What is with these early KO times? Gencler defeat Ordu

What is it with the TFF and the extreme times for starting a football match. I simply can't remember the last time Gencler had a 3pm KO. I'd barely gotten out of bed this morning before heading off for Kizilay.

Genclerbirligi 3 - 1 Orduspor

It was just Little Oz Kanka and myself down at the Beer Bus, before midday! Kofte and ayran for the little one and usual for me and then we layered up and headed off to a pretty much empty stadium.

I'd say there were about 150 Ordu supporters and a couple of thousand Gencler fans.

Anyway, peep peep and the match was underway and pretty soon I was wishing I'd stayed in bed. It was crap. Absolute rubbish from both teams. And with that I end my report of the first half.

Second half and everything changed, at first for the worse, as Ordu sent a great ball through to a player in space at the back who sounded sent it past Ramazan in goal.

After having watched 11 goats dressed in black and red doing bugger all in the first half, hopes weren't high that we could get back in it. But the goal finally woke Gencler up and we started to play some good attacking football.

In the main it was good work from the backs and midfield who were spotting Yasin or Hursut down the wings. Chances were being created and it was in the 50th minute or so when Mehmet Sedef got a ball through to Yasin who timed his shot to perfection, sending it with power over the keeper's outstretched hand and then watching it dip down under the post. 1-1 and this match had come alive.

We were now getting shots on goal, and a few not far off and it was looking increasingly like we would get a winner, we just needed someone up front to shoot properly. At this stage the chant from the crowd was for Ermin Zec to come on. As fate would have it, the man whom he would have replaced, Herve Tum, managed to get his head onto a ball sent in by Azofeifa. 2-1 and the call for Ermin Zec was suspended quick smart.

Hearts in mouths a few times as Ramazan made a few mistakes only to be saved by some good clearance stuff from Aykut and Klusic and the minutes were ticking down. Yasin was taken off as extra time started and Zec finally came on to the roar of the crowd.

A counter attack and Zec dribbled a bit to set himself up for a shot. It smashed straight into a defender and went flying into the air. I started clapping to acknowledge the good play and then the ball came back down and somehow found its way into the net. I've never seen Zec so happy.

A good win, even if the first half was more painful than a root canal... and I can tell you from recent experience, that ain't much fun.

Ankaragucu vs Antalyaspor Match Preview !

We look ahead to this Sundays relegation clash between Ankaragucu and Antalyaspor.
Ankaragucu travel to Antalyaspor on Sunday afternoon in another important game. Antalyaspor are just outside the relegation zone themselves, but are very difficult to beat at home. Only Mersin have won in Antalya this season.

Ankaragucu drew 0-0 with Bursaspor last night, and will hope to follow that up with the three points in Antalya. With only three games remaining until the January transfer window opens, its important Ankaragucu don't loose any more ground on there relegation rivals.

One positive from the game against Bursa, was the first clean sheet of the season for Ozden Ongun in Goal, the defence will hope to build on that and hope the strikers can take there chances in the game. Ankaragucu have taken one point from there last three games, however it could have been so different if they had taken there early chance in every game.

Antalyaspor go into the game on the back of a 1-0 defeat at Eskisehirspor and will be hoping to get back to winning ways themselves. They have some good players in Necati Ates, Ugur Inceman and ex Ankaragucu Striker Tita Gokcek. Tita signed for Ankaragucu in the summer but returned to Antalyaspor due to the financial problems haven not played a single game.

Last season when the two sides met they drew 2-2 in Antalya with both Michael Zewlakow and Marek Sapara on the score sheet. In the return game in Ankara it was Antalyaspor who won 3-2. They were 3-0 up before a late comeback from Ankaragucu in the second half, goals from Jan Rajnoch and Roman Bednar weren't enough to see Ankaragucu take anything from the game.

This is a huge game in which Ankaragucu are capable of winning, they need to show the same commitment they have in the last few games and with a bit of luck and better finishing then the three points are possible.

AN ANKARAGUCU AND BURSASPOR LOVE-IN !!

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Lots of sceptical looks between the kankas last night as the two 'brother teams' managed to conjour up a no score draw. Surprisingly, there were 2 or 3 yellow cards, but nothing malicious, well ........ apart from the giant black guy up front (name ?) who obviously wasn't informed of the 'love-in' before the kick off !

Apart from 4 genuine goal chances for Ankaragucu and a great save from Ozden, the 'love-in' singing between the Ankaragucu fans and Bursa fans was the only real highlight of the match !

Ankaragucu 0 Bursaspor 0

Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Cider Kanka John and I met up at The Chopin and welcomed back one of the original kankas from 2000 (?), Richard Carlson, who was introduced to our group by Kirkaldy Kanka Martyn. We also welcomed Phil Crabb from Oxford who was attending his first Ankaragucu match. Phil is going to be a regular visitor to Ankara and we expect to see him again and hopefully he will be a regular contributor to the Blog with his vast footie knowledge.

A pretty good turnout for a midweek match on a cold winter's night, with the Bursa end almost full and singing 'love songs' to the Ankaragucu tribunes throughout the match which were all reciprocated.

There was only one genuine scoring effort in a boring first half when, after some good work from Serdar down the left, the cross came in and Keles shot wide when he really should have done better.

Ankaragucu came out for the 2nd half showing more determination and adventure and they almost opened the scoring from the kick off when Turgut fired in a goal bound shot which Carson did well to get down for and tip the ball round the post for a corner. One minute later, Keles had another goal bound shot well saved by Carson.

Bursa's only serious effort on goal in the entire match came on 55 minutes when Ozden did extremely well to tip a goal bound rocket over the bar for a corner.

Ankaragucu continued to press forward and always looked the likelier team to score in the 2nd half. Another case of almost arrived in the 60th minute when Turgut beat 2 defenders down the left with some tricky footwork, but a 3rd defender blocked his shot.

5 minutes later another opportunity came and went when Serdar sent over an inviting cross for Keles, but just as he was about to make contact with his head, a defender's head got in the way !

The last action of the match saw Aydin sending in a screamer from just outside the penalty box which went just over the bar.

I should also mention that Sestak came on as a substitute for the 2nd half and was 'boo-ed' every time he touched the ball. So............ if you make a friend of Gecikondu and Anti-X they will be your friend for life, BUT ..... !!!!

We could argue that it was 2 points lost rather than 1 point gained, but at this stage of the season, any crumbs are gratefully received and snapped-up !

So, despite the fact that '2 more leaves have fallen off the tree' (Ozgur and Ugur), there were some encouraging signs last night that all is not yet lost.

Hurriyet continues to be the driving force in midfield as Captain Courageous, and we must all hope that he is not going to be 'another leaf'. Turgut, Serdar and Keles were full of running last night and seem to have developed a better understanding of what their roles are. Atilla came on late as a substitute and could press the others for a place up front.

However, the area of concern is in defence and that is a situation which Ziya Bey has to resolve within his limited resources.

Back to The Chopin we went to meet up with Maniac Kanka Harun who watched the 2nd half on TV.

Next up is the away match in Antalya on Sunday KO 1pm. Watching in The Chopin.

Yet another MUST WIN match ..... (how many times have I said that this season ???!!!).

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

FIXTURES THIS WEEK

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Further to my comments two posts ago concerning fixtures, I have more information.

Like I said, Ankaragucu take on Bursa on Thursday at home KO 6pm. Meeting in The Chopin and going to the Stadium at about 5pm. As Nadeem said in the previous post, this match takes on huge proportions for Ankaragucu as the gap between bottom and 4th bottom grows even wider !

On Sunday 11 December, both Ankara teams are in action.

Antalya v Ankaragucu - KO 1pm (watching in The Chopin)

Gencler v Ordu - KO 1pm (meeting in The Beer Bus Bar)

Also, as I said before, Gencler play Trabzon away on Wednesday night 14 December. There is a difference in KO times between The Hurriyet and TRT. Oz Kanka will clarify nearer the time.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ankaragucu vs Bursaspor Match Preview !

Not good news im afraid fellow Kankas, just when we think things cant get any worse, then this.

Ankaragucu welcome our brothers from Bursa on Thursday night to the 19 Mayis stadium in the Turkish Super Lig Fixture.
Sami Altinyuva today confirmed Ugur Ucar has left the club after he decided to terminate his contract due to unpaid wages. Ugur along with Ozgur Cek and Tonia Tisdell went to the Turkish FA and have won the right to terminate there contracts.

Ozgur will play the next two matches before leaving the club unless they can come up with the money. Altinyuva said he is hoping to keep Tonia and the player wants to stay. Tonia has fractured a bone in his foot and will be out injured for the next three months.

Ankaragucu go into the game, having found a bit of form of late, the last two results a 3-2 loss at Eskisehirspor and 4-2 defeat at Fenerbahce have given the players and fans a little heart in the relegation battle. If Ankaragucu can take our chances and tighten up in defence then a victory over our brothers from Bursa is possible.

Bursaspor have only won one of there last eight games, and lost 1-0 at home to Eskisehirspor at the weekend. Manager Ertugal Saglaam is under pressure as the team struggle without the likes of Volkan Sen and Sercan Yildirm. Former Ankaragucu players Adem Kocak and Stanislav Sestak will be in the squad and hoping for a happy return to Ankara.

Sestak and Kocak were two of Ankaragucu's most important players, Kocak protected the defence and kept hold of the ball in midfield. Sestak was top scorer for Ankaragucu. Both players have yet to find there top form at Bursa, and the Ankaragucu Tribunes will be hoping it stays that way on Thursday.

Last season, Bursaspor won 5-1 in Ankara, after Sestak gave Ankaragucu an early lead. Bursa scored with nearly every attack as the Ankaragucu defence failed to cope with the speed of Sercan and Volkan Sen. Ibrahim Ozturk and Omer Erdogan caused a lot of problems from set pieces as well. The return game in Bursa was a 0-0 draw, a fair results for both sides and one which both sets of fans were happy with.

You can see more on the Bursankara relationship here http://www.pitchero.com/clubs/ankaragucu/news/ankaragucu-and-bursaspor-broth-442945.html

Bursaspor have some good players who should be performing to a higher standard. Ozan Ipek, Turgay Bahadir, Ibrahim Bangoura and Prince Tagoe have all yet to reach there best form. Young French Under 21 International Alfred N'Dyie has come in and looked a very good young player. Strong and athletic in the middle of the park and a player who will give captain Hurriyet a tough game.

Both teams need the points, but Ankaragucu cant afford to fall further behind other teams in the relegation battle. A win against Bursaspor followed by a tough game at relegation rivals Antalyaspor on Sunday makes this a huge week for Ankaragucu.

Hopefully the team can put problems off the field to one side and take the three points. Bastir Ankaragucu !

Gencler are finally defeated at home

It had to happen some day and Saturday was it as Genclerbirligi lost at home for the first time this season. If only we had a half-decent away record we would be pushing for a top place.

Genclerbirligi 0 - 1 Galatasaray

Flying Dutchman, Spine, Robin and myself started the day at the Beer Bus where the conversation drifted into, according to Flying Dutchman Kanka, the decline and fall of the Dutch civilization... according to Spine the conversation was about evolution of languages.

We possibly talked a bit about football as well but then it was time to pay up and get moving.

A good crowd at the 19 Mayis. The Galatasaray fans filled their area and spilled over into ours resulting in some handbags in the second half.

Galatasaray got off to the better start as Gencler tried out their radically positive 8-1-1 formation. It was all a bit frustrating as we had managed to get free a number of times but the midfielders refused to move up quickly. Our defence again was good with Galatasaray managing just a single shot for the first half.

Half-time and I was fairly happy. We had a few chances, Herve Tum really should have had us 1-0 up when he chested down a ball three metres out, swivelled, and failed to make any contact with the ball he had trapped so well. Much shaking of heads there.

But all up we were playing okay and probably had just shaved it over Cim Bom.

Second half and it was much the same. Azofeifa had a quiet match, as did Hursut. The second half and Galatasaray upped the tempo and managed to get a few shots on, with Ramazan needing to actually make some saves.

Then the killer when in the 70-something minute Eboue found himself in a perfect position and he gave it an almighty whoof and the Galatasaray fans went wild. It was at this point that the tension in the stands rose as various Galatasraray fans started getting pissed off with us. They were in our section for God's sake. If it was any other set of fans those Cim Bom supporters would've been legging it quick smart. One of the Gencler amigos calmed things down and we got back to concentrating on the match.

Gencler tried hard but they just couldn't manage to pull off an equaliser. Back to Kizilay and whilst it was disappointing to have lost I'm still fairly happy. In the past month we have played the top three Istanbul teams and have managed a win, a draw and a loss. Before the season I would have taken a single draw.

ANKARAGUCU - WEAKNESSES CLINICALLY EXPOSED

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Ankaragucu's deficiences were cruelly exposed last night when they received a salutory lesson on the art of finishing. Fener's strikers produced 4 goals of high quality, and despite Ankaragucu's never-say-die spirit, they had no answer.

Ankaragucu's defensive frailties re-surfaced and I doubt that even with the inclusion of Ediz it would have made a difference to the eventual scoreline.

Fenerbahce 4 Ankaragucu 2

Team -

Ozden
Guven, Aydin, Ishak and Ozgur
Weeks, Hurriyet and Murat
Serdar and Turgut
Atilla

Substitutes used - Tonia and Keles

A crowd of us met up at The Chopin. Maniac Kanka Harun, Battle damaged Kanka Damon and No Name Yet Kanka Simon. We were later joined by the Gencler Kankas returning from the Stadium, Oz Kanka Chris, Flying Dutchman Kanka Carlo and Spine.

Fener came out of the traps like a whippet and had Ankaragucu panic defending and backs against the wall. However, it was Ankaragucu who almost opened the scoring when Turgut was put through with only Volkan to beat, but he shot wide (a similar situation to Murat's abomination in the 2nd minute last week !).

The breakthrough came at the other end in the 16th minute when a cross came in from the left to Stoch who was hovering around unmarked just outside the penalty area. He let fly with a bullet which went in like a rocket just under the bar with Ozden having no chance.

Fener was in complete control now and thanks to Ozden making some great saves, the scoreline remained the same until just before half time. Then, against the run of play, an Ankaragucu breakaway on the left and a great ball to split the Fener defence and there was Eski's favourite player, Murat, coming in on the blind side to slide in the equaliser.

Was a miracle about to happen ? No ! The Ankaragucu players were split seconds behind Fener in their tackles and movement which is probably why they had only 39% possession during the match ! They even allowed Fener to tip-tap the ball around at will in their own penalty area. A recipe for disaster which thankfully didn't happen.

Into the 2nd half then and Ankaragucu came out in attacking mode and went for it. They had 2 or 3 chances to score in the first 10 minutes until Fener seized the initiative and scored their 2nd which was a replica of the first goal.

A cross from the left to the unmarked Baroni lurking just outside the penalty box and he let fly with a screamer which Ozden had no chance of saving.

5 minutes later and it was 3. A delightful piece of football from Fener when Stoch latched on to a cute backheel and he let fly with another screamer with Ozden motionless and unable to react.

That was it I thought, but all credit to Ankaragucu for continuing to beaver away and they clawed themselves back into the match with 10 minutes to go with an excellent goal, when Ozgur sent over a great cross for Keles to head in despite the attention of 2 defenders.

With only 5 minutes to go, Hurriyet almost found the equaliser, but his shot went past the post.

2 minutes later and Fener wrapped it up when the unmarked Dia headed in at the far post from an inviting cross.

The large Ankaragucu contingent in The Chopin still found the spirit to break into song at the end of the match. Now, that's loyalty for you !

So, with Ankaragucu sliding further into the relegation quagmire, Thursday night's match at home against Bursa takes on even greater significance. Can Ankaragucu claw themselves out of this shit before the winter break ??

Not sure of the KO time yet, but as usual, I'll put it up in the comments section of this post.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim