TURKEY: Süper Lig Review – Week 2

WEEK 2 – 23rd – 25th August 2013

Friday:

GENÇLERBIRLIĞI 3 – 0 AKHISAR

The Capital City team returned to winning ways in this week’s Friday match.

Jimmy Durmaz opened the scoring for the home side in the seventeenth minute. The Swedish international had a free kick passed short to him on the left side of the opposition goal. He cut inside, dribbled the ball around Akhisar midfielder Güray Vural and struck the ball with his left foot. His shot flew to goalkeeper Oğuz Dağlaroğlu’s right and into the back of the net. Durmaz was just inside the forty yard box.

Minutes later, Oğuz reached to the same top right corner of his goal to make a save from a Nizamettin Çalışkan free kick.

Receiving a headed ball, Durmaz shielded the ball and then knocked it up field to Bogdan Stancu. The Romanian forward ran to his right and stretched the under-manned Akhisar defense allowing Ermin Zec to slip through. Stancu, who attracted two centre backs to him, passed to Zec who lifted the ball above Oğuz Dağlaroğlu to double the lead.

Akhisar had more chances in the second half. Bruno Mezenga and Mehmet Akyüz both had chances with the latter forcing the keeper Ramazan Köse to make save from nearly fifty metres out.

Stancu nearly got himself on the score sheet when he attempted to knock the ball in from close range midway through the second half. Oğuz got down low, however, and managed to put the ball out for a corner. Nothing came of the corner but just minutes later a far post cross to Stancu forced Oğuz to make yet another save, this time with his face.

Three minutes from the end of regulation time, Nemanja Tomić sent a lofted pass from his own half towards Jean-Jacques Gosso who was simultaneously making a run forward from midfield. After struggling to pass the centre back in front of him, Gosso passed the ball to Stancu who needed only to beat Oğuz, the man who had foiled his goal-scoring plans from the very beginning. Curving the ball around the veteran keeper, Stancu delivered a great finish to see of the match.

Saturday:

FENERBAHÇE 1 – 0 ESKIŞEHIRSPOR

Coming off losses to Konyaspor and Arsenal, Fenerbahçe looked demoralised in front of a half-empty stadium. Eskişehir kept chances to a minimum and seemed to be content with a goalless draw. The visitors lacked an effective attack going forward with Henri Bienvenu, starting ahead of Necati Ateş, taking his chances poorly. Necati eventually did come on but he squandered the few chances he did get even as his team looked ready to snatch a point from the match.

Eskişehir handled Fenerbahçe’s forwards roughly with calls for penalty shots coming from fouls on Pierre Webo, Raul Meireles and Emmanuel Emenike in the first half.

Eight minutes after half time. Emenike, taking his time on a counter attack, crossed the ball in to the box and found Dirk Kuyt’s head. The Dutchman approached left back Tarık Çamdal, who was marking Pierre Webo, unexpectedly and met the ball with a leaping header. The ball bounced once and leaped over the outstretched hands of goalkeeper Boffin.

Just eight minutes after Kuyt broke the deadlock, the referee awarded a penalty to Eskişehir. Clearing a cross from a corner, Gökhan Gönül headed the ball out for another corner. The ball was, however, judged to have touched Alper Potuk’s arm on its way out. Alper’s effect t on the ball, if he had in fact touched it with his arm, was not a deflection in the slightest.

Necati, who had come on at this point in the place of Bienvenu, stepped up to take the penalty. Whereas last week goalkeeper Mert Günok leaped to his right when he saved a penalty against Konyaspor last week, this time the back-up keeper jumped to his left to save Necati’s shot. Mert knocked the ball out of play from his panther-like pounce and brings his penalty record to two out of two in the month of August.

The stadium was energised after Mert’s save and Fener went on to create more chances to put the game beyond doubt. Kuyt came close to doubling his tally but his shot from just inside the box went above the cross-bar.

Mert was forced to make save after save as the home side’s defence allowed the likes of Swedish international Erkan Zengin chances to shoot from far out. Necati was free to shoot after receiving the ball between Fenerbahçe’s central defenders but his shot went above the cross-bar much like Kuyt’s did minutes before.

The match ended with Fener earning the three points but Ersun Yanal undoubtedly has a lot of work to do if he wants his team to be title contenders.

KASIMPAŞA 3 – 1 KAYSERISPOR

After suffering defeat against Karabükspor last week Kasımpaşa returned to winning ways with a comprehensive victory against Kayseri.

Castro Pereira opened the scoring nine minutes in with a shot from a rebounded corner. The keeper attempted to catch the ball but ended up knocking it back into play for Pereira to take a one-time shot that he could do nothing about. Ertuğrul Taşkıran attempted to make a save but there was nothing he could do as the ball rocketed into his top left corner.

Fouled in the box by Abdullah Durak, Ezequiel Óscar Scarione scored his penalty but was forced to take another by the referee who ruled that Kasımpaşa players had run into the box before the kick was taken. The Argentinian scored his second and the home side were up two to nil.

In the sixty-eighth minute, Dutchman Ryan Babel finished exquisitely making the lead three when he ran through the defense and flicked the ball beyond the keeper who had decided to close down the most likely shooting angle. The ball curved inside to slowly roll into an open net.

Kayserispor for their part did create chances and Jaja scored a consolation goal six minutes after Babel scored the hosts’ third. Scarione passed the ball low to the Brazilian who was waiting in the box. The former Trabzon forward kicked the ball into the keeper’s top right corner from around the middle of the keeper’s box. The match ended that way with the visitors two goals down.

GAZIANTEPSPOR 0 – 0 ANTALYASPOR

Gaziantep got their first points of the season while Antalya got their second scoreless draw. It’s a surprising state of affairs for the Mediterranean coast team – last season Antalya conceded in all but three matches.

An increasingly worrying trend in Turkish football, Gaziantep Montenegrin defender Ivan Kecojević was accused of handling the ball in the midst of blocking a shot from Milan Baroš. Sliding to block the shot, the ball hit Kecojević’s arm and went behind him as Antalya players called for a penalty and let the play die.

The first half continued with both sets of players being content to try and shoot from outside the keeper’s box. Both Gaziantep keeper Žydrūnas Karčemarskas and Antalya keeper Sašo Fornezzi were forced to make saves; routine saves but forced nonetheless.

Cenk Tosun almost pulled of a bicycle kick but the ball grazed his foot as it came in from his left, with his back to goal. Minutes later on the other side of the field, naturalised Turkish citizen Tita curled the ball around Karčemarskas’s outstretched hands but his shot hit the upright to the left of the keeper.

In stoppage time, Serdar Özbayraktar, who had just come on for Cenk Tosun ten minutes earlier was shown a red card. Ismaïl Aissati approached the end of a crossed free kick and he had is arm around Serdar’s neck as he watched two Gaziantep players block him from reaching the ball. Karčemarskas caught the ball and ran to the edge of his box to find a player to throw the ball to. Serdar got his head out of Aissati’s arm and as the players walked back to allow Karčemarskas to throw, Aissati went to ground clutching the left part of his abdomen. All of the players seemed to believe nothing had happened but a moment later the referee blew his whistle and pointed to the penalty spot.

Except he didn’t. After showing Serdar a red card, the referee gave Gaziantep a free kick and the match’s final moments did not produce any chances.

Upon further investigation, Anton Ferdinand seems to have swiped at Aissati’s crotch as he turned, perhaps intentionally. The fifth official was in the perfect position to see. Aissati was clearly in pain from the incident and it is unlikely he faked the incident.

Sunday:

BURSASPOR 1 – 1 GALATASARAY

This weeks’s pseudo-derby was between two sides that couldn’t be on farther away from each other in terms of current form. Galatsaray has already won a cup this season in the Turkish Super Cup and also opened the season with a win against Gaziantepspor. Bursaspor, on the other hand, exited from the Europa League third qualifying round with an embarrassing performance against Serbian side Vojvodina. Last week the Crocodiles watched two late goals against Eskişehirspor continue their run of painful results.

Burak Yılmaz scored on the eve of half time with a great finish one-on-one with the keeper. Hamit Altıntop carried the ball through two Bursa players, refusing to go to ground even in the wake of a tackle from behind. He passed the ball through Bursa’s centre backs to Burak. The keeper, Sebastien Frey, dived to his right but Burak shot above to the Frey’s left and straight into the net.

Midway through the second half a shot from Fernando Belluschi was deflected by Fabio Melo on its way towards goal and hit the cross bar sending it back into play. Belluschi was just outside the keeper’s box.

In the seventy-fourth minute Bursa entered a period of one-touch play as a shot from Belluschi came off a defender to Civelli who sent the ball over the defenders to Batalla who passed the ball inside to Enes Ünal who finished on an open net. The sixteen-year-old had come on three minutes earlier in Tuncay Şanlı’s place and made a sensational start to his professional career by salvaging a hard-fought point against the national champions.

ELAZIĞSPOR 2 – 2 KARABÜKSPOR

Karabükspor striker Gökhan Ünal set the tempo early on when, in the sixth minute, he went for goal from outside the box, keeping the ball on the ground while narrowly missing the far post.

Six minutes later the former Kayserispor and Fenerbahçe striker scored from a stranger circumstance than his narrow miss. Lua-Lua took a shot from the edge of the box and tried to lob the ball above the keeper. His shot came off the bar and bounced in a line parallel to the cross bar. İlhan Parlak headed the ball near the post farthest away from the original shot (The post to the left of the keeper). The ball curved over Elazığ keeper Zülküf Özer and met the head of Gökhan Ünal who brought a simple finish to a play that was anything but.

Lomana Lua-Lua kept play going with shots from far out and brisk dribbling but nothing came of his work. Adem Alkaşi’s ankle was nearly broken from a rash challenge from Gökhan Ünal. The defender’s ankle came directly under the boot of Ünal. After protesting to the referee, both players were given yellow cards.

Serdar Özkan tied the match up thirty-eight minutes in when he scored despite having to get the ball past two defenders and the keeper. Serdar was assisted by way of a well-placed pass from Elazığ number ten Serdar Gürler.

Erdem Özgenç took the visitors back in front with a great piece of individual effort early in the second half. He shot from a tough angle on the keeper’s left relatively far-out from goal. The ball curved over the defense and keeper and into the back of the net.

In the eighty-first minute number ten Serdar Gürler once again provided a goal for his team albeit in an unorthodox manner. French centre back Sébastien Puygrenier looked to have tackled Serdar Gürler from the side. But in reality, the French-born Turk dodged his two-footed tackle and convulsed in the air to make it look as if he had been fouled. He dived.

Seeing as the event happened in the keeper’s box, the referee awarded a penalty and Tidane Sane stepped up buried it, sending Zülküf Özer the wrong way and salvaging a point for the home side.

SIVASSPOR 2 – 0 KONYASPOR

Elevated with confidence from beating Fenerbahçe with three goals in the space of eleven minutes just last week, Konya were made to suffer this time when Sivas scored two within the space of twelve.

The first goal was initiated by Adem Koçak who played a ball high and long to Burhan Eşer all the way from the center line. Burhan bypassed the defense and expertly on his second touch.

A corner kick from Cicinho doubled the home side’s lead. His cross curved inwards to an unmarked Ümit Kurt. He dived at the ball, smashing it with his head to the ground. Cameroonian keeper Charles Itandje was caught unprepared for the strange header and the ball looped over him into the goal.

It’s a welcome result for manager Roberto Carlos who has finally earned his first win as a full-time manager.

