Eight league matches and two Cup games later and Genclerbirligi finally registered a win which keeps us in the top flight for next season. Phew!
Genclerbirligi 2 - 1 Rize Teamen
Not the biggest turnout today, even though the weather was perfect. Was it due to it being Mother's Day? Alpine Kanka Wolfgang and his son Chris (not sure if it was Christian or Christoph so I'll just stick to Chris) are now definite Maraton boys (they used to watch the matches from the safe confines of Kapalı). Flying Dutchman Kanka Carlo, Legal Kanka Saadet and Big Al also joined us for pre-match drinks but then they buggered off for some birthday party. Wimps.
With all matches this weekend being played at the same time I wasn't expecting a large crowd but the fact that the away team almost outnumbered us was quite dispiriting. Still the couple of thousand who were there for Gencler sang loud and long. Amazingly, for the first time in quite a while there were no anti-Cavcav songs. Although there were a few as we walked out of the stadium.
First half and not a lot happening. As seems to be usual we were dominating but couldn't get the shots in. Had a few though with the best chance falling to Okan Ozturk who took a pass from Isaac Promise but weakly hit it straight at the keeper.
There were many shaking heads at halftime. The questions being asked were why did coach Mesut Bakkal bring Okan back on for Sandro who seemed to have been quite good recently. The other question was why was Mehmet Cakir sitting on the bench.
Not long into the second half and we had a shot come off the post. A few minutes later another good chance went begging. Not quite as it was a very good effort by Engin but their keeper saved it. Almost immediately their keeper sent through a long, long ball. A Teaman picked it up and made Mr. Fish look like a complete fool, the ball was then slotted in past Jesus. Teamen, one-nil up.
I could not believe it. Here we were not that long ago looking forward to the prospect of getting beaten up by Italian police next year in the UEFA Cup and now we were seriously looking at the prospect of playing in the second division.
The call went up in the stands for Cakir to be brought on. Bakkal finally heard us and got the bloke onto the pitch. The Teamen supporters were singing their hearts out at the hope that they wouldn't get relegated and then we struck.
ON about the 80th minute Mehmet Nas made a brilliant run down the left, getting past a few defenders and then passed it on to Isaac who struck it well and bang, GOAL. 1-1
We started jumping up and down. As far as the mathematics went a draw would have probably been good enough for us to stay up.
Three minutes of extra time and for some reason or another one the Teamen was sent off. We think it was for elbowing but I'm not sure. A minute left and a foul was committed by a Teaman about 40 yards out. Mehmet Cakir struck it with might and the ball came back off the post. I thought that was it but then Isaac managed to get hold of it and whacked it into the net.
And so we finally got ourselves a win. I came back home and told Mrs. Oz Kanka the good news. "Is that why all the people are in the streets blowing their horns?" she asked sarcastically. Hepiniz Istanbul cocugusunuz!
The Round Ball in Ankara! Dedicated to football lovers in Ankara (Except for those who follow Osmanlispor)
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Friday, May 11, 2007
MORE SILVERWARE ON ITS WAY TO EASTER ROAD ??
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
Last week the Hibernian Ladies took a giant stride to retaining their Scottish Premier League Trophy.
They made the difficult journey to play 2nd top Glasgow City who had not been beaten at home for 2 years !
Hibs Ladies opened the scoring in the 1st half and then conceded a penalty shortly before half time to tie things up at the interval.
It was all Hibs in the 2nd half and Super Star Kim Little bagged the winner half way through the half to secure the 3 points.
Hibs Ladies now move 5 points clear at the top. However, with 3 or 4 games left, the Champagne must still remain on ice !
Look forward to seeing another piece of silverware in the Easter Road Trophy Cabinet soon !!
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Last week the Hibernian Ladies took a giant stride to retaining their Scottish Premier League Trophy.
They made the difficult journey to play 2nd top Glasgow City who had not been beaten at home for 2 years !
Hibs Ladies opened the scoring in the 1st half and then conceded a penalty shortly before half time to tie things up at the interval.
It was all Hibs in the 2nd half and Super Star Kim Little bagged the winner half way through the half to secure the 3 points.
Hibs Ladies now move 5 points clear at the top. However, with 3 or 4 games left, the Champagne must still remain on ice !
Look forward to seeing another piece of silverware in the Easter Road Trophy Cabinet soon !!
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Thursday, May 10, 2007
THE TURKISH CUP FINAL
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
The Turkish Cup Final was played in The Ataturk Stadium, Izmir last night and ended 0-0.
After extra time......
Besiktas 1 Erciyesspor 0
A great goal from Bobo on the 100 minute mark sealed it for the cup favourites. However, it has to be said that Erciyes should have had the game wrapped up on 80 minutes when Lazarov missed a great chance to win the cup. An excellent cross from the left from Ergun was met on the half volley by Lazarov, and with Runje rooted to the spot, it slid agonisingly past the far post.
Erciyes had another great chance in extra time when Djalivic had the ball in the net, but the Referee ruled it offside (dubious decision I thought !). Was he another `Istanbul Referee` I was thinking ??!!
Anyway, the fact remains that Besiktas scored, and unfortunately for Erciyes, Bobo was left unmarked to head in an excellent goal. Jabi, who had defended well all night was at fault for not picking him up as he ran into the box ......tut tut !
One thing that still bugs me, (and I've mentioned this before), is why do the TFF persist in playing their Cup Final on a Wednesday night before the end of the league season ??!!
Both teams are still locked in tustles at opposite ends of the league and should not have had to think about a Cup Final with league business still very much on their mind !
Also, when will the TFF fall into line with most YooRo countries and make their Final a showpiece event at the end of the season ?!
Back to league business then at the weekend, and good luck to Erciyes in their fight for survival. They certainly didn't play like a 2nd division team last night !
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
The Turkish Cup Final was played in The Ataturk Stadium, Izmir last night and ended 0-0.
After extra time......
Besiktas 1 Erciyesspor 0
A great goal from Bobo on the 100 minute mark sealed it for the cup favourites. However, it has to be said that Erciyes should have had the game wrapped up on 80 minutes when Lazarov missed a great chance to win the cup. An excellent cross from the left from Ergun was met on the half volley by Lazarov, and with Runje rooted to the spot, it slid agonisingly past the far post.
Erciyes had another great chance in extra time when Djalivic had the ball in the net, but the Referee ruled it offside (dubious decision I thought !). Was he another `Istanbul Referee` I was thinking ??!!
Anyway, the fact remains that Besiktas scored, and unfortunately for Erciyes, Bobo was left unmarked to head in an excellent goal. Jabi, who had defended well all night was at fault for not picking him up as he ran into the box ......tut tut !
One thing that still bugs me, (and I've mentioned this before), is why do the TFF persist in playing their Cup Final on a Wednesday night before the end of the league season ??!!
Both teams are still locked in tustles at opposite ends of the league and should not have had to think about a Cup Final with league business still very much on their mind !
Also, when will the TFF fall into line with most YooRo countries and make their Final a showpiece event at the end of the season ?!
Back to league business then at the weekend, and good luck to Erciyes in their fight for survival. They certainly didn't play like a 2nd division team last night !
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Eight in a Row for Hibs
Unfortunately that is eight games without a win.
Hibs lost at home to Kilmarnock in the battle for fifth place in the SPL. A goal early in the second half sealed the win for Kilmarnock however we were all left wondering how they did it. john Collins stuck with his young stars for this game and for most of the game they dominated but could not turn it into goals.
That was a combination of great goalkeeping and poor finishing. God I know I have read that statement somewhere before.
The season is finishing on a bit of a low for Hibs results wise, but for me they are playing good attractive football and with a bit more guile we will be back to our winning ways soon.
One post I have never got round to publishing is about Sir Eski Kankas home town team who beat AC Oxgangs Under 14s in a League cup match. The result was 2-1, AC would have won but for a combination.......maybe not.
Anyway, the two go head to head again on Sunday morning, AC are in with an outside chance of winning the league but a win is imperitive. I will give a detailed report and a picture of sunny North Berwick for those of you who have never cast eyes on Sir Eski Kankas home town.
Hibbee Kanka
Hibs lost at home to Kilmarnock in the battle for fifth place in the SPL. A goal early in the second half sealed the win for Kilmarnock however we were all left wondering how they did it. john Collins stuck with his young stars for this game and for most of the game they dominated but could not turn it into goals.
That was a combination of great goalkeeping and poor finishing. God I know I have read that statement somewhere before.
The season is finishing on a bit of a low for Hibs results wise, but for me they are playing good attractive football and with a bit more guile we will be back to our winning ways soon.
One post I have never got round to publishing is about Sir Eski Kankas home town team who beat AC Oxgangs Under 14s in a League cup match. The result was 2-1, AC would have won but for a combination.......maybe not.
Anyway, the two go head to head again on Sunday morning, AC are in with an outside chance of winning the league but a win is imperitive. I will give a detailed report and a picture of sunny North Berwick for those of you who have never cast eyes on Sir Eski Kankas home town.
Hibbee Kanka
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Always quote your sources!
I sent the following e-mail to Sir Eski Kanka yesterday:
Just checking on how people get to the blog and saw that someone had put the words - ankaragucu kenan evren - into Google. We are number two in Google UK for that search. I then looked a bit deeper at the person doing the search and found that their ISP was Hurriyet Gazetecilik Ve Matbaacilik A.s - Istanbul. Mmmm. Checked a bit deeper and saw that the person read the "Real reason we should be scared of a President Erdogan" post. The person also checked out the "For Turkish Journalists" story and the "English in Gecekondu" post. So keep your eyes open, we might be getting a mention in Hurriyet soon.
That soon was in fact today, although in a slightly different form than what I was expecting.
Reading the article "Fortis Cup seeks its new owner" by Ozgur Korkmaz in the Turkish Daily News today I was particularly interested by the follıowing:
In the 1980-1981 season, Ankaragücü was fighting to get promoted from the second division while Ankara's other professional team Gençlerbirliği was in the third division. Kenan Evren, who headed the National Security Council consisting of five generals formed after the September 12, 1980 coup d'état, said the capital of the Turkish Republic should be represented in the first division with at least one team.
The opportunity arrived when Ankaragücü advanced to the final of the domestic cup, called the Federation Cup at the time. After Ankaragücü clinched the cup with scores of 2-1 and 0-0, The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) made a change to the regulations allowing the cup winner to play in the first division regardless of which league it plays in and Ankaragücü was automatically promoted to the first division.
Most of the above is true. It is in the mistake that Mr. Korkmaz gives himself away as the person who googled "kenan evren ankaragucu". The give away being that he names Genclerbirligi as being in the third division.
If you look at our story named "Real reason we should be scared of a President Erdogan" you will see the following line:
Genclerbirligi were down in the 3rd division or somewhere or other.
The "somewhere or other" was of course my way of showing I didn't bother to actually check where exactly Gencler were in those days. Today I decided to do some checking and looked up Tanil Bora's excellent book "Ankara rüzgarı", a history of Genclerbirligi. By the way, we see Tanil quite often at Gencler matches.
In the statistics section of the book it clearly shows that Genclerbirligi were in the second division in the 1980-1981 season.
So it seems that Mr. Korkmaz took our blog as being gospel. Sure is flattering but one thing that all good journalists should have banged into them is that you should say where you got your information from. Mr. Korkmaz didn't mention our blog in his story today. If he had it would have been us that looked stupid.
Just checking on how people get to the blog and saw that someone had put the words - ankaragucu kenan evren - into Google. We are number two in Google UK for that search. I then looked a bit deeper at the person doing the search and found that their ISP was Hurriyet Gazetecilik Ve Matbaacilik A.s - Istanbul. Mmmm. Checked a bit deeper and saw that the person read the "Real reason we should be scared of a President Erdogan" post. The person also checked out the "For Turkish Journalists" story and the "English in Gecekondu" post. So keep your eyes open, we might be getting a mention in Hurriyet soon.
That soon was in fact today, although in a slightly different form than what I was expecting.
Reading the article "Fortis Cup seeks its new owner" by Ozgur Korkmaz in the Turkish Daily News today I was particularly interested by the follıowing:
In the 1980-1981 season, Ankaragücü was fighting to get promoted from the second division while Ankara's other professional team Gençlerbirliği was in the third division. Kenan Evren, who headed the National Security Council consisting of five generals formed after the September 12, 1980 coup d'état, said the capital of the Turkish Republic should be represented in the first division with at least one team.
The opportunity arrived when Ankaragücü advanced to the final of the domestic cup, called the Federation Cup at the time. After Ankaragücü clinched the cup with scores of 2-1 and 0-0, The Turkish Football Federation (TFF) made a change to the regulations allowing the cup winner to play in the first division regardless of which league it plays in and Ankaragücü was automatically promoted to the first division.
Most of the above is true. It is in the mistake that Mr. Korkmaz gives himself away as the person who googled "kenan evren ankaragucu". The give away being that he names Genclerbirligi as being in the third division.
If you look at our story named "Real reason we should be scared of a President Erdogan" you will see the following line:
Genclerbirligi were down in the 3rd division or somewhere or other.
The "somewhere or other" was of course my way of showing I didn't bother to actually check where exactly Gencler were in those days. Today I decided to do some checking and looked up Tanil Bora's excellent book "Ankara rüzgarı", a history of Genclerbirligi. By the way, we see Tanil quite often at Gencler matches.
