Back to normal pleasant autumn weather in Ankara and back to Gencler being in good form.
Bursaspor 1 - 2 Genclerbirligi
A slight change from normal as Lanky Kanka Jorg and myself joined up with the Alkaralar crowd at the wonderfully-named Beer Bus to watch Gencler play out of their skins.
Gencler started a million miles faster than Bursa and were unlucky not to have scored twice in the first 20 minutes, with Hursit having the best chance when a great shot from down the left hit the cross bar.
Not long after that though saw Bursa go ahead from a corner. All a bit depressing but then just before the half-time mark Gencler got back into it thanks to a great run by Burhan and a shot from Hursit that the Bursa keeper couldn't hold on to.
Second half and we had a great game on our hands with both sides playing good attacking football. In the end though it was Mustafa Pektemek who had us on our feet after heading in the ball from a corner.
More beers and then a warning that the police were tear gassing people protesting against YOK. Managed to somehow get home though.
Last night's performance was the best I've seen Gencler in quite a while. Makes you wonder what the hell has been going on in the last few weeks that have seen us lose to Diyarbakir, Istanbul and Manisa. Next week we are at home to Istanbul BBS. Fingers crossed.
The Round Ball in Ankara! Dedicated to football lovers in Ankara (Except for those who follow Osmanlispor)
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Monday, November 02, 2009
Hibs 2-0 Aberdeen
Hibs moved into second place in the SPL thanks to a hard fought win over Aberdeen and the weather causing Rangers game to be abandoned at half time.
Aberdeen came to Easter Road with a game plan more of stopping Hibs playing good football rather than trying to entertain themselves. Their physical approach certainly gave them the edge in the first 45 minutes but at a cost of some yellow cards that later proved to be their downfall.
Early in the second half Ross lunged in on Ian Murry to pick up a second yellow card and Aberdeen were down to ten men. Five minutes later Maguire was late with his tackle on McBride, this time the referee gave a straight red. A booking would have been enough but as Maguire was already booked the end result would remain the same.
Down to 9 men everyone expected Aberdeen to fold but to their credit they held out and even tested the Hibs goalie a couple of times.
Hibs eventually scored on 88 minutes, tough on Aberdeen but a big relief for the Hibees. A good cross was met by Nish's head and the keeper was left helpless. Miller added a second in added time, a deflection leaving the keeper blameless again.
A great three point for Hibs but we must start playing more imaginative football if we are to stay at the top end of the league.
Hearts at tynecastle on Saturday, 3 points for Hibs would mean at the end of the first quarter we would be right on the heels of the leaders. Also would be well clear of our local rivals which is always good for work banter!
Aberdeen came to Easter Road with a game plan more of stopping Hibs playing good football rather than trying to entertain themselves. Their physical approach certainly gave them the edge in the first 45 minutes but at a cost of some yellow cards that later proved to be their downfall.
Early in the second half Ross lunged in on Ian Murry to pick up a second yellow card and Aberdeen were down to ten men. Five minutes later Maguire was late with his tackle on McBride, this time the referee gave a straight red. A booking would have been enough but as Maguire was already booked the end result would remain the same.
Down to 9 men everyone expected Aberdeen to fold but to their credit they held out and even tested the Hibs goalie a couple of times.
Hibs eventually scored on 88 minutes, tough on Aberdeen but a big relief for the Hibees. A good cross was met by Nish's head and the keeper was left helpless. Miller added a second in added time, a deflection leaving the keeper blameless again.
A great three point for Hibs but we must start playing more imaginative football if we are to stay at the top end of the league.
Hearts at tynecastle on Saturday, 3 points for Hibs would mean at the end of the first quarter we would be right on the heels of the leaders. Also would be well clear of our local rivals which is always good for work banter!
Sunday, November 01, 2009
That was a bit crap
A bitterly cold day in Ankara on Sunday afternoon certainly kept the numbers down with just Dan the Man joining me at the Chopin. Alpine Kanka Wolfgang and his mate Mustafa met us at the stadium, but really, we should all have stayed home.
Genclerbirligi 0 - 2 Manisaspor
We kicked off and I thought the tap between the forwards was a good one. Unfortunately less than 40 seconds later the ball was in the back of our net. Gencler clearly had their minds elsewhere, Cloud Kuzbain for all I know, but this was pathetic.
Much shaking of heads but then we started to dominate. We still couldn't get anywhere near their goal though.
At half-time there was still hope but that was dashed out after some very poor defending let Manisa go 2-0 up.
Heads in hands as we started to give the ball away time and time again. Problem was we were a million miles too slow and I don't think we got a shot on goal all match.
Our best chance fell to Aussie Bruce who came on as a sub at some stage in the second half but he managed to send his header wide of the post.
All up it was very depressing stuff and clearly the worst I've seen Gencler play in quite a long time.
Genclerbirligi 0 - 2 Manisaspor
We kicked off and I thought the tap between the forwards was a good one. Unfortunately less than 40 seconds later the ball was in the back of our net. Gencler clearly had their minds elsewhere, Cloud Kuzbain for all I know, but this was pathetic.
Much shaking of heads but then we started to dominate. We still couldn't get anywhere near their goal though.
At half-time there was still hope but that was dashed out after some very poor defending let Manisa go 2-0 up.
Heads in hands as we started to give the ball away time and time again. Problem was we were a million miles too slow and I don't think we got a shot on goal all match.
Our best chance fell to Aussie Bruce who came on as a sub at some stage in the second half but he managed to send his header wide of the post.
All up it was very depressing stuff and clearly the worst I've seen Gencler play in quite a long time.
ANKARAGUCU - THE INONU AFFLICTION CONTINUES !
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
I still have a wee bit of a hangover from last night, but I'm reasonably sober to write a few paragraphs.
What is it about The Inonu Stadium ? Does Besiktas raise their game for Ankaragucu ? Does Ankaragucu have a death wish about this Stadium ? Whatever the reason, we lost again and I couldn't tell you the last time Ankaragucu won a match there, so don't ask !
Besiktas 1 ANKARAGUCU 0
Hopes were high in The Chopin Bar where we all met up. Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Oz Kanka Chris, Spine Kanka Steve, Kaleci Kanka Tansu and ............ surprise surprise ...... Maniac Kanka Harun turned up to surprise us all. We also had a visit from one of Eski's old students, the beautiful and charming Merve, who has just returned to Ankara after graduating from a Uni in Oz.
Battle Damaged was first to point out the good news that Serkan was back in goal for Ankaragucu. So, as I said, hopes were high even without the injured Vassell. The team -
Serkan
El-Yasa, Ediz, Koray and Adem
Murat, Hurriyet, Weeks and Broggi
Ceyhun and Meye
2nd half substitutes used were - Emre, Aydin and Barbaros
Ankaragucu came out of the traps fast and took the game to Besiktas. I think Hikmet Bey has learned that this is the only way to play the Istanbul 3 !
The match looked pretty even until the 17th minute when lady luck played a part in the match. Ismail of Besiktas picked up a loose ball well outside the penalty area (about 40 metres I would say) and fired in a speculative shot which had lots of power in it. However, that's when lady luck intervened and the ball hit El-Yasa to be deflected out of reach of Serkan's dive. I could see from the replay that Serkan had the ball covered but it was a wicked deflection and he was helpless to reach the ball as it entered the opposite side of the goal from which it was intended.
No criticism of Ismail who had a very good match, but there is no way that the goal should be creditted to him !
Ankaragucu continued to press forward for the remainder of the match, but apart from good opportunities which fell to Meye and Hurriyet, they rarely troubled the Besiktas back four or 'the giraffe' in goal.
Disappointing not to have taken at least one point from this match, but as I said earlier, there must be a hoodoo hanging over the Inonu Stadium for Ankaragucu.
Memories of our fantastic performance against Galatasaray are fading fast, so it becomes crucial to win next week's home match against Kasimpasa.
Hopefully Vassell will be fit by then. I am anxious to see how Vassell and Meye play together with Ceyhun supplying the bullets from midfield.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
I still have a wee bit of a hangover from last night, but I'm reasonably sober to write a few paragraphs.
What is it about The Inonu Stadium ? Does Besiktas raise their game for Ankaragucu ? Does Ankaragucu have a death wish about this Stadium ? Whatever the reason, we lost again and I couldn't tell you the last time Ankaragucu won a match there, so don't ask !
Besiktas 1 ANKARAGUCU 0
Hopes were high in The Chopin Bar where we all met up. Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Oz Kanka Chris, Spine Kanka Steve, Kaleci Kanka Tansu and ............ surprise surprise ...... Maniac Kanka Harun turned up to surprise us all. We also had a visit from one of Eski's old students, the beautiful and charming Merve, who has just returned to Ankara after graduating from a Uni in Oz.
Battle Damaged was first to point out the good news that Serkan was back in goal for Ankaragucu. So, as I said, hopes were high even without the injured Vassell. The team -
Serkan
El-Yasa, Ediz, Koray and Adem
Murat, Hurriyet, Weeks and Broggi
Ceyhun and Meye
2nd half substitutes used were - Emre, Aydin and Barbaros
Ankaragucu came out of the traps fast and took the game to Besiktas. I think Hikmet Bey has learned that this is the only way to play the Istanbul 3 !
The match looked pretty even until the 17th minute when lady luck played a part in the match. Ismail of Besiktas picked up a loose ball well outside the penalty area (about 40 metres I would say) and fired in a speculative shot which had lots of power in it. However, that's when lady luck intervened and the ball hit El-Yasa to be deflected out of reach of Serkan's dive. I could see from the replay that Serkan had the ball covered but it was a wicked deflection and he was helpless to reach the ball as it entered the opposite side of the goal from which it was intended.
No criticism of Ismail who had a very good match, but there is no way that the goal should be creditted to him !
Ankaragucu continued to press forward for the remainder of the match, but apart from good opportunities which fell to Meye and Hurriyet, they rarely troubled the Besiktas back four or 'the giraffe' in goal.
Disappointing not to have taken at least one point from this match, but as I said earlier, there must be a hoodoo hanging over the Inonu Stadium for Ankaragucu.
Memories of our fantastic performance against Galatasaray are fading fast, so it becomes crucial to win next week's home match against Kasimpasa.
Hopefully Vassell will be fit by then. I am anxious to see how Vassell and Meye play together with Ceyhun supplying the bullets from midfield.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
Saturday, October 31, 2009
ANKARAGUCU WAS .......
dare I say it ......
OK, I will ....... because Maniac Kanka Harun said I must .......
we were ............ fucked !!!
Beshik...spit....tash ... 1 ANKARAGUCU 0
It's a sad story of bad luck which will be revealed tomorrow when I'm reasonably sober ......
suffice to say for now that the best team lost !!!
All the best from intoxicated Eski Kanka Jim
OK, I will ....... because Maniac Kanka Harun said I must .......
we were ............ fucked !!!
Beshik...spit....tash ... 1 ANKARAGUCU 0
It's a sad story of bad luck which will be revealed tomorrow when I'm reasonably sober ......
suffice to say for now that the best team lost !!!
All the best from intoxicated Eski Kanka Jim
Thursday, October 29, 2009
ANKARAGUCU ..... (OR IS IT ANKARASPOR ??!!) MOVE INTO THE TURKISH CUP GROUP STAGE
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
There was no lap of honour last night at the final whistle. Ankaragucu played their 'get out of jail' card and were rather fortunate to avoid a penalty shoot-out.
ANKARAGUCU 3 Karsiyaka 2
The kankas met in The Chopin as usual. Battle Damaged Damon, Connect Steve, Phillie Jamie, Flying Dutchman Carlo, 'new boy' Berlin Kanka Karl and yours truly. At the Stadium we met-up with Yankee Kanka and Huso Kanka.
When the players emerged prior to kick-off it was a case of playing the game 'guess the player' ! Was this Ankaragucu or Ankaraspor was my first thought, but hey, Ankaraspor was playing in Tokat (where they got stuffed by the way !) and Ankaraspor don't have yellow shirts !
The Ankaraspor goalkeeper (can't spell or pronounce his name !) was in for Serkan and I will give the names of the others when I can find them. Nothing in The Hurriyet or on the Ankaragucu website this morning, so I may well do an edit tomorrow.
We did have a few Ankaragucu 'olde boys' in the starting line-up, eg, Ceyhun, El-Yasa, Metin and Murat. Also, Vassel came on when Metin went off injured and then Emre came on for Vassell when he went off injured !
So to the start, and what a start ! One up inside the first minute. It happened so quickly that it was difficult to recall as we were just settling down. A break down the right by Metin who crossed for a tap-in by Meye (I think) with the Karsiyaka defence all at sea. Volume up and wait for the avalanche of goals !!
Ermmm hello, we are playing Karsiyaka and not Muglaspor (with apologies to the good people of Mugla !). Karsiyaka steadied themselves and began to play a bit, but it was still all Ankaragucu and the 2nd goal duly arrived on the half-hour mark with a stunning piece of opportunism from Metin who swivelled in the penalty box and struck a half volley into the corner with the goalkeeper helpless.
This is it we all thought with the singing reverberating around the Stadium .... uc uc uc ..... but we fell for the sucker punch. Foot off the pedal, players thinking .... this is easy ...... and then .... with the Ankaragucu goalkeeper out of position and the defence in 'dream mode' the Karsiyaka striker lobbed the ball over the stranded goalkeeper and into the net. A schoolboy error and I'm thinking .... where is Serkan ??!!
Not to worry ..... don't panic. We are 2-1 up at half time and attacking the Gecikondu end in the 2nd half. The goals will come no probs ......wrong !
As I mentioned to the kankas prior to the match, Karsiyaka has a famous history in Turkish footie and they are not coming to Ankara to be lambs to the slaughter. So, it proved. All credit to Karsiyaka for coming out in the 2nd half and taking the game to Ankaragucu. Their footie was at times textbook stuff as they passed the ball around with Ankaragucu chasing shadows. They were in full cry and Ankaragucu was rocking.
It was no surprise therefore when they equalised. How many times has Ankaragucu been caught out by breakaways when our 'old' defenders couldn't play 'catch up'. So it was again with the cut-back and the pick your place in the goal.
2-2 and we were thinking ........ oh no, not a penalty shoot out - Karsiyaka had nothing to lose before the match and would definitely be favourites to win it.
It was nail biting stuff and with only minutes to go Karsiyaka almost snatched the winner with a shot that went just past the post with the goalkeeper beaten.
Shit ! Anxious looks all round from the kankas !!
Almost full time and from one of the few Ankaragucu attacks of the 2nd half the ball was collected by Meye just outside the penalty area. With the Karsiyaka defence backing off expecting the ball to be sent wide, he looked up and fired in a screamer of a ball to the top left hand corner with the goalkeeper clawing air.
Sighs of relief all round and let's start singing again .... cue ...... Annnkaaaaarrrrraaaagoooojoooo !!!
OK, Ankaragucu is into the Group Stage, but only just. Hikmet Bey has some serious thinking to do about how he is going to get his team playing like a TEAM and back to the basics of passing and playing for each other.
Meye had an outstanding match. Apart from his goals he was full of running and endeavour. Also, Metin had a good match in the short time he was on. El-Yasa was his usual reliable self, but Ediz had a shocker and his distribution was abysmal. Ceyhun looked a lonely figure in midfield and the sooner Barbaros and Semavi return the better !
We can only play better than this performance, and it will need to be for next Saturday's match at the Inonu Stadium.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
EDIT - Friday 30th October
As promised here is the team for the Cup Match (nicked from the Ankaragucu website) -
Senecky
El-Yasa, Ediz, Koray and Broggi
Ceyhun, Hurriyet, Murat and Theo
Meye and Metin
Substitutes used - Vassell, Emre and Mehmet
There was no lap of honour last night at the final whistle. Ankaragucu played their 'get out of jail' card and were rather fortunate to avoid a penalty shoot-out.
ANKARAGUCU 3 Karsiyaka 2
The kankas met in The Chopin as usual. Battle Damaged Damon, Connect Steve, Phillie Jamie, Flying Dutchman Carlo, 'new boy' Berlin Kanka Karl and yours truly. At the Stadium we met-up with Yankee Kanka and Huso Kanka.
When the players emerged prior to kick-off it was a case of playing the game 'guess the player' ! Was this Ankaragucu or Ankaraspor was my first thought, but hey, Ankaraspor was playing in Tokat (where they got stuffed by the way !) and Ankaraspor don't have yellow shirts !
The Ankaraspor goalkeeper (can't spell or pronounce his name !) was in for Serkan and I will give the names of the others when I can find them. Nothing in The Hurriyet or on the Ankaragucu website this morning, so I may well do an edit tomorrow.
We did have a few Ankaragucu 'olde boys' in the starting line-up, eg, Ceyhun, El-Yasa, Metin and Murat. Also, Vassel came on when Metin went off injured and then Emre came on for Vassell when he went off injured !
So to the start, and what a start ! One up inside the first minute. It happened so quickly that it was difficult to recall as we were just settling down. A break down the right by Metin who crossed for a tap-in by Meye (I think) with the Karsiyaka defence all at sea. Volume up and wait for the avalanche of goals !!
Ermmm hello, we are playing Karsiyaka and not Muglaspor (with apologies to the good people of Mugla !). Karsiyaka steadied themselves and began to play a bit, but it was still all Ankaragucu and the 2nd goal duly arrived on the half-hour mark with a stunning piece of opportunism from Metin who swivelled in the penalty box and struck a half volley into the corner with the goalkeeper helpless.
This is it we all thought with the singing reverberating around the Stadium .... uc uc uc ..... but we fell for the sucker punch. Foot off the pedal, players thinking .... this is easy ...... and then .... with the Ankaragucu goalkeeper out of position and the defence in 'dream mode' the Karsiyaka striker lobbed the ball over the stranded goalkeeper and into the net. A schoolboy error and I'm thinking .... where is Serkan ??!!
Not to worry ..... don't panic. We are 2-1 up at half time and attacking the Gecikondu end in the 2nd half. The goals will come no probs ......wrong !
As I mentioned to the kankas prior to the match, Karsiyaka has a famous history in Turkish footie and they are not coming to Ankara to be lambs to the slaughter. So, it proved. All credit to Karsiyaka for coming out in the 2nd half and taking the game to Ankaragucu. Their footie was at times textbook stuff as they passed the ball around with Ankaragucu chasing shadows. They were in full cry and Ankaragucu was rocking.
It was no surprise therefore when they equalised. How many times has Ankaragucu been caught out by breakaways when our 'old' defenders couldn't play 'catch up'. So it was again with the cut-back and the pick your place in the goal.
2-2 and we were thinking ........ oh no, not a penalty shoot out - Karsiyaka had nothing to lose before the match and would definitely be favourites to win it.
It was nail biting stuff and with only minutes to go Karsiyaka almost snatched the winner with a shot that went just past the post with the goalkeeper beaten.
Shit ! Anxious looks all round from the kankas !!
Almost full time and from one of the few Ankaragucu attacks of the 2nd half the ball was collected by Meye just outside the penalty area. With the Karsiyaka defence backing off expecting the ball to be sent wide, he looked up and fired in a screamer of a ball to the top left hand corner with the goalkeeper clawing air.
Sighs of relief all round and let's start singing again .... cue ...... Annnkaaaaarrrrraaaagoooojoooo !!!
OK, Ankaragucu is into the Group Stage, but only just. Hikmet Bey has some serious thinking to do about how he is going to get his team playing like a TEAM and back to the basics of passing and playing for each other.
Meye had an outstanding match. Apart from his goals he was full of running and endeavour. Also, Metin had a good match in the short time he was on. El-Yasa was his usual reliable self, but Ediz had a shocker and his distribution was abysmal. Ceyhun looked a lonely figure in midfield and the sooner Barbaros and Semavi return the better !
We can only play better than this performance, and it will need to be for next Saturday's match at the Inonu Stadium.
All the best from Eski Kanka Jim
EDIT - Friday 30th October
As promised here is the team for the Cup Match (nicked from the Ankaragucu website) -
Senecky
El-Yasa, Ediz, Koray and Broggi
Ceyhun, Hurriyet, Murat and Theo
Meye and Metin
Substitutes used - Vassell, Emre and Mehmet
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Gencler knocked out early (again)
Another very short appearance for Genclerbirligi in the Turkish Cup. This year we bow out after losing out on penalties to Istanbul BBS.
Istanbul BBS 1 - 1 Genclerbirligi (Pen: 4-2)
Not a great to deal to report because I didn't see the match but I did catch snippets on the radio. Seems as if Gencler started the game well but allowed Istanbul to get back into it in the second half.
It was 0-0 after 90 minutes so an extra half-an-hour was tacked on.
Kahe looked like he might have wrapped it up for us in the 95th minute with a free kick goal, but Istanbul pulled even in the 112th minute.
Off to the dreaded penalties.
Istanbul started: Goal 1-0
Kahe scores: 1-1
Istanbul score: 2-1
Bilal misses: 2-1
Istanbul score: 3-1
Tozo scores: 3-2
Istanbul score: 4-2
Hursit misses: 4-2 and over.
So, just like last year Gencler are knocked out in the first round. It does seem an eternity ago that Spine, French Kanka and myself went off to Bursa for the 2007-2008 Cup final. We lost that one on penalties as well.
Istanbul BBS 1 - 1 Genclerbirligi (Pen: 4-2)
Not a great to deal to report because I didn't see the match but I did catch snippets on the radio. Seems as if Gencler started the game well but allowed Istanbul to get back into it in the second half.
It was 0-0 after 90 minutes so an extra half-an-hour was tacked on.
Kahe looked like he might have wrapped it up for us in the 95th minute with a free kick goal, but Istanbul pulled even in the 112th minute.
Off to the dreaded penalties.
Istanbul started: Goal 1-0
Kahe scores: 1-1
Istanbul score: 2-1
Bilal misses: 2-1
Istanbul score: 3-1
Tozo scores: 3-2
Istanbul score: 4-2
Hursit misses: 4-2 and over.
So, just like last year Gencler are knocked out in the first round. It does seem an eternity ago that Spine, French Kanka and myself went off to Bursa for the 2007-2008 Cup final. We lost that one on penalties as well.
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