Greetings Kankas
and Kankies.
Gencler opened
the new season with 3 valuable points yesterday against a highly rated team . Lots of new faces in the team, so it will
probably take them a few weeks to gel with the old brigade who remained,
Gencler only had
33% possession, but the difference between the two teams was that Gencler took
their two chances and scored two excellent goals.
Gencler has a
new coach, Sinan Kaloglu, who was previously with Altay.
The match was
played at the Aktepe Stadium, the home of Keciorengucu, which is a sensible decision
with the small Gencler support always dwarfed in the 25,000 capacity Eryaman
Stadium. Even the Aktepe Stadium which
has only 3 small stands, had only 2 in use yesterday !!
GENCLERBIRLIGI 2 Umraniye 1
Team – Cetin,
Ugur Akdemir, Babacan, Wu, Yasin, Akabueze, Erturk, Rodrigues, Cagiran, Nzaba
and Yatabare
Substitutes –
Ozturk, Kemaloglu and Karakullukcu
It only took
Gencler 19 minutes to open the scoring when Ankaragucu ‘old boy’, Yasin, headed
in unchallenged in the 6 yard box from a free kick on the left.
10 minutes
before half time and Gencler added a 2nd when from a fast break on
the left, the ball was crossed to the unmarked Ugur at the far post who
volleyed the ball first time inside the left post.
5 minutes later
Umraniye staged what I thought was going to be a fight back, when Hasan sent a
shot in from the right of the 18 yard line through the defence and inside the
right post.
However, the
Umraniye fight back didn’t materialise in the 2nd half and nor did
Gencler manage any clear cut goal scoring chances.
In all honesty,
it was an effort to stay awake throughout the 2nd half which was one
big .......yawn !!!
Anyway, the
bottom line is that Gencler won 3 valuable points to kick-start their season.
Next up for
Gencler is a visit to Sakarya next Sunday 20 August which will also be another
challenging match, and if Gencler can return to Ankara with at least one point,
it will be regarded as a success.
Sakarya is one
of those teams which has a strong following and a team I regard as one of the
sleeping giants in the lower divisions.
As always, watch
this space for the outcome.
All the best
from Eski Kanka Jim
Gencler will be back at Eryaman in week 3 Jim. The pitch wasnt ready for the opening game.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that information Nady. When I see Gencler playing in the Eryaman Stadium, especially when they are in The Chapionship League, I always think what a waste of resources to open a huge stadium for just a few hundred supporters, and perhaps a few in the away section.
ReplyDeleteIt is also a long train journey from Ankara city centre to Eryaman which I for one hate.
The sensible option, in my opinion, is to have an agreement for Gencler to share the Aktepe Stadium in Kecioren which is not far from the city centre.
However, I suppose that the Gencler Management are happy to sit in the plush VIP Section at the Eryaman Stadium ??!!!