In the statistics section of the book it clearly shows that Genclerbirligi were in the second division in the 1980-1981 season.
So it seems that Mr. Korkmaz took our blog as being gospel. Sure is flattering but one thing that all good journalists should have banged into them is that you should say where you got your information from. Mr. Korkmaz didn't mention our blog in his story today. If he had it would have been us that looked stupid.
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
BLOGGERS - EU LAW WILL END FREE SPEECH
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
An interesting article nicked from The Weekly Telegraph to set alarm bells sounding perhaps ?!
QUOTE........... British bloggers said that free speech on the internet is under threat from draconian new laws, which could see them jailed for up to 3 years.
Europe's justice ministers have agreed genocide denial and race hatred legislation that will outlaw remarks on the internet `carried out in a manner likely to incite violence or hatred`.
The measures are contained in the European Union's Racism and Xenophobia Directive and could hit European bloggers, even if their websites are hosted in America.
Chris Mounsey, the 29 year old behind The Devil's Kitchen blog, said - `there is potenital for this to have worldwide application. Free speech is at the centre of blogging`. UNQUOTE.
So, 2 questions spring to mind.............
1. Does Turkey really want to join the EU, or, rather, should they join the EU ???
2. Will Melih Gokcek, CavCav and Cemal Aydin hold us to account for `hate` posts and send us all to prison ......... boo hoo hoo !!????
Any comments ?
All the best from Fearless Eski Kanka Jim
An interesting article nicked from The Weekly Telegraph to set alarm bells sounding perhaps ?!
QUOTE........... British bloggers said that free speech on the internet is under threat from draconian new laws, which could see them jailed for up to 3 years.
Europe's justice ministers have agreed genocide denial and race hatred legislation that will outlaw remarks on the internet `carried out in a manner likely to incite violence or hatred`.
The measures are contained in the European Union's Racism and Xenophobia Directive and could hit European bloggers, even if their websites are hosted in America.
Chris Mounsey, the 29 year old behind The Devil's Kitchen blog, said - `there is potenital for this to have worldwide application. Free speech is at the centre of blogging`. UNQUOTE.
So, 2 questions spring to mind.............
1. Does Turkey really want to join the EU, or, rather, should they join the EU ???
2. Will Melih Gokcek, CavCav and Cemal Aydin hold us to account for `hate` posts and send us all to prison ......... boo hoo hoo !!????
Any comments ?
All the best from Fearless Eski Kanka Jim
LOOKING AHEAD WITH OPTIMISM
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
Lots of wailing and knashing of teeth going on recently in Ankara, and not without good cause some would say !
So, I think it time to bring out the optimism pills and look ahead to Sunday's matches in a positive way.
Looking at ANKARAGUCU's visit to Antalya, it has all the hallmarks of a 0-0 draw. Antalya are just behind Melih Gokcek Spor as the league's draws specialists with 14. Slightly more than ANKARAGUCU's 9 draws.
After 31 matches, ANKARAGUCU has scored 29 goals and conceded 32. Antalya, on the other hand, has scored 31 goals and also conceded 32. Pretty even statistics, and with both teams looking for points, it is sure to be a dour defensive battle.
The Rize Teamen are coming to play Gencler and are also in need of points. So, I don't think either match will be attractive or exciting to watch.
It is all about survival now and only points matter ! One point apiece for ANKARAGUCU and Gencler will calm the nerves for the run-in to the end of the season me thinks !
Maniac Kanka plays IDDAA (the football pools) and so I say to him.............. put your money on the two matches ending 0-0.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim (ever the optimist)
Lots of wailing and knashing of teeth going on recently in Ankara, and not without good cause some would say !
So, I think it time to bring out the optimism pills and look ahead to Sunday's matches in a positive way.
Looking at ANKARAGUCU's visit to Antalya, it has all the hallmarks of a 0-0 draw. Antalya are just behind Melih Gokcek Spor as the league's draws specialists with 14. Slightly more than ANKARAGUCU's 9 draws.
After 31 matches, ANKARAGUCU has scored 29 goals and conceded 32. Antalya, on the other hand, has scored 31 goals and also conceded 32. Pretty even statistics, and with both teams looking for points, it is sure to be a dour defensive battle.
The Rize Teamen are coming to play Gencler and are also in need of points. So, I don't think either match will be attractive or exciting to watch.
It is all about survival now and only points matter ! One point apiece for ANKARAGUCU and Gencler will calm the nerves for the run-in to the end of the season me thinks !
Maniac Kanka plays IDDAA (the football pools) and so I say to him.............. put your money on the two matches ending 0-0.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim (ever the optimist)
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