes later Owusu was unlucky to see his shot hit the bar after he had glided past defenders to make the space for the shot.

 

Approaching the half time whistle and Tshibola was shown a straight RED card by the referee for taking Owusu’s legs away in a tackle.    I have to say that the red was rather harsh and I would have thought that a yellow was sufficient punishment.     However, perhaps the referee saw some malice in Tshibola’s eyes and considered the offence serious and dangerous foul play ??!!

 

Into the 2^nd half and Eleke missed a golden opportunity when he picked up a loose ball when Murat stumbled and fell injured.    However, it was Akin to the rescue as he saved his shot for a corner.

 

It was all Ankaragucu again and the 2^nd goal arrived in the 62^nd minute with great build-up play from Ankaragucu started by Abdullah.    The ball was eventually played into Owusu who had found free space in the centre and he sent the ball through Ramazan’s legs.

 

The goal of the match came 10 minutes later when Murat drove in from near the half way line and sent in a screamer of a shot from about 30 yards out into the top right with Ramazan clawing air  !!

 

Almost on the final whistle and Ramazan pulled off a point blank save inside the 6 yard box, but there was no further response from Gencler.

 

So, as I said earlier, Gencler is in a perilous position at the moment and travel to fellow relegation candidates Altinordu on Friday 11^th February in what is obviously a must win match for both teams.    Watch this space for the outcome.

 

Ankaragucu will be at home on Saturday 12^th February against Istanbulspor who are in 6^th position in the league.     More of the same attacking play as yesterday, with hopefully Eren and Ariyibi back in the starting line up to give Mustafa Bey a selection headache  !!

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim