Ankaragucu - Concentration Lapse!!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies. 

 

Last night in the Semi Final of the Turkish Cup 1^st Leg in Istanbul, Ankaragucu scorned the opportunity to return to Ankara for the 2^nd Leg all square at 0-0.       Despite playing against 10 men for the 2^nd half, Ankaragucu failed to seriously trouble the goalkeeper, and after a lack of discipline by the defence at the end of the match were made to pay the price   !! 

 

Realistically, it was probably a big ask for Ankaragucu to claim a famous victory, but in all probability the game plan was not to concede a goal, and it almost worked. 

 

A basic lack of concentration and discipline by the defence almost on the final whistle enabled Basaksehir to make a fast break, and with Bahadir totally exposed, Figueiredo had the simple task of ‘stealing’ a vital goal which gives them a head start in the 2^nd Leg in Ankara on 24 May. 

 

Basaksehir             1               ANKARAGUCU          0 

 

Team – Bahadir, Kevin, Atakan, Mujakic, Kitsiou, Andrej, Pedrinho, Matej, Emre, Ali Sowe and Milson 

 

Substitutes – Diack, Tasos, Taylan and Oko 

 

The warning signs from Basak came as early as the first minute when they scored a goal, but it was correctly ruled out for offside. 

 

It was mostly one way traffic towards Bahadir in the 1^st half with the Ankaragucu defence working overtime and Bahadir saving goal bound attempts. 

 

Then just before half time in a rare Ankaragucu attack, Milson was brought down by Touba as he was about to go one on one with the goalkeeper.     The referee brought out the yellow card, but was then directed to VAR and then produced the RED card. 

 

I have to say that the large Ankaragucu travelling support were in fine voice throughout the match with high volume – it felt just like a HOME match   !!! 

 

I should also mention the fact that Alexsik (who had received a yellow card earlier in the match) was hooked in time added on in the 1^st half, probably as a ‘panic measure’   !! 

 

I would also like to praise the workrate of Ali who continuously tracked back throughout the match to help his defence, especially in dead ball situations   ! 

 

Ankaragucu had a couple of possible chances in the 2^nd half, but only Oko’s attempt is worth mentioning when his shot from the left of the box went just past the right post with Ali unable to get a touch to it before the ball went out of play. 

 

Near the end a 2^nd RED card was shown to Basak when the Assistant Coach obviously said something which shouldn’t have been uttered   !!      The 1^st Coach was already in the Directors Box serving a touch line ban   !!! 

 

Then 4 minutes into time added on and ‘the sword was thrust’ into Ankaragucu after their sterling efforts to deny Basak the crucial goal.      Ankaragucu was obviously seeking to sneak a winning goal and were flooding the Basak area in their search, but when the ball was cleared from the Basak defence the fast attack was on.    The ball was carried down the right wing with the Ankaragucu defenders scurrying back in panic.     The ball was crossed to the only Basak attacker in the area with Atakan unable to cut it out, and it was so easy for Figueiredo to score unopposed with 3 other Ankaragucu defenders unable to get back quick enough to tackle him. 

 

A cruel blow, but, nevertheless, a classic goal for Coaches to use for Development Teams on how to punish defences caught out of position   !!! 

 

No prizes for guessing the tactics which will be necessary for Ankaragucu in the 2^nd Leg   !!!    Also, for those optimists in our ranks, there is still hope that Ankaragucu can do the necessary and reach the Final. 

 

As always, keep watching this space   ! 

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim 

ANKARAGUCU – DISAPPOINTMENT !!!

 

 

Greetigs Kankas and Kankies.

 

A golden opportunity was missed by Ankaaragucu to leap further ahead of their rivals last night when they lost 2 points, which hopefully will not come back to haunt them at the end of the season.

 

The disappointment was clearly etched on the faces of the players (and us kankas  !!) at the final whistle, but to be honest, and taking everything into account, it was probably a fair result with both teams scorning chances to score.

 

It is not ‘doom and gloom’ time yet, but Ankaragucu must keep picking up points to stay ahead of the chasing pack and it certainly won’t be easy with 6 matches left to play in the run-in.

 

However, back to last night ............

 

ANKARAGUCU             0                    Kasimpasa               0

 

Team – Gokhan, Kevin, Atakan, Mujakic, Kitsiou, Diack, Matej, Taylan, Tasos, Zahid and Ali Sowe

 

Substitutes – Andrei, Emre, Oko and Pedrinho

 

Both teams were set-up to attack and credit must be given to both teams for their attacking intent throughout the match.

 

It took until the 20^th minute for the first serious attack when Ali and Zahid both had shots saved one after the other after good work by Diack to set-up the chance.

 

15 minutes later and good work by Tasos to get himself into a shooting position at the edge of the box, but his shot was well saved.

 

Approaching half time and Kasimpasa had two good opportunities to open the scoring.    Gokhan made a great save at the right post from a goal bound shot after a fast break on the right.      Then, almost on the half time whistle, a Kasimpasa player missed an open goal by shooting wide from right to left.

 

The 2^nd half began in the same vein as the first with both teams going all out for the elusive opening goal.

 

Ali had the best chance when he was set free in the centre.    He was shepherded out to the right by defenders and his shot found the side netting ........... on the wrong side   !

 

Then, into time added on and after good work by Oko, he sent in an inviting cross to the centre and two players had a ‘bite of the cherry’ but both efforts were poor and cleared.

 

I must mention the contribution of Mujakic last night who was my Man of the Match.    I lost count of the times he made crucial tackles and interventions.

 

Ankaragucu will have to put in some serious work in the next month or so, and as I’ve said many times here, there will be no easy matches.     For example, for their next league match, Anakaragucu will travel to Trabzon next Monday 8 May,    Last season’s champions are not the force they were, stuck in the mid-table area at the moment, but they will still be another difficult hurdle for Ankaragucu to negotiate   !

 

However, prior to that important fixture, there is a Cup Semi Final 1^st Leg to be  played in Istanbul against Basaksehir on Thursday 4 May.     Of course, it is every players dream to play in a Cup Final, but Ankaragucu’s full focus must be on winning league points   !!

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI UNWILLING TO ‘THROW THE TOWEL IN’ !!!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Gencler dug deep last night to win 3 valuable points and put a dent in Bodrum’s promotion hopes.    However, Gencler still have some work to do before they can breathe freely.    They are still in the relegation mix with probably 4 other teams and only 3 matches left to escape the dreaded drop.

 

They were perhaps fortunate last night to play an ‘out of sorts’ Bodrum team who looked far from a team challenging for a play-off spot to join the Super League.    Bodrum was slow and ponderous and devoid of ideas in the final 3^rd until they finally woke-up towards the end of the match, but they couldn’t find the equaliser

 

Anyway, Gencler was well worthy of their 3 points, especially having to play the last half hour of the match with only 10 men   !!

 

GENCLERBIRLIGI             2                      Bodrumspor            1

 

Team – Philipp, Ugur, Alperen, Thomas, Yasin, Enes, Mete Kaan, Sekou, Bugra, Muhammed and Souleymane

 

Substitutes – Atalay, Erkan, Abdullah, Ilker and Akabueze

 

The 1^st half was a bit of a bore with the only real danger arriving in the 7^th minute when Enes sent in a goal bound shot from outside the box on the left.    The ball was heading for the top left, but the goalkeeper made a spectacular save to palm the ball away for a corner.

 

Bodrum was making pretty patterns with their football but the final pass was wayward and intercepted for the most part.

 

Gencler was tackling and chasing every ball and hustling Bodrum to lose possession.

 

The half time whistle was welcomed, but the 2^nd half was a different story   !

 

Only 5 minutes had elapsed when the impressive Mete Kaan orchestrated the move down the right wing .      He drove into the box and his fierce shot was parried by the goalkeeper, but Muhammed was first to react to the rebound and slotted the ball in for the opening goal.

 

8 minutes later and Bodrum found the equaliser when Alperen handled the ball while in the process of making a tackle in the box.    The referee consulted VAR and gave a penalty which was despatched by Hakan inside the left post with Philipp diving the opposite way.

 

Then 3 minutes later Philipp had a rush of blood to the head when he ran out of his area to clear a ball from a fast Bodrum breakaway, but used his hand in the process.    A straight RED card was shown and Atalay came on with Sekou being hooked.

 

Gencler found the winning goal on the 66^th minute mark and it was Mete Kaan again who was the provider.     He made a fantastic run from inside his own half all the way down the right wing avoiding 3 attempted tackles in the process, and passed inside the box to Souleymane who gave the goalkeeper no chance with his well directed shot.

 

Bodrum made a last ditch effort in the last 10 minutes to find another equaliser, but to be honest they never looked like scoring in open play with the Gencler defence looking solid.

 

One last piece of action in time added on was the RED card to Erdem of Bodrum for his gung-ho tackling which earned him two yellow cards.

 

Next up for Gencler is an away match to one of the possible relegation candidates, Erzurum, next Sunday 7 May, and it goes without saying that this will be one of those MUST WIN matches for both teams.

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI – FIGHTING SPIRIT NOT ENOUGH !!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

In a match played at a fast and furious pace (for the most part), Gencler’s well known fighting spirit was not quite enough to overcome a slick Rize team who are now making a serious challenge for Samsun’s top spot in the league.

 

With 5 goals scored in the 1^st half, it was an end-to-end match in a true sense, but Rize always looked the more dangerous and likely winners, and so it played out.

 

Rizespor             5                    GENCLERBIRLIGI              3

 

Team – Philipp, Yasin, Thomas, Alperen, Muhammed, Abdullah, Ugur, Ilker, Sekou, Mete Kaan and Tiago

 

Substitutes – Souleymane, Akabueze, Khadfi, Enes and Ivan

 

The match was only 6 minutes old when Ankaragucu olde-boy, Sinan, opened the scoring for Rize,    A free kick on the right was sent into the centre which was headed to the back post.   The ball was sent back into the centre where Sinan out-jumped everyone to head in with one of his trade mark headed goals which we have witnessed a good few times when he wore the blue and yellow   !!!

 

25 minutes in and the equaliser came against the run of play at that time.    Yasin had a throw-in on the left and then the cross was made into the box to Mete Kaan who tried a back-heel to deceive the goalkeeper, but the ball rebounded off the goalkeeper to Mete Kaan and he sent his shot in, despite an attempted clearance by a defender on the goal line.

 

5 minutes later and Rize was back in front after a long ball was sent over from the left to the far post where John Mary had peeled away from the Gencler defenders and headed inside the right post.

 

John Mary almost added another 5 minutes later but his header hit the post and was cleared.

 

One minute into time added on in the 1^st half and Mete Kaan with some fine footwork on the right crossed for Muhammed to nip in ahead of a defender and shoot inside the left post for another equaliser.

 

5 minutes into time added on and Rize stormed back into the lead.     A free kick on the right was sent into the centre and a Rize attacker headed the ball down for Bolasie to guide the ball in a split second ahead of Philipp’s attempted save.

 

The pace of the match didn’t let-up with only one minute played in the 2^nd half and Rize increased their winning margin to 2 goals.      A fast break down the right by Amilton who then powered his way into the box on the right, and from an acute angle sent in a shot which was deflected into the top left by Philipp’s leg as he attempted to save.

 

5 minutes later and after another Rize attack, the referee was directed to VAR where he saw a handball by Thomas in the box before the attack was cleared.    Penalty   !        Bolasie sent his shot down the centre with Philipp diving to his right.

 

3 goals adrift, but Gencler wasn’t quite finished yet.    5 minutes later there was another penalty at the other end when a Gencler player was brought down in the box and the referee had no need to consult VAR for this one.    Abdullah made no mistake when he sent his shot inside the left post under the diving body of the goalkeeper.

 

Half way through the 2^nd half and unsurprisingly the pace of the match slowed down with Rize seemingly content with their 2 goal cushion.

 

Despite their heroic efforts, Gencler is still stuck in 2^nd bottom position in the league, but only 2 points behind Erzurum who will be playing Bandirma tomorrow.     So, apart from Denizlispor who look doomed to relegation, the fight goes on  !!

 

Next up for Gencler is a home match against Bodrumspor next Friday 28^th.       Bodrum currently sit in 5^th top position in the league and are still in the hunt for a play-off position, so they will not be an easy nut for Gencler to crack.

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU .........SO-we .......GOOOOOD !!!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

(Headline suggested by Battle Damaged Kanka Damon).

 

Ali Sowe cemented his reputation with the Ankaragucu faithful last night by picking Ankaragucu up when they were faltering.     Apart from his 2 fantastic goals, his contribution throughout the match was immense........ as usual   !       A Man of the Match performance   !

 

Ankaragucu is not out of the woods yet, but the pressure is firmly back in the courts of the chasing pack .......... Umraniye, Giresun and Istanbulspor.      Also, Alanya, Antalya and Kasimpasa are now approaching the danger area in the league   !

 

Back to last night’s action ...............

 

ANKARAGUCU             3                       Giresun              1

 

Team – Gokhan, Kitsiou, Kevin, Atakan, Mujakic, Matej, Taylan, Zadid, Diack, Emre and Ali Sowe

 

Substitutes – Tasos, Pedrinho, Andrej, Oko and Arda

 

Most of the 1^st half was a big disappointment with Ankaragucu having difficulty stringing passes together and Giresun giving them no time on the ball by chasing every player in possession.      It was a disjointed display by Ankaragucu with probably everyone expecting them to take control of the match from the off.

 

Having said that, Emre had a goal bound shot well save on the half hour mark, but Giresun seized the initiative a few minutes from the half time whistle.

 

A free kick on the left was sent over into the box which should have been attacked by Atakan, but he totally missed the ball which hit the body of Diack, who was behind him, and the ball was deflected into the goal.       Poor defending, but there was no denying that Giresun deserved to be ahead   !

 

The goal seemed to give Ankaragucu a wake-up call.     Into time added on and Ali almost found the equaliser when his header was sent just past the post.

 

Almost on the half time whistle and Ali (and all of us   !) thought that he had scored the equaliser.    There was a fast break down the left and the cross sent in to Ali whose first shot was parried by the goalkeeper, but the rebound was stroked in.       Aaaaargh ........ but, the referee was directed to the VAR for an offence committed by Mujakic in the build up and the goal was ruled out   !

 

Well, whatever was said by the Coach at half time certainly had the desired effect.     Ankaragucu came out a different team with all guns blazing   !!!

 

8 minutes into the 2^nd half and the equaliser finally arrived and definitely my Goal of the Match.     Ali was sent a pass in the box on the right which he controlled near the goal line and sent in a screamer of a shot from a very acute angle which flew into the top left.

 

From this point, Ankaragucu gradually took control of the match showing much more determination and attacking threat.

 

5 minutes later and Ankaragucu almost went ahead when the goalkeeper parried the ball from a corner direct to the unmarked Mujakic, but he somehow contrived to send the ball into the clouds with the goal at his mercy.

 

3 minutes later and Kitsiou almost scored when his header hit the crossbar and was cleared.

 

However, the goal finally arrived with 15 minutes to go.    Pedrinho sent in a fierce shot which was deflected by a defender to Taylan who gratefully received the ball and shot from the left to inside the right post for a goal which Ankaragucu’s play fully deserved.

 

Tasos had 3 opportunities to score the 3^rd.    Firstly, the goalkeeper made a brave save when one-on-one with Tasos.    Secondly, a screamer of a shot from outside the box hit the post and was cleared.     Then, he did score, but his goal was correctly ruled out for offside.

 

The 3^rd goal finally arrived 6 minutes into time added on and it was that man Ali again.      A fast Ankaragucu attack down the left and Pedrinho made an excellent cut-back to Ali in the centre who sent his shot into the top right for a well executed goal.

 

So, a crucial 3 points to keep the pressure on the 3 teams which I mentioned at the beginning.    Ankaragucu has 7 matches left to avoid the drop and if they can maintain the momentum they showed in the 2^nd half last night, there is still hope.

 

Next up is another home match against another team in similar circumstances to Ankaragucu and at present Kasimpasa in only 2 points ahead.    It goes without saying therefore that this is another of those ......... MUST WIN............. matches   !!

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

GENCLERBIRLIGI SUBJECT US TO A YAWN OF A MATCH !!!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

At this stage of the season I suppose entertainment is not a priority for both of these teams (every point is vital   !), and true enough, there was zero entertainment on show last night with both teams fighting to avoid the drop into the 2^nd League.

 

With only 5 matches left to play this season, and most of these in the ‘difficult category’, Gencler is still in the relegation zone and to be frank, if they perform like they did last night it will be a real struggle to avoid the drop.

 

GENCLERBIRLIGI          0                          Altay                  0

 

Team – Philipp, Muhammed, Alperen, Thomas, Yasin, Abdullah, Mete Kaan, Enes, Erkan, Khadfi and Jaime

 

Substitutes – Tiago, Souleymane, Ivan, Gabriel and Hayrullah

 

The 1^st half was a non-event and the standard of football abysmal.    Only one shot on target by both teams when the Altay captain fired a weak shot which was easily saved.    It was a yawn of a match with lots of speculative high balls into the box by both teams where they were dealt with by both defences.

 

It was a similar scenario in the 2^nd half.      High balls being directed to the strikers and no end product.

 

Two poor teams and a no scoring draw just about sums up the 90 plus minutes of an instantly forgettable match   !!

 

That, I’m sorry to say, is the end of this report ................  skill, action and  entertainment were absent   !!

 

As I have mentioned before, Denizli appear to be almost certain of relegation, but Gencler, Erzurum, Altinordu and Altay must fight it out to attempt the ignominy of joining them.

 

Gencler travel to the ‘in form’ and 2^nd top of the league team, Rize, on Sunday in what is their most difficult fixture in the run-in.     Of course, Gencler has surprised us before, but Sunday may well be a ‘bridge too far’   !!!

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

ANKARAGUCU UNDONE BY A SHOCKING REFEREEING DECISION !!!

 

 

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

 

Having withstood the expected barrage of attacks from Fenerbahce in the opening half of the match, Ankaragucu settled into their normal rhythm in the 1^st half and made a few sporadic attacks of their own without causing any serious problems to the Fener goalkeeper.

 

However, when Ankaragcu went ahead with the goal of the match with only 5 minutes left to play, we were all left ecstatic and hoping for an historic victory, but ........... we forgot that this is not always possible in Turkey when a dubious penalty was awarded to Fener a few minutes after Ankaragucu went ahead.         I hope that the referee with hang his head in shame at his dishonesty, but I have my doubts   !!!

 

Victory was stolen from Ankaragucu at this decision and we can only wonder why he gave the penalty   ??!!      The referee was surrounded by Ankaragucu players when the decision was made and they were obviously asking him to check VAR, but for some reason only known to himself, he refused   !!

 

If he had bothered to check the VAR he would have seen that Matej and a Fener player (I think it was Valencia) were both following the flight of the ball, which didn’t reach them, and they collided with each other accidentally.    As an ex-Class 1 referee, there is no way that was a penalty   !!!!

 

The referee then decided to add 10 minutes of extra time which was another dreadful decision.    There were no major hold-ups in the 2^nd half and again, only he knows where the 10 minutes came from   !!!

 

Of course, after Fener scored their penalty, Ankaragucu should have ‘shut up shop’, but they didn’t and therefore paid a heavy price.    The very least that Ankaragucu deserved was a point for their never ending endeavour throughout the match, but there will no doubt be happy faces in the corridors of the TFF at the final outcome   !!!

 

End of rant and now to some of the action .................

 

Fenerbahce                 2                       ANKARAGUCU           1

 

Team – Gokhan, Matej, Mujakic, Kevin, Kitsiou, Atakan, Diack, Emre, Zahid, Taylan and Ali Sowe

 

Substitutes – Milson, Firatcan and Andrej

 

Ankaragucu received their first scare of the match as early as the 7^th minute when a goal bound shot came in from the right which Gokhan saved for a corner.     From the corner another goal bound shot came in which was cleared off the line by a defender.

 

Approaching half time and Fener hit the woodwork on two occasions with Fener laying siege to the Ankaragucu goal.    Gokhan also made a great save from Arda in a one-on-one situation.

 

So, us kankas were fairly happy when Ankaragucu went in all square at half time with still all to play for in the 2^nd half.

 

7 minutes into the 2^nd half and Ali found himself in a good position in an Ankaragucu attack when he shot for goal but the tackle came in as he did so and the ball was deflected for a corner.

 

2 minutes later Diack almost scored with a shot inside the 6 yard box but the goalkeeper made a save for a corner.

 

Ankaragucu was more involved in the match in the 2^nd half and their reward finally came 10 minutes before the end of the match when Ali put Ankaragucu ahead.     A great break out of defence by Diack and his pass to Ali on the right was perfect for Ali to surge into the box and shoot.    The goalkeeper saved the shot but could only parry the ball back to Ali who made no mistake with his second effort.

 

Then 3 minutes later came the incident which I mentioned at the beginning of this report.    Valencia sent the penalty kick inside the right post with Gokhan diving the other way.

 

Fener scented blood and poured forward seeking the winner with Ankaragucu very much on the back foot.    Into time added on and Gokhan made another great save from a goal bound free kick.

 

However, the damage was done in the 5^th minute of time added on when Cresspo shot from the left side of the 6 yard box inside the right post with the Ankaragucu defence all at sea.     After the penalty it was obvious that they needed to ‘shut up shop’ which they didn’t quite manage to do professionally   !!!

 

This result keeps Ankaragucu in the Relegation Zone and still involved in attempting to stay ahead of Umraniye, Giresun and Istanbulspor.

 

Giresun will be at home today against Sivas, and of course we will be hoping that Sivas can do the biz   !

 

Next up for Ankaragucu is the crucial ‘6 Pointer’ against Giresun at home on Thursday 20 April.      Nothing less than 3 points will suffice for Ankaragucu   !!!

 

As always, watch this space for the outcome.

 

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim