Ankaragucu vs Galatasaray Match Preview !

Image above taken from The Haber.

Cengiz Topal and Captain Hurriyet Gucer both gave interviews today on the upcoming home match against Galatasaray on Sunday. The players were given a goat to sacrifice at training today which was quite disturbing to watch, even for some of the players.

Cengiz and Hurriyet were both saying the teams preperations for the game are coming along well, the players are getting sharper and they can take points in this game. Captain Hurriyet made a very good point in that our players hadnt trained in a long time which effected the start of the season. We have some good young players and after a better performance at the weekend Ankaragucu are hoping to build on that.

Who could forget last seasons Victories over Galatasaray both Home and Away ? The first game was in Istanbul where we took the lead early on in the game through Metin Akan. Ozgur Cek, Stanislav Sestak and Turgut Dogan Sahin scored second half goals with Milan Baros scoring a double for Galatasaray. The return game in Ankara saw Ankaragucu fight back from 2-1 down late on to win 3-2 thanks to a fantastic hat-trick from Stanislav Sestak.

The likes Of Sestak, Metin Akan and Marek Sapara are all gone as we know, but as Captain Hurriyet said, we do have some good young players in Ozgur Cek, Turgut Dogan Sahin and Tonia Tisdell. One thing is for sure, if we are going to take anything from the game we need to tighten up at the back, and take any chances that come our way.

Young Tonia Tisdell has had a good start to the season, and he will be our Key Player along with the likes of Ozden Ongun and Jan Rajnoch. For Galatasaray, Fatih Terim has added many players to his squad as they look to improve on a disastrous season last term. Felipe Melo, Albert Reira and Milan Baros are all dangerous players but Galatasaray are weak at the back and Tonia has the pace to cause them trouble.

I have taken one of Jim's Optomism pills and im going for a 1-0 win for Ankaragucu with Tonia scoring the winner. Inshallah !!!

Handbags and the derby

Both Genclerbirligi and Ankaragucu fans ought to get used to watching the sort of football we saw last night. It was second division stuff and if I had to put money on two of the teams to be relegated at the end of the season, I'd put it on both the Ankara teams.

Genclerbirligi 1 - 1 Ankaragucu

Derby Day! The day everyone has been waiting for. A chance to rib each other over a beer and swear at each other at the stadium. Well, it would have been if any of the Ankaragucu kankas had shown up. Where were you all? Just a couple of us Gencler fans then - me, Spine and Flying Dutchman.

Pretty crap turnout at the stadium as well. We guessed maybe four to five thousand all up. Ankaragucu had a semi-decent contingent in the away area whereas Gencler had only a couple of thousand in Maraton and no one at all in Gecikondu. I'm thinking that it isn't only us here at "The round ball in Ankara" who are depressed.

Smile for the camera cause there's bugger all else to smile about

Gencler came on in the traditional red and black strip while Ankaragucu were wearing a uniform which Spine described as "I guess they are trying to get sponsorship from Ikea".

Oh well, kick-off and erggh. Rubbish from both sides. Both Gencler and Gucu had chances but they were stuffed up. Ankaragucu were playing fairly tough and I was surprised that ref didn't hand out a few cards in the first half, especially when Zec was brought down just outside the box in the 22nd minute just before he got a shot in.

The ref gave the free kick though and Soner managed to score thanks to a hefty deflection from a Gucu defender.

The Gencler fans celebrated of course but the match stayed boring. Crap passing and whatnot and it was at this stage that we at least had something half-interesting to watch as various Gucu fans in our section started swearing at us. There was a bit of push and shove, nothing much though. Still, why on earth do Ankaragucu fans sit in the Gencler section and then get upset when we celebrate getting a goal?

The police took ages but eventually escorted them all out of our section. Spine took advantage of the police being distracted and decided to light up a fag.

I read an interesting stat today that there were 411 police and 300 private security guards at the match, or about one security person for every six fans or so. Overkill?

Ankaragucu woke up a little after the goal and had a couple of chances but managed to send most of them out and so Gencler went into half time 1-0. Only one player had impressed me at this stage and that was Gucu's Tonia Tisdall. All he needed was some gold around his neck and he'd have been a dead ringer for Mr. T. (I'm referring to his haircut, not his size)

Second half and we actually got some half-decent football from Gencler. Hursut was doing his tricky stuff and new boy Ozgur Ileri was playing well. There were at least two occassions when we should have scored but Zec had one saved and Soner failed to get his good chance on goal. About 20 minutes in and Gencler should have been two or three up but none of the dominance was coverted.

Ankaragucu at this stage started playing hard and the referee finally decided to use the cards in his pocket. Some of them were a bit dodgy and I think he may have been compensating for his failure to dish them out in the first half.

