Greetings Kankas
and Kankies.
(Headline
suggested by Battle Damaged Kanka Damon).
Ali Sowe
cemented his reputation with the Ankaragucu faithful last night by picking
Ankaragucu up when they were faltering.
Apart from his 2 fantastic goals, his contribution throughout the match
was immense........ as usual ! A Man of the Match performance !
Ankaragucu is
not out of the woods yet, but the pressure is firmly back in the courts of the
chasing pack .......... Umraniye, Giresun and Istanbulspor. Also, Alanya, Antalya and Kasimpasa are
now approaching the danger area in the league
!
Back to last
night’s action ...............
ANKARAGUCU 3 Giresun 1
Team – Gokhan,
Kitsiou, Kevin, Atakan, Mujakic, Matej, Taylan, Zadid, Diack, Emre and Ali Sowe
Substitutes –
Tasos, Pedrinho, Andrej, Oko and Arda
Most of the 1st
half was a big disappointment with Ankaragucu having difficulty stringing
passes together and Giresun giving them no time on the ball by chasing every
player in possession. It was a
disjointed display by Ankaragucu with probably everyone expecting them to take
control of the match from the off.
Having said
that, Emre had a goal bound shot well save on the half hour mark, but Giresun
seized the initiative a few minutes from the half time whistle.
A free kick on
the left was sent over into the box which should have been attacked by Atakan,
but he totally missed the ball which hit the body of Diack, who was behind him,
and the ball was deflected into the goal.
Poor defending, but there was no denying that Giresun deserved to be
ahead !
The goal seemed
to give Ankaragucu a wake-up call.
Into time added on and Ali almost found the equaliser when his header
was sent just past the post.
Almost on the
half time whistle and Ali (and all of us
!) thought that he had scored the equaliser. There was a fast break down the left and
the cross sent in to Ali whose first shot was parried by the goalkeeper, but
the rebound was stroked in.
Aaaaargh ........ but, the referee was directed to the VAR for an
offence committed by Mujakic in the build up and the goal was ruled out !
Well, whatever
was said by the Coach at half time certainly had the desired effect. Ankaragucu came out a different team with
all guns blazing !!!
8 minutes into
the 2nd half and the equaliser finally arrived and definitely my
Goal of the Match. Ali was sent a
pass in the box on the right which he controlled near the goal line and sent in
a screamer of a shot from a very acute angle which flew into the top left.
From this point,
Ankaragucu gradually took control of the match showing much more determination
and attacking threat.
5 minutes later
and Ankaragucu almost went ahead when the goalkeeper parried the ball from a
corner direct to the unmarked Mujakic, but he somehow contrived to send the
ball into the clouds with the goal at his mercy.
3 minutes later
and Kitsiou almost scored when his header hit the crossbar and was cleared.
However, the
goal finally arrived with 15 minutes to go.
Pedrinho sent in a fierce shot which was deflected by a defender to
Taylan who gratefully received the ball and shot from the left to inside the
right post for a goal which Ankaragucu’s play fully deserved.
Tasos had 3
opportunities to score the 3rd.
Firstly, the goalkeeper made a brave save when one-on-one with Tasos. Secondly, a screamer of a shot from outside
the box hit the post and was cleared.
Then, he did score, but his goal was correctly ruled out for offside.
The 3rd
goal finally arrived 6 minutes into time added on and it was that man Ali
again. A fast Ankaragucu attack down
the left and Pedrinho made an excellent cut-back to Ali in the centre who sent
his shot into the top right for a well executed goal.
So, a crucial 3
points to keep the pressure on the 3 teams which I mentioned at the
beginning. Ankaragucu has 7 matches
left to avoid the drop and if they can maintain the momentum they showed in the
2nd half last night, there is still hope.
Next up is
another home match against another team in similar circumstances to Ankaragucu
and at present Kasimpasa in only 2 points ahead. It goes without saying therefore that this
is another of those ......... MUST WIN............. matches !!
As always, watch
this space for the outcome.
All the best
from Eski Kanka Jim
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