Başakşehir extends its lead, Fener hit by draw again
ANTALYA
AA photo
Turkish Spor Toto Super League leader Medipol Başakşehir stormed Mediterranean resort city’s Aytemiz Alanyaspor on Oct. 2, taking another step toward proving that it is not the rabbit in the marathon but a merciless serious title contender.As for the so-called “big four,” Beşiktaş and Galatasaray won to remain two points behind the leader, but Fenerbahçe suffered another draw and Black Sea’s Trabzonspor was humiliated by Kardemir Karabükspor just before a break to the league for national teams’ FIFA 2018 qualification campaigns.
Alanyaspor dominated the home game in the first half but Edin Visca of Istanbul’s Başakşehir found the net in the 30th minute when he dribbled into the box area and made a clean strike.
At the start of the second half, Mehmet Batdal volleyed the ball inside in a set piece, taking the cushion to two points. Emre Belözoğlu assisted Alexandru Epureanu in another set piece in the 53rd minute. Cengiz Ünder and Mustafa Pekdemek scored later, taking the final score to 5-0.
After the game, Başakşehir coach Abdullah Avcı said his team found it difficult to play under the heat at the start of the game and criticized the federation for placing its side’s games in the early hours of the day over the past two weeks, ignoring the importance of their games.
Başakşehir won five of the first six games in the league and has not been defeated yet.
“We have a beautiful story and we are trying to enrich this,” Avcı said.
In the same hours, Galatasaray was playing against Antalyaspor, another Mediterranean coast team, but at home in Istanbul.
Antalyaspor’s Deniz Kadah broke the deadlock in the 17th minute and the underdog found a few other chances in the first half.
However, after Lukas Podolski replaced injured Wesley Sneijder, Galatasaray dominated and equalized the game with Selçuk İnal’s spectacular free-kick in the 67th minute, before Podolski scored two more.
“I am very happy for the result. It is also important for me as a coach because we showed the way we wanted to play,” said Galatasaray’s coach Jan Olde Riekerink after the game.
“We wanted to play the position game and quick transition. We wanted to dominate the game and I think everyone saw today that we did,” he said.
Later on Oct. 2, under Dutch coach Dick Advocaat, Fenerbahçe played against Ankara’s strong club Osmanlıspor in Ankara, in the closing game of the week.
The home side found an early goal when its player Papa N’Diaye converted a penalty in the 9th minute.
Coming from the bench, Fenerbahce’s Robin Van Persie equalized in the 55th minute but neither side found a winner in the remaining time.
“They have very good players,” Advocaat praised their opponent. “The way we played in the first half was not good enough, not strong enough. If you want to win here [against Osmanlıspor], you have to be in your best and in the first half we were not in our best,” he said. “Too many players were not in the game. Simple.”
The week started with the goalless Akhisar Belediyespor-Gençlerbirliği game on Sept. 30.
On Oct. 1, Kasımpaşa grabbed its first win this season after playing against Kayserispor.
Karabükspor beat Trabzonspor 4-0, as Beşiktaş won 1-0 away against Çaykur Rizespor, thanks to a last-second golazo by Adriano, its summer signing from Barcelona who came off from the bench.
Gaziantepspor won 3-2 against Bursaspor.
Atiker Konyaspor beat newcomer Adanaspor 1-0 on Oct. 2.
Alanyaspor dominated the home game in the first half but Edin Visca of Istanbul’s Başakşehir found the net in the 30th minute when he dribbled into the box area and made a clean strike.
At the start of the second half, Mehmet Batdal volleyed the ball inside in a set piece, taking the cushion to two points. Emre Belözoğlu assisted Alexandru Epureanu in another set piece in the 53rd minute. Cengiz Ünder and Mustafa Pekdemek scored later, taking the final score to 5-0.
After the game, Başakşehir coach Abdullah Avcı said his team found it difficult to play under the heat at the start of the game and criticized the federation for placing its side’s games in the early hours of the day over the past two weeks, ignoring the importance of their games.
Başakşehir won five of the first six games in the league and has not been defeated yet.
“We have a beautiful story and we are trying to enrich this,” Avcı said.
In the same hours, Galatasaray was playing against Antalyaspor, another Mediterranean coast team, but at home in Istanbul.
Antalyaspor’s Deniz Kadah broke the deadlock in the 17th minute and the underdog found a few other chances in the first half.
However, after Lukas Podolski replaced injured Wesley Sneijder, Galatasaray dominated and equalized the game with Selçuk İnal’s spectacular free-kick in the 67th minute, before Podolski scored two more.
“I am very happy for the result. It is also important for me as a coach because we showed the way we wanted to play,” said Galatasaray’s coach Jan Olde Riekerink after the game.
“We wanted to play the position game and quick transition. We wanted to dominate the game and I think everyone saw today that we did,” he said.
Later on Oct. 2, under Dutch coach Dick Advocaat, Fenerbahçe played against Ankara’s strong club Osmanlıspor in Ankara, in the closing game of the week.
The home side found an early goal when its player Papa N’Diaye converted a penalty in the 9th minute.
Coming from the bench, Fenerbahce’s Robin Van Persie equalized in the 55th minute but neither side found a winner in the remaining time.
“They have very good players,” Advocaat praised their opponent. “The way we played in the first half was not good enough, not strong enough. If you want to win here [against Osmanlıspor], you have to be in your best and in the first half we were not in our best,” he said. “Too many players were not in the game. Simple.”
The week started with the goalless Akhisar Belediyespor-Gençlerbirliği game on Sept. 30.
On Oct. 1, Kasımpaşa grabbed its first win this season after playing against Kayserispor.
Karabükspor beat Trabzonspor 4-0, as Beşiktaş won 1-0 away against Çaykur Rizespor, thanks to a last-second golazo by Adriano, its summer signing from Barcelona who came off from the bench.
Gaziantepspor won 3-2 against Bursaspor.
Atiker Konyaspor beat newcomer Adanaspor 1-0 on Oct. 2.