Monday:

TRABZONSPOR 2 – 1 RIZESPOR

These Black Sea neighbours are not in the same province but being only sixty-six kilometres away from each other is about as close a pair of top division teams can get without being in the same city.

The match featured Ali Adnan the Iraqi left back who played a major role in Iraq’s semi-final run this summer at the u-20 World Cup held in Turkey. Adnan denied many bigger teams both in Turkey and in Europe proper to join Rize.

In the first minute of the match Trabzon right back Zeki Yavru carried the ball from his familiar surroundings up the field. He passed inward to Adrian Mierzejewski. The Polish number ten took one touch and then let a shot go towards goal. The ball bounced above his countryman Mariusz Pawełek’s hands and into the net.

Tevfik Köse pounced on defensive confusion on Trabzon’s part in the thirty-ninth minute and managed to get the ball past the keeper Onur as well as two well-placed defenders in wake of a corner that had created the chance.

Adrian set up Malouda for a goal similar in some ways to his own in the forty-ninth minute. Adrian received a back pass from Aykut and passed the ball towards an advancing Florent Malouda. Malouda hit the ball with his left without taking a touch from just outside the box into the keeper’s top left-hand corner. Malouda was ecstatic with the goal probably due to the fact that he was entirely frozen out of the squad last season at Chelsea and made no appearances in all competitions.

Late in second half Ali Adnan hit the bottom side of the cross bar from a narrow-angle free kick to the left of the keeper. The Iraqi was unlucky not to have scored at the time; he had beaten the wall and the keeper.

Trabzon had a three-on-one opportunity to score late in the match but Malouda could not get his shot on target. Just as Guiana-born French international had been reminded of the joy scoring brings he also had his reminder of what it feels like to miss easy chances.

ERCIYESSPOR 2 – 4 BEŞIKTAŞ

Beşiktaş came out on top of a six-goal thriller in Kayseri to become the only side in the league who have maintained a one hundred per cent record.

Canadian midfielder Atiba Hutchinson got the game off to a bad start for Beşiktaş as he fouled Yasin Öztekin by pushing him in the box. Belgian forward Björn Vleminckx sent Tolga Zengin the wrong way and scored to make the packed stadium go ecstatic.

Shortly after the penalty fiasco, Beşiktaş bounced back through play-maker Manuel Fernandes. The Portuguese midfielder received the ball by way of a defensive error and took his shoot well, shooting into the bottom right hand corner of the goal from the keeper’s perspective.

Yasin, who had earned the penalty in the tenth minute, got his own name on the score sheet four minutes before half time. A poor defensive header from Adem Ersan allowed Yasin to slip through and score on his second touch. He shot to Zengin’s right while the latter expected him to go to his left.

Tolga Zengin was brought to hospital shortly before half time as he received a kick to the head from Vleminckx. He went to collect the ball and did have it in his hands but the Belgian still performed the motion of a kick and hit Tolga in the head. It may have been Björn’s shin guard which did most of the damage as the force of the collision was not apparent at first. The keeper did not immediately get up and started to hold his head. A Beşiktaş medical staffer asked Zengin to follow his finger with his eyes and Cenk Gönen replaced the former Trabzon keeper.

Five minutes after the restart Gökhan Töre scored from a long-range effort to tie the game up. On-loan from Rubin Kazan, Töre scored his second goal in as many weeks. He shot from just outside the box with the ball taking no deflection on its way to lower right-hand side of keeper Bojan Jorgačević.

Fernandes found the crown of Julien Escude fifteen minutes later from a free kick and the centre back diverted the ball into the back of the net to take the visitors ahead.

Two minutes from the end of regulation time, Oğuzhan Özyakup looked set to try for goal from well outside the box. He decided to pass ahead to Hugo Almeida who finished superbly, kicking the ball to other side of Jorgačević who rushed to close the angle.

Beşiktaş finished the match two goals ahead to come out on top in what was always going to be tough away game.