Greetings Kankas
and Kankies.
Gencler can have
no complaints about losing out to league leaders Samsunspor last night after
countless missed chances, and up against a resolute Samsun defence.
It was generally
an even match, but one piece of skill won all 3 points !
Gencler hasn’t
found the back of the net since beating Goztepe way back at the beginning of
February and the clock is ticking.
They are 3rd bottom of the league (2nd bottom if we
discount Malatya in bottom position), and to be honest, there doesn’t seem to
be much room for manoeuvre as the season approaches the run-in stage, with
equally difficult matches on the horizon.
Samsun’s large
visiting support which filled the away end were vociferous throughout, and the vertical
pouring rain didn’t dampen their spirits.
GENCLERBIRLIGI 0 Samsunspor 1
Team – Nurullah,
Ugur, Alperen, Thomas, Yasin, Abdullah, Ivan, Erkan, Mete Kaan, Khadfi and Soulemanye
Substitutes –
Gabriel, Bugra, Enes, Hayrullah and Jaime
After just 10
minutes of play, the match exploded into life when Gencler had an excellent
opportunity to put pressure on the league leaders when Samsun defender Soner
used his arm to stop a shot in the box.
Penalty, and no question about it
! Soulemanye stepped up and
sent his fierce shot to the outside of the left post and the ball was cleared.
Undeterred,
Gencler continued to attack to find the crucial opening goal and it almost
arrived 10 minutes later when Abdullah’s shot from just outside the box was
just too high and wide of the left post.
10 minutes later
and the Samsun goalkeeper made a spectacular save from a goal bound shot.
At this point,
Gencler was looking the hungrier team and Samsun’s lofty league position
flattering to deceive !
Then, as it
sometimes happens, a goal came against the run of play. And........ what a goal it was. Worthy of winning any match !!
Samsun was awarded a free kick about 40 yards out in the centre. After collaboration with his team mates, Tanque
stepped up and sent a screamer of a shot into the top right with Nurullah
getting his fingertips to the ball but unable to stop it.
Into the 2nd
half and both teams kept searching for a goal, but I have to say that Gencler
just didn’t have the cutting edge to trouble the Samsun defence.
Only 3 minutes
left in the match and Samsun was hanging on and running the clock down when
Gencler thought that they had found the equaliser. The ball was passed to Soulemanye in the
centre and he squirmed his way past 3 defenders and passed to the unmarked Ugur
on the right who shot through the goalkeeper’s legs for what looked like a good
goal.
However,the VAR
Referee called the referee’s attention to the screen to show him a foul in the
build-up to the pass to Soulemanye when the Samsun captain was pushed as he was
about to clear the ball to safety.
Lots of protests from the Gencler bench, but the end decision was
correct.
Eyes forward to
their next match, and Gencler has the ‘mini Ankara Derby’ next Saturday 25th
March away against this season’s surprise package................ Keciorengucu
who sit in 4th top position in the league and are still searching
for the automatic promotion place.
So, yet another
mountain for Gencler to climb in their bid to escape from the relegation zone.
As always, watch
this space for the outcome.
All the best
from Eski Kanka Jim
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