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 2nd 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 2nd 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 2nd 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 70th
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 27th
February away to 3rd 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
💙💛
ReplyDeleteWell done Jim