GENCLERBIRLIGI TAKE THEIR EYE OFF THE BALL !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Gencler was guilty of taking their eye off the ball last night after seemingly having all 3 points sewn up at half time.

 

This was a classic ‘Match of Two Halves’ if ever there was one.    Having dominated the 1^st half, especially after their first goal. Gencler construed to gift the impetus to Sivas in the 2^nd half when they really should have had it sewn up with more goals in the 1^st half.

 

GENCLERBIRLIGI             2                      Sivasspor        3

 

Team – Nordfeldt, Johansson, Pehlivan, Diego, Polomat, Piris, Soner, Candeias, Stancu, Yilmaz and Lima

 

Substitutes – Yildirim, Sio and Ayite

 

It took until the 20^th minute for the first real action to occur.     Yalcin was on course to open the scoring for Sivas but Nordfeldt pulled off an excellent save to deny him.

 

That was a wake-up call for Gencler and 3 minutes later Lima let fly with a thunderbolt which the goalkeeper turned round the post for a corner.

 

From the corner, Diego rose unchallenged to head into the top right from the centre of the 6 yard box.

 

It was all Gencler at this stage with Sivas still apparently in shock mode, and 12 minutes later it was 2-0 with the goal of the match.    Johansson picked the ball up at the half way line and drove forward waltzing through some feeble defending and let fly just outside the box with a bullet which gave the goalkeeper no chance, although he did manage to get his fingertips to the ball.

 

Riza Calimbay, the Sivas Coach, obviously gave his team a roasting at half time when they came out all fired-up.

 

10 minutes in and Felix had the goal at his mercy but tapped the ball weakly at Nordfeldt instead of blasting it in, and 5 minutes later Erdogan had his goal bound shot saved by Nordfeldt.

 

However, it was no surprise when the Sivas goal arrived in the 77^th minute.    A cross came in from the right and Felix rose unchallenged to power in a header.

 

The equaliser arrived 6 minutes later when a cross came in from the left and Kayode slid in at the near post ahead of several defenders to poke it in.

 

That was it, or so I thought, with the match into time added on and both teams seemingly settling for a draw.      However, with almost the last action of the match there was a break by Sivas with passes going from left to right and into the centre of the box.      The final pass into the box was side-footed in by Polomat in his effort to clear the danger for a corner.    A sad moment for the normally reliable Polomat   !!

 

Gencler are still stuck in 19^th position in the league (3^rd bottom), but only 6 points behind Ankaragucu in 14^th position.      So, with 7 matches left until the end of the season, the relegation dog-fight will continue.

 

Next up is another ‘6 pointer’ with an away match against fellow strugglers Kayseri on Tuesday, followed by a home match against improving Rize on Friday.

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Besiktas 2-2 Ankaragucu match report!

 

I've been an Ankaragucu supporter for 11 years and the last 30 minutes of tonight's match is up there with the best performances I've seen from an Ankaragucu team in terms of the football they played and sheer determination to take something from the game.

Team - Korcan, Kitsiou, Kulusic, Sarlija, Pinto, Ibrahim, Alper, Emre, Geraldo, Paintsil, Badji

Subs - Furkan, Pazdan, Erdi, Orkan, Ali Kaan, Sahverdi, Alperen, Lukasik, Voca, Atilla

Ankaragucu faced an uphill task right from kick off as Borven, Saba and Endri were all ruled out with injuries and suspension. Hikmet Karaman decided to go for an attacking formation as he said he felt Ankaragucu could score more than 1 goal in the match after watching their game with Erzurumspor. He was correct!

The team got off to the worst possible start as Besiktas were awarded a penalty in the 1st minute of the match. Ankaragucu were too open and Badji made a clumsy challenge on Ozyakup who went down easily. The referee checked VAR and then pointed to the spot. Up stepped Nkoudou but Korcan guessed the right way and made a good save.

Besiktas dominated possession in the first half but Ankaragucu looked dangerous on the counter attack and the final ball let them down on too many occasions. It looked like we were heading into the break even until Besiktas took the lead 4 minutes into added on time. A soft free kick was awarded and Gezzall put in a lovely cross which Kulusic headed into his own net. The goal should have been ruled out as the replay showed Vida elbowed Sarlija in the face but there was no VAR check.

Half Time 1-0

Five minutes into the second half and it looked like game over with another Kulusic own goal, this time from another good cross from the impressive Rosier. Two great headers from Kulusic but unfortunately at the wrong end of the pitch.

From the minute the 2nd goal went in, Ankaragucu were a different team. There passing was much better, they closed every ball down and made it difficult for Besiktas to retain possession. 

Idriz Voca had an effort just inside of the box go flying over the bar when he should have done better. And then a minute later Ibrahim saw his shot blocked at the last second and deflected just over. 

A couple of minutes later Ankaragucu pulled 1 back. A lovely ball from Pinto sent Paintsil through and he beat Rosier before taking on Welinton who brought the Ghanaian down in the box and the referee pointed to the spot. Up stepped Paintsil confidently to make it 2-1 and put Ankaragucu back in the game.

Then came the move of the match involving Pinto, Voca and Orkan who set up Emre Gural but he shout straight at Ersin. A beautiful move from Ankaragucu who were attacking at every opportunity.

The goal finally came when Ibrahim played a lovely ball through for Paintsil who was brought down in the area by Tore and the referee again pointed to the stop. Paintsil again stepped up confidently and sent Ersin the wrong way making it 2-2 and deserved share of the points for Ankaragucu in the last minute of the game.

A truly remarkable performance and result for Ankaragucu when you take everything into account. Hikmet Karaman is putting himself in the hat for Manager of the Year!!

Next up is Denizlispor next Wednesday in what will be another huge game against another team fighting for survival in the Turkish Super Lig!

Besiktas vs Ankaragucu match preview!

 

The two form teams in the Turkish Super Lig come head to head tomorrow night as Ankaragucu travel to league leaders Besiktas in what will be the toughest game under Hikmet Karaman to date.

Besiktas currently lead the table by four points ahead of rivals Fenerbahce and also have a game in hand. They have only lost 1 of their last 11 which was strangely against a poor Kasimpasa side. Ankaragucu will be hoping Besiktas have another off night tomorrow in Istanbul as they look to continue this impressive form under Karaman.

We are starting to run out of words to describe the incredible job Hikmet Karaman has done at Ankaragucu. The impossible task of taking a team bottom of the league and 7 points from safety when he took over and facing a difficult run of games. 

He has managed to galvinise the squad and brought discipline while making Ankaragucu hard to beat. The team again looked solid at the back against Genclerbirligi last weekend and every player gave 100 percent while wearing the jersey on the pitch. These are the two most important but simple changes Karaman has made to the team since coming in.

With 5 games remaining tomorrow nights match is the most difficult with most Ankaragucu fans happy if the team can even take a point. Its certainly within the teams capabilities of causing an upset but Ankaragucu will have to be at their very best, while hoping Besiktas have a rare off night. 

The defence will again be key to Ankaragucu taking anything from the game with Sarlija likely to partner Kulusic again with both Kitsou and Pinto taking up the wing back positions. Karaman may even look to go to a more defensive formation with Pazdan coming in to a back 3 but that would in turn upset the balance in midfield that has served him so well.

Ibarhim Akdag does all the dirty work to allow Endri and Alper Potuk play further forward, but the later 2 will likely spend most of the night defending with Besiktas expected to have the majority of possession. Borven and Saba are both doubts for the game through injury which means Paintsil will take up one of the forward positions with the likes of Badji, Emre Gural and Geraldo fighting it out for the other 2. The more likely option will be Emre Gural and Endri playing further forward and Karaman bringing an extra defensive midfielder into the middle of the park. 

Besiktas have a lot of quality in midfield and attack with the likes of Rachid Gezzal who has most assists in Super Lig this season, Vincent Aboubakar who is in running for player of the season but will face a late fitness test, Atiba Hutchinson who still at the age of 38 is one of the best players in the Super Lig and partners Ozyakup in midfield. Cenk Tosun picked up an injury last week and will miss the match but they still have Cyle Larin and plenty of attacking options. 

Its important Ankaragucu find the right balance and keep things tight in the early stages. The longer the game goes on and Ankaragucu frustrate Besiktas the better chance they have of maybe taking a point back home. Losing Saba is a blow as his speed on the counter attack is a huge asset in these games. 

Hopefully we will be celebrating a positive outcome tomorrow but its going to be a really difficult game. 

ANKARAGUCU TAKE THE BRAGGING RIGHTS ..... AND ......ALL 3 POINTS !!!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

The Ankara Derby exploded into life half way through the 2^nd half when Ankaragucu went 2-0 up within the space of 5 minutes.

 

Gencler had their chances in the 1^st half, but they can have no quarrel with the end result which sees Ankaragucu move up to 13^th position in the table and put a little distance between themselves and the relegation zone.

 

Gencler meanwhile, are still stuck there and they now have a mountain to climb if they are to move out of the bottom four.

 

ANKARAGUCU             2                        Genclerbirligi          1

 

Ankaragucu Team –

 

Korcan, Kulusic, Sarlija, Pinto, Kitsiou, Ibrahim, Alper, Endri, Paintsil, Borven and Badji

 

Substitutes – Geraldo, Emre, Voca and Erdi

 

Genclerbirligi Team –

 

Nordfeldt, Polomat, Diego, Arda, Johansson, Soner, Piris, Ayite, Yilmaz, Candeias and Lima

 

Substitutes – Stancu and Sio

 

Gencler had the 1^st chance of the match in the 8^th minute after both teams had sized each other up.    Ayite waltzed through the Ankaragucu defence playing one-twos, but his shot was well past the post.

 

9 minutes later, there was a disconnect between Korcan and his defence when a back-pass was short which gave a goal scoring opportunity, but Pinto was in the right place at the right time to block the effort.

 

Ankaragucu thought that they had opened the scoring in the 20^th minute when from a free kick on the right the ball was played off a Gencler defender to Badji.   His back flick rebounded off his heel too fast and touched his hand before he scored, and after consulting VAR, the referee awarded a free kick to Gencler.    Unfortunate for Badji since it was obvious that the hand-ball was unintentional, but ............... rules are rules !!!

 

Gencler had 2 more goal attempts before the half time whistle but both were well saved by Korcan.

 

There was obviously a very serious talk in the Dressing Room at half time by Hikmet Bey when Ankaragucu came out with all guns blazing   !!!

 

9 minutes in and there was a terrible miss by Emre, who had come on for the injured Borven.   Great play down the right and a pin-point cut-back from Alper to Emre who shot weakly against a defender with the goal at his mercy.    He did something similar 5 minutes later, but ........ we can forgive him after his heroics in the 65^th minute.

 

Endri was brought down just outside the box just to the right of centre.    Emre stepped up to take the free kick ........ the camera panned-in on his face, a picture of concentration...... and then he let fly a fierce shot into the top left corner with Nordfeldt clutching air.     A goal worthy of ...... Goal of the Season  !!

 

4 minutes later and an Ankaragucu break which resulted in Endri going 1 on 1 with Nordfeldt.    His shot was parried and Arda, who was tracking back, knocked in the rebound   !!

 

15 minutes to go and Gencler broke away on the right.     Lima received the ball and passed to Stancu on the left who struck an angled shot into the right corner with the Ankaragucu defence caught out.

 

Gencler sensed blood and came pouring forward in search of the equaliser which almost came in the 82^nd minute but Korcan pulled off a great save from a Yilmaz goal bound shot.

 

There was just time for Emre to hit the bar with a great shot from just inside the box before the final whistle.

 

There will be no respite in the following weeks of the league run-down with some very difficult matches coming up for both teams.

 

Next Friday Gencler host Sivas in the early match, followed by Ankaragucu’s visit to league leaders Beshiktrash.

 

As I write this, the Erzurum v Beshiktrash match is tied at 2 each with 30 minutes to go.    Anyway, after the recent form of Ankaragucu they have nothing to fear from a visit to Istan.....spit....bul and we will hopefully again have an attacking line-up and attack from start to finish.

 

Bring it on.      Well played tonight Ankaragucu   !!!

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

PS .............. just about to print and Beshiktrash has scored a 3rd ...... Aaaaaaargh   !!!

The Ankara Derby - Match Preview

 

The Ankara Derby has been historically a different type of Derby to most others across the Football world. Derby day tends to start on the Monday at work where colleagues of rival teams will start to discuss the coming weekends match between two bitter rivals. For 90 minutes those friends and colleagues on opposing sides become the enemy. Hostile atmospheres, pyro displays and violence are all usually on show. 

In Turkey we have Fenerbahce vs Galatasaray, Goztepe vs Izmir, the Adana Derby and a few others that reach those levels of intensity and hatred. Across Europe you have Rangers vs Celtic, Red Star Belgrade, vs Partizan, Dortmund vs Schalke and in South America there is the famous Boca vs River, Newells vs Rosario Central and finally in Africa you have the Cairo and Casablanca Derby's. 

When Ankaragucu and Genclerbirlig meet its more about bragging rights than any of the above. The Derby still means a lot to the fans of two struggling sides but you don't tend to get the violence or heated atmosphere to most other Derby matches. 

This Sunday will the stakes are even higher with both clubs fighting against relegation to Lig 1 this is arguably one of the biggest Ankara Derby's in history. There will be no fans at the match due to Covid restrictions but the fans of both sides will be cheering on every move from their homes hoping that their team deliver the 3 points. 

Back in February both Ankaragucu and Gencler were almost certainties to be relegated as they were rooted to the bottom of the table. Fast forward to April and we have two in form sides looking to fight their way out of the relegation zone. Ankaragucu have managed that but its still too close for comfort. 

Another good result on Wednesday against Konyaspor puts Ankaragucu in a good position going into Sundays game and Hikmet Karaman will have a tough decision with his starting line up. Zvonomir Sarlija replaced the suspended Pazdan and played very well so it will be interesting to see who partners Kulusic in the starting line up. 

Aliou Badji got himself on the scoresheet and both him and Borven worked their socks off for the team. Borven isn't as effective playing out wide but his work rate is invaluable and will likely start in that position again. That leaves the final attacking position down to Geraldo, Saba or Paintsil. They have all played their part but suffer from inconsistency, but i believe Karaman will go with Saba who has the most amount of assists and goals for the team in that position over the season. 

Alper Potuk has shown why Ankaragucu were so keen to sign him in the summer with excellent performances under Hikmet Karaman. He looks fitter and like he enjoys playing football again. He will again be key to any positive outcome for Ankaragucu on Sunday with his attacking runs and creativity form midfield. 

When Ibrahim Akdag signed for Ankaragucu there were a lot of raised eyebrows, and his first month we saw a lot of indiscipline and stupid yellow cards. Since Karaman has come in he has played a vital role for the team. Ibrahim does all the dirty work, tackling, tracking back, covers every blade of grass which allows Alper and Endri to go forward and create. 

Gencler have won 3 out of their last 4 games including impressive wins against Fenerbahce and Alanyaspor. Under former Ankaragucu coach Ozcan Bizati they have seen a bit of a resurgence and will be looking to carry that into Sundays match. 

Sefa Yilmaz and Daniel Candeias will be important players for Gencler on Sunday as they both have the quality to punish Ankaragucu in the wide areas. Candeias is also very hard working and will chase back to help his team on defence. Sefa has scored a few good goals of late and cant be given any space near the box to shoot. 

That said if Ankaragucu turn up and play to their best there is nothing to fear on Sunday. Gencler although on a good run are a poor side and the 3 points will go a long way to survival for Ankaragucu. 

It was 1-1 in December the last time the two sides met but Ankaragucu will have to play at a lot higher standard than that day if they do want to take all 3 points. Haydi Baskent!!!

Konyaspor 1-1 Ankaragucu match report!

 

Ankaragucu took a share of the points in Konya yesterday with another good performance and 1-1 draw against an in form Konyaspor side. Aliou Badji repaid the faith shown by Hikmet Karaman by scoring the opening goal and delivering an all round impressive performance. 

Team - Korcan, Kitsiou, Kulusic, Sarlija, Pinto, Ibrahim, Endri, Alper, Paintsil, Borven, Badji

Subs - Furkan, Erdi, Atilla, Ali Kaan, Voca, Assane, Gerlado, Orkan, Saba, Emre

Hikemt Karaman made a few changes with Sarlija coming in for the suspended Pazdan, while both Badji and Paintsil replaced Saba and Gerlado. It meant Borven took up a position on the right hand side and again showed what a great attitude he has with another hard working performance. 

Konyaspor started the brighter of the two sides and both Cikaleshi and Milosevic tried their luck from distance but both efforts wend wide in the opening stages. Korcan also made a good save to keep the scores level after 10 minutes. 

It took 26 minutes for Ankaragucu to register their first shot on goal after nice play from Endri and Paintsil but the later saw his curling effort easily saved by Sehic.

Petr Skubic had a good chance at the back post after a good ball from the impressive Jevtovic but he hit the side netting at full stretch.

Just before half time Ankaragucu had a great chance to take the lead. Brilliant skill from Alper Potuk down the left side before a nice ball into Paintsil who in turn put in a great cross for Borven who had an empty goal and tap in but somehow hit the post. An unbelievable miss and chance for Ankaragucu to take the lead. 

Half Time - 0-0

Ankaragucu started the second half well as Borven went on a good run before setting up Paintsil who shot over the bar. Two minutes later Kitsiou set up Badji in the box but his shot was straight at Sehic. 

Alper Potuk was having another good game and all of the good attacking moves involved the former Turkish International. He played a nice ball in for Paintsil but he headed the ball straight at Sehic. 

A few minutes later Ankaragucu took the lead, and what a goal it was. Some brilliant build up play involving Kitsiou, Paintsil and Endri with the ball finally finding its way to Pinto who played a lovely 1-2 with Badji, the ball then fell perfectly for Badji who calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net to make it 1-0 Ankaragucu. 

Four minutes later Jevtovic shot from 25 yards and the ball came back off the post with Korcan beaten. Ankaragucu got lucky but that only lasted 6 minutes as Shengelia equalised. A nice ball through caught both Pinto and Kulusic out and the Georgian International took a nice touch before firing past  Korcan to make it 1-1. 

Ankaragucu went up the other end looking for the winner and Alper had another nice bit of skill on the touchline and beat the keeper but the Konya defence got back to clear. 

Konyaspor almost won it at the end but for a great save from Korcan from a Jevtovic header. In the end both teams settled for the point. Two sides on form and we would have settled for that result before the game started. Now Ankaragucu can look forward to an Ankara Derby on Sunday in what will be the biggest game between the two sides in recent history. 

Special mention must go to Alper for his Man of the Match performance and Aliou Badji who worked his socks off and got his reward in the end. Bring on Gencler!!!

GENCLERBIRLIGI – ALMOST, BUT NOT QUITE !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Gencler almost escaped from the relegation zone yesterday, but in almost the last kick of the ball, they lost 2 valuable points.

 

Erzurum left it late until 90 plus 3 to share the spoils after having 73% possession and 5 shots on target.    Gencler on the other hand had 27% possession and only 2 shots on target.

 

GENCLERBIRLIGI             1                          BBS Erzurum              1

 

Team – Nordfeldt, Johansson, Arda, Mustafa, Pehlivan, Piris, Soner, Candeias, Yildirim, Yilmaz and Lima

 

Substitutes – Diego, Stancu, Mugni Ayite and Polomat

 

Again, I was unable to watch the match due to the Ankaragucu match being on at the same time, but with all due respect to both teams, according to reports I don’t think I missed much  !!

 

Lima opened the scoring on the half hour mark and it looked like Gencler was going to sneak all 3 points until Da Costa scored the equaliser just before the full time whistle.

 

So, Gencler’s 3 match winning run comes to an end and it may not look too rosy for them with some difficult matches on the horizon, eg, their final match is away to Trabzonspor where they will face a formidable opponent still fighting it out for either Champions League or Europa League qualification.

 

There are only 6 matches left before the end of the season, but this Sunday’s Derby match will have a huge bearing on the run-in.     Yes, it’s a Derby but Ankaragucu look the likelier team to emerge on top after their successful results under their new Coach, Hikmet Karaman, who has turned the team’s fortunes around.    

 

An intriguing match is in prospect, so as always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim