Ankaragucu return to the Capital with 3 points!

Ankaragucu fans were banned from traveling to Istanbul earlier this week for today's match at Sariyer. The reason given was due to security reasons and previous issues with Gecekondu. So instead Ankaragucu fans who wanted to travel to the game had to sit in amongst the home fans. Ridiculous decision as usual, putting fans safety at risk. For such a wonderful country, Turkey sure has some lazy ways of dealing with fan behaviour.

Team - Emrah Tuncel, Serkan Balci, Sezgin Coskun, Alihan Kubalas, Onur Atasayer, Harun Aydin, Ferhat Culcuoglu, Orhan Gulle, Omer Bozan, Erhan Senturk, Muharrem Ozan

Subs - Emre Koyuncu, Adem Saglam, Onur Bayramoglu, Murat Yilmaz, Mustafa Ozturk, Muhammed Gonulacar, Emre Sahin

So a couple of forced changes for Ankaragucu with Sezgin and Muharrem replacing the injured Cenk and Enes. A couple of other notable changes with Orhan replacing Muhammed and Onur Atasayer replacing Mehmet Tasci who didn't even make the squad. Ismet Tasdemir was clearly upset at the way the team played last weekend and he freshened things up today.

Enes was always going to be a big loss for the team as he has been our key player, but today was all about his replacement Muharrem Ozan who scored two stunning goals and led the line well working his socks off.

The first chance of the game came for Ankaragucu after 11 minutes. Harun played a nice ball through for Muharrem, the ball deflected back into path of Harun who blasted the ball inches wide from just outside the box.

Serkan Balci was again having a great game and his quality was really shining through. Ten minutes later he played a nice quick free kick with Harun before breaking free into the box, his cross then took a deflection and went into the back of the net to make it 1-0 Ankaragucu.

Sariyer went close a few minutes later from a free kick but the shot went just past the post much to the relief of the Ankaragucu fans mingled inside the home section.

Just when it looked like Ankaragucu would go in at half time 1 goal up they doubled their lead. The ball found its way to Muharrem Ozan just inside the box and he finished clinically past Gokhan for his first Ankaragucu goal and made it 2-0.

A good first half performance from Ankaragucu who looked solid at the back and were working hard in midfield.

The second half was nail biting stuff and the game changed when Serkan Balci went off injured to be replaced with Adem Saglam.

Sariyer got themselves back into the game after 58 minutes. Ankaragucu nearly scored from a corner but Adem couldn't put the ball into the back of the net. Sariyer then went up the other end of the park and scored to make it 1-2.

Ankaragucu had two excellent chances after 66 minutes. The first one was an excellent through ball from Muharrem into the path of Harun, but his shot was brilliantly saved by Gokhan in the Sariyer goal. Thirty seconds later and almost carbon copy where Mustafa Ozturk found Erhan Senturk but Gokhan again made an excellent save. In all honesty both chances should have been converted.

Then came the last five minutes of the game, firstly Erhan missed a great chance to finish the game off. Then Sariyer were awarded a penalty. Up stepped Hasan Soylu but his effort was weak and Emrah made a good save.

A minute later the best moment of the game. Onur Atasayer put in a corner to the edge of the box and a Muharrem volleyed the ball into the top corner. It was a stunning goal to round off an excellent performance from the striker.

Their was enough time for Sariyer to score a consolation goal through Ensar Baykan to make it Sariyer 2-3 Ankaragucu.

Three points and Ankaragucu keep their place joint top with Gumushanespor who also won today. Well done AG!

Ankaragucu vs Sariyer match preview!

Ankaragucu travel to Istanbul this weekend as they take on Sariyer looking to make it 3 wins in a row and keep pressure on leaders Gumushanespor. Jim and Harun were both talking of travelling to the match so if anyone is interested in joining them please get in touch for travel details.

Although Ankaragucu won 1-0 at the weekend against Nigde, it was an overall disappointing performance and manager Ismet Tasdemir wasn't happy with the performance making his feelings clear when interviewed after the match.

Theirs no doubting that the team need to up their performance this weekend if they want to bring the 3 points back home to the capital. The team has performed well away from him in front of the travelling support, maybe it's playing in an empty stadium that's having an effect on these home performances? Surely the incentive to get the club promoted though should be enough motivation itself?

I have to say, I was impressed with the performance of Serkan Balci at the weekend. He has struggled with fitness since his move in the summer, but he was excellent and looked closer to full fitness. His experience will be vital to the teams bid for promotion and their is no doubting his quality having played in the Super Lig all his career and the Turkish National team.

It's unclear whether Enes Kubat will be fit to play after picking up a knock at the weekend. Murat Yilmaz is back in training and will fill in if Enes doesn't make it. Enes is a key player and his absence would be a big blow.

Sariyer have had a somewhat inconsistent start to the season but are only 4 points off top spot. They drew 1-1 with Tuzlaspor at the weekend and will be out to cause an upset. They have former Borussia Dortmund player Ensar Baykan who will be the dangerman and a number of players capable of scoring goals. Their weakness seems to be in defence and they were on the end of a heafty 5-1 defeat at Menemen a few weeks ago.

Theirs a lot to be optimistic about at Ankaragucu this season, the stadium ban is only 1 game from ending, the team is joint top, and we have a decent squad capable of winning the league. This is a time for unity and for everyone to use their heads and energy to support the team. A united fan front and team will win this league!

Erhan Senturk brilliance gives Ankaragucu 3 points!

It's was a turgid, lacklustre performance from Ankaragucu as they scraped a 1-0 win with a moment of brilliance from Erhan Senturk. Ismet Tasdemir went with the same side who won 2-0 at Tokatspor last week.

Team - Emrah Tuncel, Serkan Balci, Alihan Kubalas, Cenk Kaplan, Mehmet Tasci, Muhammed Gonulacar, Harun Aydin, Ferhat Culcoglu, Omer Bozan, Erhan Senturk, Enes Kubat

Subs - Emre Koyuncu, Sezgin Coskun, Muharrem Ozan, Mustafa Ozturk, Orhan Gulle, Onur Bayramoglu, Onur Atasayer

Today's match was the 4th of a five match stadium ban for Ankaragucu. There were a handful of Nigde fans in the away end who backed their team for the 90 minutes.

The first half was a bore fest with Ankaragucu really struggling to muster up any attacks or even pass the ball. Enes looked a lonely figure up front and was getting no support from the midfield. Nigde were causing problems down the right hand side wth Mehmet Tasci struggling to keep their attack at bay.

The only real chance of the half for Ankaragucu was a cross into the box from Erhan Senturk for Alihan who headed the ball stright at the keeper. It must also be noted that the Ankaragucu defence and midfield were very slack in possession today and a better side would have punished them. Nigde also had a good chance just before half time from a free kick but Emrah made an excellent save to keep it 0-0.

Into the second half and it was much the same, Nigde looked dangerous and had a couple of good efforts that went close. Nigde almost went ahead after 50 minutes. Sloppy play from the Ankaragucu defence lead to a chance for the visitors, a shot from just outside the box went inches wide.

The turning point of the match came after 64 minutes. Gokhan Özer was sent off for Nigde for what looked like an off the all incident. It took Ankaragucu only 3 minutes to take advantage and what a goal it was. Erhan gathered the ball on the right before beating 3 defenders and firing an unstoppable shot into the bottom corner. 1-0 Ankaragucu.

Ankaragucu had 3 good chances to finish the game off from counter attacks, but the finishing from the forwards Enes and Erhan were woefully bad and they made a mess of it. Enes then went past his man before shooting straight at the keeper. It looked like he may have pulled a muscle as he went down injured and was replaced with Muharrem Ozan.

Ankaragucu held on despite a late onslaught from the visitors to claim all 3 points. There's no doubting Ankaragucu need to up their game if they want to compete for the title. They now lie 2nd after Gumushanespor moved top on goal difference as they beat Hatayspor 3-0 away from home.

Next up is an away match at Sariyer next weekend which will be another tough game for Ankaragucu.

Lig 2 Scores


Hatayspor 0-3 Gumushanespor
Tuzlaspor 1-1 Sariyer
Polatli 4-2 Eyupspor
Kastamonuspor 1-3 1461 Trabzon
Kayseri Erciyesspor 1-1 Tokatspor
Aydinspor 1-1 Inegolspor
Kirklarelispor 0-1 Karsiyaka
Menemen 1-1 Etimesgut

Genclerbirligi fight hard to no avail

Oh for the days when I condemned the draw. Genclerbirligi lost for the first time this season, but probably deserved a draw.

Genclerbirligi 0 - 1 Galatasaray

Just a couple of us down at the Alerta Pub for pre-match drinks, Alex, Jimmy, Little Oz and me, but at the stadium we ended up with 10 more new and old Kankas! Possibly our biggest turnout in years.

The view of the Galatasaray stands from where we were sitting. 

Not just us either. Galatasaray filled their behind the goals away section (Saatli) as well as their Kapali part. Us Gencler fans pretty much filled Maraton... In the old days for a match like this we would fill Gecekondu as well... but those days are long gone.

Lots of great enthusiasm as the game kicked off and both teams looked to play fast football. It was looking good too when Gencler went on the attack in the 10th minute only to stupidly lose it. Cim Bom launched a counter attack and after all sorts of comicly inept defending the ball was in the back of the net. Oh dear.

Down 0-1 after just 10 minutes could have signalled a rout. Fortunately Gencler decided to try and get back into it. Towards the end of the first half and for most of the second half they played their best football of the year. There were moans of frustration when shots and headers went just wide or were saved but there were no moans like those of the last few weeks when the Gencler fans started to get angry at some rather lacklustre play.

A draw should have been the result but Gencler were unlucky. We had a goal scored off a free kick ruled offside and the referee was annoying. Still it was a good match to watch and I'm sure some of the new kankas, for a couple of the kids it was their first ever football match, will be back.

TITA

Greetings Kankas and Kankies.

Altinordu  3    Mersin  1

Watched the Championship match on TRT this afternoon and ex-Ankaragucu Brazilian attacking midfielder Tita (photo above) strutting his stuff for Mersin.   He may be 35 years old, but we could do with him back here as Ankaragucu’s midfield general, a position that hasn’t been satisfactorily addressed by Ankaragucu.   His passing and vision was excellent, but the final efforts from the Mersin forwards were abysmal.

There was a good standard of footie on display from both teams and if Ankaragucu do gain promotion to The Championship this season it’s a definite MUST DO to strengthen the team for this league.    However, first things first, and 3 points tomorrow against Nigde to consolidate their position at the top of the league.

PS – Guven Varol was another ex-Ankaragucu player today for Mersin, but he had a poor match by his standards.

All the best from Eski Kanka Jim

Ankaragucu vs Nigde Belediyespor match preview!

League leaders Ankaragucu host Nigde Belediyespor on Sunday at another empty 19 Mayis stadium due to the stadium ban. After a good 2-0 win at Tokatspor the team will be looking to keep the momentum with another 3 points.

Although Ankaragucu were deserved winners at the weekend, they still haven't delivered the perfect performance which gives you confidence of them being Champions. Defensively the team looks solid enough but we just lack some pace and creativity in attack.

Enes Kubat returned to the team last weekend and showed why he is the key player to the teams title hopes. His tireless running off the ball was rewarded with a goal and he will be looking to add to his tally against Nigde.

Harun and Muhammed rekindled their partnership in midfield and both impressed again. Harun is fast becoming a very important player for the team and also got on the scoresheet with an excellent goal.

After a good start to the season, Nigde have only won 1 of their last 5 games in all competitions. Although they will need to be taken seriously this is a match Ankaragucu should be winning comfortably. However this is Ankaragucu and as well all know, anything is possible!

Ankaragucu 2-0 Tokatspor match report!

Ankaragucu returned to the top of the table with a good 2-0 win at Tokatspor much to the delight of the 500 odd travelling Ankaragucu fans. It was a nice location for Sunday afternoon football in Tokat and both sets of fans can be proud of the way they backed their team.

Ankaragucu Team - Emrah Tuncel, Serkan Balci, Alihan Kubalas, Cenk Kaplan, Mehmet Tasci, Harun Aydin, Muhammed Gonulacar, Ferhat Culcuoglu, Omer Bozan, Erhan Senturk, Enes Kubat

Subs - Emre Koyuncu, Orhan Gulle, Onur Atasayer, Adem Saglam, Sezgin Coskun, Emre Sahin, Muharrem Ozan

Their were much anticipated returns to the starting line up for Cenk Kaplan and Enes Kubat who had been missing in recent weeks through injury, indeed Cenk was actually making his debut and impressed helping the side to a clean cheer. Muhammed returned to the midfield adding more protection to the back four and again played well.

Enes proved yet again that he is going to be vital to Ankaragucu this season with another tireless performance and he was rewarded with a goal after 24 minutes. A nice cross into the box from Erhan straight onto the head of Enes who guided the pall past Atacan Ozturk in the Tokat goal. 1-0 Ankaragucu.

Ankaragucu dominated possession in the first half without creating many chances and at times struggled to breakdown the Tokat defence, but more often the final ball was the main problem. The only other real chance in the first half was a weak effort from Harun Aydin which was easily saved from Ozturk.

Into the second half and for the first 15 minutes Ankaragucu struggled to keep the ball. Tokatspor had two chances, the first one a header which went over the bar and the second was a cross to the back post which came back off the crossbar.

Myself and Harun were discussing how poor we were playing in the second half when Harun scored a screamer. The ball was played into his path just inside the box, before he unleashed a ferocious shot which hit the underside of the bar and went in. Their was a lot of protests that the ball hadn't crossed the line from the Tokat players and to be honest i didn't think it did either, but it was 2-0 and the Ankaragucu fans were delighted.

The last ten minutes was a love affair between the Ankaragucu and Tokatspor fans as the both sang to each other in appreciation. Good luck to Tokatspor for the rest of the season as they fight against relegation.

Ankaragucu move back top of the league with other results going on our favour and it's a home match with Nigde BB next Sunday.

Eyupspor 1-2 Menemen
Sariyer 2-2 Polatli
Gumushanespor 1-0 Kayseri Erciyesspor
Inegolspor 1-0 Hatayspor
Etimesgut 1-0 1461 Trabzon
Nigde 2-2 Tuzlaspor
Karsiyaka 3-4 Aydinspor
Kirklarelispor 0-0 Kastamonuspor