Gencler started time wasting and what a stupid move that turned out to be. Just near the end Ankaragucu got a free kick and at the same time one of their players (Serdar) got a second yellow. The free kick was taken and Gencler's keeper Ozkan failed to control it. The ball sort of bobbled around in the box and the defenders failed to clear leaving Rajnoch with an easy shot and goal.

And that was that.

"Sweden are crap," Spine said.

Yet again the police decided to allow the away fans out first leaving us to cheer on the cleaners. Not only is this not the way it is supposed to be done but from a security point of view it is a complete waste of time. By the time we got out the Ankaragucu fans had taken the long walk around the block so that we were all together. Nothing happened but what if both sets of fans were up for it. Stupid.

If you are going to get locked in after the match you might as well do something useful.

A point a piece for the derby

Genclerbirligi 1 - 1 Ankaragucu

The Ankaragucu fans left the stadium a lot happier than the Gencler fans after Gucu scored with about five minutes before regulation time just after having man sent off. It wasn't the best football in the world, but what do you expect from two teams that will be fighting hard this season from being relegated.

More on Monday.

ANKARAGUCU HEADING SOUTHWARD !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Ankaragucu is now on course for heading southward, and I don't mean to Antalya ! On last night's performance against an average Sivas team they are assuredly favourites for the Big Drop into the Bank Asya League !

As I mentioned in my previous report, the team do not have a recognised striker, and no matter what Ziya Bey does to juggle his attacking formation, it can't be solved. Also, the defensive frailties at defending dead-balls and corners returned last night, and only the heroics of Ozden saved Ankaragucu from a thrashing.

Ankaragucu 1 Sivasspor 2

We met up at The Chopin (Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Maniac Kanka Harun, Vegetarian Kanka John, Josh, who was attending his first match in Turkey, and I). Off to the Stadium where we were joined by Huso Kanka. Gecikondu was full as usual and in good voice, Maraton was about half full and there was a small contingent from Sokak, all in all, not a bad attendance for a Thursday evening match.

The Team -

Ozden
Ugur, Rajnoch, Aydin and Murat
Weeks, Hurriyet, Kagan and Ozgur
Tonia and Ergin

Substitutes used - Turgut, Gokhan and Ediz

Ankaragucu was straight into attack mode and they almost scored after 5 minutes when Tonia back-heeled a pass to Ergin but his shot was cleared for a corner. Sivas weathered the early Storm and the match swung from end-to-end.

On the 16th minute mark the usual song rang out from Maraton for Bursaspor, but Gecikondu did their best to whistle it down in protest against the move of Sestak and Adem. More of this later !

20 minutes gone and Sivas was coming into the match more and almost scored but for a great save from (my Man of the Match AGAIN) Ozden. The ball rebounded off him and the 2nd effort was cleared off the line.

Then on the half hour mark we had that feeling of deja vu when Navratil rose above the Ankaragucu defenders to head in from a free kick. A copy of the Besiktas goals and perhaps Sivas did their homework on the Ankaragucu 'Achilles heel' ?!

Ankaragucu persevered for the remainder of the half but their continual habit of lofting high balls up to the strikers were easily swallowed up by the tall Sivas defenders (don't they ever watch clips of Barcelona bringing the ball out of defence and try to copy this tactic ??!!).

Half time and I have to confess I was fearing the worst. However, 5 minutes into the 2nd half and the equaliser arrived. Some neat close passing on the left and the ball was squared to 'unsung hero' Kagan who first-timed a swerving shot into the corner. It should have been a wake-up call, but Sivas had other ideas.

Ozden was becoming the busiest players on the field and made numerous saves in the 2nd half to deny Sivas who were controlling the tempo of the match. So, it was no surprise when they took the lead again with 15 minutes to go.

Ankaragucu was caught out pushing too many players forward and this gave Sivas the chance for a fast break-away with Ankaragucu defenders scurrying to get back. Ozden spotted the danger and ran out to intercept Rasmussen and succeeded in reaching the ball at the same time as Rasmussen shot for goal. Unfortunately, the ball rebounded off Ozden and over his head and into the goal.

Ankaragucu battled hard to find another equaliser and there was no doubting their effort and will. However, it was like banging your head against a brick wall with the Sivas defence putting up the shutters.

In my opinion, this Ankaragucu team just doesn't have the ability or perhaps the belief for the challenges that now lie ahead !

5 minutes to go and we kankas left the Stadium. Not in disgust I may add, but for our safety. Gecikondu and Maraton started throwing insults at each other and saying things which I can't print here to save the blushes of any of our female readers. It was getting quite nasty and we were thinking that it might develop into a fully blown battle similar to the one which occurred at the Istanbul BBS match a few years ago. Better safe than sorry we thought !

I am not sure what will happen on Sunday at the Ankara Derby when both tribunes will occupy the 'away' end. A very good reason for us to watch the match in Kapali me thinks ?!

With Ankaragucu's abysmal record against Gencler over the past few seasons we can only hope that the defence can hold out for a 0-0 draw. However, and to be realistic, Ankaragucu may be propping up the League next Sunday at 10pm ! Here's hoping that I have to eat my words !!

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ho hum. A 0-0 draw for Gencler

Damn TFF put the one away match I always try to get to on a Wednesday night. With kick-off at 8pm the last fast train from Eskisehir to Ankara would have left before the match finished. So instead I had to watch it on the telly. Problem was I got caught up in a conversation about hazing in the army and police force and so I hardly saw the match at all. Probably a good thing as it ended up ...

Eskisehir 0 - 0 Genclerbirligi

Not a lot to say really. Gencler seemed to play fairly well in the first half but Yasin blew our best chance when all he needed to do was send a pass to Hursut who was in an excellent position. Second half and Eskisehir turned it on but were denied a number of good chances.

An away point is a good result. All eyes now turn to the 19 Mayis on Sunday for the derby.

Gencler around the world

Dan the Man mentioned this in the comments section today. I thought it was worth making a separate post. Click on the picture for a better view.

I just discovered that on White Hart Lane you can find TWO big clubs.

THE ORACLE'S PREDICTION IS SPOT-ON !

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Our Oracle in Glasgow (Bellshill Kanka Nadeem) did warn us in his pre-match assessment not to build our hopes up, so we listened to his words of wisdom and met at the Chopin last night expecting the worst. We were not disappointed !

Besiktas 3 Ankaragucu 1

When I saw the team news go up on the TV screen I have to say that I shook my head in disbelief. How many times have I said on the Blog that the only way to play the Istanbul Three is to ATTACK them from the kick-off ?!

Team -

Ozden
Guven, Rajnoch, Aydin and Ugur
Weeks, Hurriyet, Kagan, Bilal and Ozgur
Turgut

Ankaragucu don't have a recognised striker since the loss of Sestak, Vittek and Fatih and Besiktas must have been rubbinhg their hands with glee when they saw in the Ankaragucu line-up that Turgut was the 'Lone Ranger' up front. He is NOT a striker !!

However, that doesn't excuse Ziya Bey for flooding the midfield when there was Tonia and Serdar warming the bench. Admittedly, they both came on the 2nd half (Tonia just after the break, and Serdar with 20 minutes to go). Too little attacking options too late !

Anyway, we all met up in The Chopin (Battle Damaged Kanka Damon, Maniac Kanka Harun, John, Fetish Kanka Huseyin and I), and like I said, we were not holding our breath for Ankaragucu to do an Istanbul BBS or Ess-Ess and take the game to Besiktas.

Besiktas was soon into their stride and it took a great save from my Man of the Match (Ozden) to tip the ball over the bar to prevent a certain goal. It was very much a 'backs against the wall' for Ankaragucu with Ugur in particular making some excellent tackles to break-up the frequent Besiktas attacks which came pouring forward.

Half an hour gone and Ozden again made two great saves one after the other to keep Ankaragucu in the match. Ankaragucu did have a chance to score against the run of play when a long shot came in from the left and hit the bar with Cenk helpless. Weeksie was following up but he didn't react quick enough when a header might have been the wise choice, and ballooned the ball over the bar.

With half time approaching the inevitable happened. Another Besiktas corner and there was the unmarked Sidnei at the near post to bullet a header in with Ozden well beaten.

Besiktas resumed where they had left off in the 1st half, ie, in full attacking mode, and once again Ankaragucu was on the back foot. Off went Guven and Bilal and on came Umut and Tonia to applause from the kankas and the response was almost immediate.

The Ankaragucu equaliser arrived and it was really down to the 2 goalkeepers. An astute throw-out by Ozden which found Tonia unmarked, and as he was racing to pick the ball up, out came Cenk , but a fraction of a second too late. Tonia nicked the ball past him and angled his shot into the net with the Besiktas defenders unable to intercept.

This sparked some life into Ankaragucu and for a while we were dreaming of taking all 3 points. Well for about 25 minutes anyway as Ankaragucu tried to make the break through.

However, another dead-ball goal from a corner and again Sidnei was given a free header which beat Ozden all the way with Ugur static on the goal line unable to make the headed clearance.

That took the steam out of Ankaragucu and Besiktas wrapped it up when the unmarked Quaresma received a pass on the left in acres of space and he fired in an inch perfect cross with the ouside of his foot for Mustafa to head in with Ozden helpless.

Ziya Bey has some work to do in the next few days with his limited resources. He has to find an answer to the striker situation, and he has to practice defending corners and dead ball free kicks into the box. If the January transfer window doesn't open for Ankaragucu then I don't envy his task for the reamainder of the season !

In the meantime, Ankaragucu play fellow strugglers Sivas at home on Thursday night. Meeting in the Chopin at 6pm and going to the Stadium at 7pm

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim