Yet another draw for Genclerbirligi

Six weeks undefeated for Genclerbirligi. Not too bad but four of those were draws - all of which we should have won. In the last three matches we have taken an earlier lead and then sat on it, only to see the opposition come back and score.

Sivasspor 1 - 1 Genclerbirligi

Friday night and head down to the Beer Bus to find out who is in the team this week. Upon entering it was pretty clear that Jimmy Durmaz wasn't going to be playing because he was there in the pub.

Nice fellow Jimmy. His old man is from Mardin and his mother from Lebanon. He was born in Sweden and has played for the national team.

Cengiz, Jimmy and Oz Kanka pre-match. Photo by Ural Nadir

The review of the match is going to be short. Mainly because it was so frustrating at the time and now is frustrating writing about it.

Gencler came out on the attack and was clear withing minutes that we were the better side. The first goal came with 15 minutes on the clock when Azo sent a nice ball to Tosic at the side of the box. Tosic cut it back for Zec who blasted it in.

Cheers at the Beer Bus and it was looking like Gencler were going to extend the lead; a bit different to the last few weeks where we hardly had a shot after taking the lead.

Shots were saved and our players were at least looking like they could score.

Then deep into the second half and I guess they started top think about defending the 1-0 rather than push for a second.

It was clear from the groans of all those at the Beer Bus that this was dangerous. According to Jimmy the problem has been recently that the back four have been playing too far back, (forcing the midfield to retreat as well).

Sivas started to look more and more likely to score. Then disaster. Sivas had the ball outside of the box near the corner and sent in a high cross/shot. It was going to go out but Ramazan jumped high to his left and just got a hand on it deflecting the ball just a touch... onto the post and in. An own goal.

Arrgghhh

So another draw. We should be battling for a European place at the moment, instead we sit firmly in the middle of the table.

   

Ankaragucu vs Samsunspor match preview !

Ankaragucu travel to Samsunspor on Sunday in another match where both teams are fighting for survival. For Samsun there is a bit more light at the end of the tunnel, but the victory for Ankaragucu over Goztepe last week will have given the team some confidence going into the match. Mustafa Kaplan spoke this week saying the team will fight right to the very end to stay in the league.

The game ended 1-1 in Ankara the last time the two sides met with Teoman scoring for Ankaragucu. Samsun have been on decent form the last few months with victories over the likes of Manisaspor and Karsiyaka. However they did suffer a set back last weekend with a defeat at Sanliurfaspor.

Abdulkadir Ozgen will be the player to watch out for with the striker scoring 8 goals in 10 games for Samsunspor. Ankaragucu will have to do without Enes kubat who is out injured for a couple of weeks and Gokhan Erdogan who is suspended. Gokhan Akkan will continue in goal and Mert Erdogan should be available for selection again.

Like the game at home to Goztepe last week, Ankaragucu need to show the same attitude. They need to go into the match and enjoy themselves without any pressure. There is no doubting the talent of some of the young players in the Ankaragucu squad, they just lack the experience. Hasan Ayaroglu impressed when he came on last week and could find himself in the starting line up due to the suspension of Gokhan Erdogan.

The game will be shown live on TRT Web TV on Sunday afternoon at 2pm Turkish Time. Tune into the Blog for all the latest news.

All a bit "meh" from Genclerbirligi

Thanks to internet connection problems, changing internet lines etc. etc. and a general air of "meh", I didn't get around to reporting on last week's 1-1 away draw against Elazigspor. Don't worry though because this week's commentary could easily deal with both matches.

Genclerbirligi 2 - 2 Gaziantepspor

The weather is fantastic in Ankara. It is lovely and warm and bright and all things nice. An early Sunday afternoon in the sun at the Beer Bus... what more can you want from life?

Yes, what you need is Flying Dutchman Kanka Carlo, the Oxford Dictionary definition of a fair weather fan.

And there he was, Carlo in all of his beardy wonderfulness. Good ole' @spinesideburn joined us and despite the fact that it was barely Sunday we got a few beers in.

At the stadium and the general ineptness that is the Genclerbirligi organisation (and quite frankly football organisation in Turkey generally) meant that we didn't get in before the kick-off.

Not the best seats in the world but it didn't take long before we were up and screaming in delight.

Hursut took a freekick on the far side (all television coverage may be from the Protocol side but for me, true football is from the Maraton perspective!!!). It was perfectly weighted and Jimmy came through, headed, and in...... GOAL.

One-nil up after only six minutes or so.

It was a load of shite after that.

"Mmm," ask Flying Dutchman and @Spinesideburn.

This is where the replay from last week kicks in. We go one up and then we do.... nothing! We were still in total control but yet our players couldn't be bothered to do anything. For ages this was the most annoying football ever. Bloody well run you lazy buggers! 1-0 is never going to be enough.

Half time and I wasn't feeling confident. We can take the lead but we have no idea of what to do afterwards. We were still dominating possession but we were so bloody slow. No one was coming forward at any speed. It was absolute crap and Fuat Capa really needs to take a long look in the mirror.

No surprise then when Antep got an equaliser. 1-1.

Magically Genclerbirligi then started playing some proper football. Why couldn't they have played like this after our first goal!

So we get the lead back after Azo had a shot, saved by the keeper, but then the scraps were cleaned up by Bjorn. 2-1.

And then Gencler went back to bloody sitting on their collective arse like some demented, but delighted, clown... or something.... I can't think properly I've had a few drinks. But the difference is that I'm TRYING to think up something, and that is ten times more than what Gencler were doing today!

This was truly embarrassing for us fans as it was as it was obvious Antep were going to come back... not through much skill of their own but due to our absolute refusal to put the game beyond doubt.

And... er... they got it. 2-2

Oh look! Genclerbirligi started playing again. With 15 minutes left on the clock we started attacking again. Our midfielders started moving forward a bit. We had chances. Admittedly there was, for some unknown reason, a reluctance to send the ball right to Serkan, but the fact was that we were attacking. We were looking good! Didn't make it in the end but the following questions must be asked:

Why the fuck weren't we doing this after our first goal?

Why the fuck weren't we doing this after our second goal?

In the end it was all too predictable.

Oh, well. No one can stop us from coming ninth!

Ankaragucu 3--1 Goztepe

Here are the lineups:
Ankaragücü:  Gökhan Akkan, Bilal, Enes, Aytaç, Mehmet Taşçı, Gürkan, Timur, Volkan, Orhan, Kaan, Gökhan

Göztepe: Ferhat, Ramazan, Orhan, Hakan / Fatih, Theo Weeks, Ali Bilgin, Ergin, Şaban.

Again a beautiful sunny day. They are saying 22 degrees. Looks even warmer than that though. Hoping this one goes our way, but after so much disappoint this season, I'm not getting my hopes up. 

22: GoooooooooooooooL!!!!  Ankaragucu 1--0 Goztepe
      Kaan scores in what is a really clumsy looking goal but of course we'll take it. Timur came down the right wing chips it into the box. Kaan tries to head it, misses, but the ball lands behind him and he backheels it into the goal. Hard to tell if it was deliberate or whether he just got lucky. 

25: GoooooooooooooooL!!!! Ankaragucu 2--0 Goztepe
      This time it is Enes' turn. Timur crosses from the right to Enes right in front of the goal.
      Enes isn't able to get control immediately pirouettes and shoots. The two or three
     defenders and the keeper are unable to stop it. 

35: Goztepe free kick from quite a ways out. Enters the box but it is sent over the goal. No real danger.

37: We've been looking good all match. Nice passing, smooth protection of the ball, and solid defense apart from an early slip up that let Engin go one-on-one with Gökhan. Fortunately, he chipped it wide.

39: Nice save by Gökhan

41: Quite the goal mouth melee. We nearly made it 3-0 before Kaan shot over. AG fans on facebook are blaming Kaan for being a ball hog.

42: Dangerous play on the part of Aytaç. The boot to the Goztepe player's face earns Aytaç a yellow. Our second of the match.

45+1: Weeks shoots long range the ball comes off the crossbar and onto the ground right in front of the line. We got really lucky on that one. 

Well that's it for the first half. Ankaragucu 2--0 Goztepe 

Sure would be nice to be there. 

49: Timur nearly puts us three up but shoots just a tad wide. Should have buried that one.

53: We need to be careful. We are starting to get sloppy. Definitely can't afford to give these three points away. 

55: Very sloppy.

59: Goztepe substitution: Tum on for Saban. 

59: Goztepe Gol. Didn't take Tum long. I knew our sloppiness was going to catch up with us. 

                                                   Ankaragucu 2--1 Goztepe 

61: Goztepe nearly equalized. Good defense by the post. 

63: Wonderful opportunity again. Enes and Timur running towards the goal with defenders in their wake. Keeper Ferhat in front of Enes, so he passes to Timur, but he isn't able to get the shot off before the defenders arrive.

70: Goztepe substitution: Kazım on for Ferhat. 


73: Teams looking more evenly matched than they were in the first half. We really need to put another one away as an insurance policy. 

Not good I seem to have lost the stream. Hopefully I can get it back before I miss something important. 

81: Tum gets a yellow for unsportsmanlike behavior. 

82: Timur gets a great opportunity but puts it over. C'mon one more Timur, and you are man of the match with your two assists.

83: Another opporunity but Bilal slips before Gokhan's pass can reach him. 

86: Gokhan handles a Tum shot on goal with little problem. 

88: Girls chanting for the management to resign. Tum looking dangerous.

89: Goooolllllllllllllll. Teoman receives a lovely pass from Hasan Ayaroglu ( who must have come in when the stream was down) while unmarked in front of the Goztepe goal, and does not falter. 

                                              Ankaragucu 3--1 Goztepe

90+: We are looking dominant in the dying minutes of this game. 

And that's it. Three well earned points for Ankaragucu. Girls dancing misket. This is Ankara! :)

Mustafa Kaplan has the team line up and take a bow before the fans. Good stuff. Now the team is dancing in the middle of the pitch. 

Can you guys in Samsun hear the partying going on? If not, don't worry, we are bringing it to you next week. Brace yourselves. 

Ankaragucu vs Goztepe match preview !

Ankaragucu will host Goztepe at the 19 Mayis Stadium in Ankara tomorrow afternoon. The game will be played in front of women and children only due to the stadium ban. After last weeks disappointing result at Tavsanli, the home side will be looking to restore some pride for the rest of the season. The team prepared for the match today at Bestepe training facility and also celebrated Gokhan Erdogans 22nd Birthday.

Goztepe are also involved in the relegation fight but 3 wins in their last 3 games see them lie 1 point clear of the bottom three teams. Their star player is Ali Kucik and they also have 3 former Ankaragucu players in Theo Weeks, Gokhan Emreciksin and Ergin Keles who has scored 4 goals in 8 games. They can also call upon the experienced Herve Tum and Ali Biligin. Portuguese midfielder Paulinho also looks a dangerous player since his move from Cluj in Romania.

Ankaragucu will hope to call upon Mert Erdogan who missed the last game due to illness. Some of the teams key players have not been at their best of late and will be looking to up their game. The remaining games should be about preparing for next season, players such as Gokhan Akkan, Hasan Ayaroglu and Emre Tasdemir should be given their chance. If Ankaragucu can keep the majority of the squad then there is no reason why they cant challenge for the Lig 2 title.

President Yiginer today spoke of his disappointment at the clubs further 3 match ban and 80,000 TL fine due to the crowd trouble in Tavsanli. The club has paid over 2 Million Lira in fines due to the behaviour of the fans. I urge any Ankaragucu fan reading this to please behave and cut this sort of thing out. We understand the frustration and we all support you in your protest against the people who have caused damage to the club. But have a look and tell me what these crowd disturbances have done other than leave the club with more debt ?

Ankaragucu handed further 3 match stadium ban !

The Turkish FA today handed Ankaragucu a further 3 match stadium ban and 80,000 Turkish Lira fine due to the crowd trouble at Tavsanli last weekend. Ankaragucu fans threw smoke bombs which hit Mehmet Tasci (pictured above). Smoke bombs were also thrown at police during and after the match. I spoke to Ankaragucu fans who were at the match and they said they are protesting against the government.

I understand the frustrations of the Ankaragucu fans, but as Jim mentioned previously if they are going to vent their anger then they must take it out on the ones who have hurt Ankaragucu. These stadium bans and fines are only hurting the club who are already crippled with debt. By the time the ban is complete Ankaragucu will have served an 11 match stadium ban. The club will now play their first 2 league games of next season in an empty stadium.

In other news today, President Mehmet Yiginer travelled to South African to discuss outstanding payments with former Ankaragucu player Calvin Sosibo. The South African winger signed for the club in 2009 but only played 2 games for the club. Mehmet Yiginer has been busy the last couple of months negotiating with former players over owed wages.

Gokhan Akkan signs new 3 year contract !

Ankaragucu facebook page today confirmed that 18 year old Gokhan Akkan has signed a new 3 year contract with the club. Gokhan is highly rated and has represented Turkey at youth International level. He started the season for Ankaragucu in goal due to the injury of Bayram Olgun. Many sections of the Ankaragucu support are calling for Gokhan to be recalled into the starting line up in place of Bayram whose form has been poor of late.

Its a huge boost for Ankaragucu with the youngster set to be the clubs first choice goalkeeper for a good few years to come. Bayram is out of contract at the end of the season and is likely to have offers from Super Lig and PTT Lig clubs.

In other news today, Ankaraspor are set to return to the Super Lig next season. They were kicked out of Turkish football 3 years ago due to the Gokceks involvement in both Ankaragucu and Ankaraspor. The club who have Ahmet Gokcek listed as a professional player are set to return after the courts granted their appeal. Its unclear weather there will be 19 or 20 teams in the Turkish Super Lig next season. More to follow....