Beşiktaş held to draw with Trabzonspor

ISTANBUL

Son 4 sezonda ligde Atiba ve Oğuzhan'ın ikisinin birden oynamadığı tek maç var. 28 Ekim 2016'da oynanan maçta Beşiktaş, Gençlerbirliği ile 1-1 berabere kalmıştı.

Turkey’s defending champion Beşiktaş was held to a 2-2 draw against Black Sea giant Trabzonspor late on Oct. 1, losing further ground to league leader Galatasaray, which had won a day earlier.

“This was a beautiful football evening,” Trabzon manager Ersun Yenal said after the game at Beşiktaş’s Vodafone Park.

“Both teams were desirous. We could have won if we could convert the chances we had in the last part,” he said, adding that it was still a good morale for his team in the making.

Encouraged by an impressive win against Germany’s RB Leipzig on Sept. 26, Beşiktaş begun the home game in an attacking pace, breaking the deadlock in the 13th minute when Brazilian attacking midfielder Anderson Talisca found the net in a clean shot from outside the box.

But former Beşiktaş winger Olcay Şahan was quick to equalize the matters eight minutes later with his rare right inside shot.

“This is the most difficult away game in the country,” Şahan said after the game, thanking rival fans for applauding him after the score.
In the 58th minute, Beşiktaş once again took the lead with another long-range shot by Jeremain Lens, however, Trabzonspor intensified its attempts and attacks, and striker Hugo Rodallega headed the ball in the 80th minute to equalize the score once again.

“If Jeremain Lens could have scored at the end of that late breakaway, the three points would be ours. Now, it’s time to move on,” said Beşiktaş assistant manager Şeref Çiçek, who spoke to the media in the absence of his suspended boss Şenol Güneş.

Beşiktaş remains second, five points behind after the draw, behind Galatasaray, which beat Karabükspor at home a day earlier thanks to a last minute goal in the 3-2 goal duel.

Maicon Pereira Roque is the winner, his third in the first seven matches in Turkey’s Spor Toto Super League so far.

The 29-year-old defender was able to score only three goals in the 2011/2012 season when he played in 20 games for the Portuguese club Porto.

In the opening game of the week, on Sept. 29, Fenerbahçe, a third Istanbul giant, bowed 1-0 to Akhisarspor in an away game, ending it with nine men on the pitch.

Sivasspor and Kayserispor beat Antalyaspor and Bursaspor 3-1 consecutively at home games, as Ankara’s Osmanlıspor beat Istanbul’s Kasımpaşaspor 3-0 on Sept. 30.

Newcomer Yeni Malatyaspor drew 1-1 with Konyaspor on Sept. 30 and Alanyaspor won 4-2 against Gençlerbirliği.
Başakşehir, last year’s runner-up, beat another newcomer, Göztepe, 2-1.

The Turkish Super League will resume on Sept. 13 with the Gençlerbirliği - Beşiktaş opener, following a one-week break due to the FIFA 2018 World Cup qualifiers.

Turkey will host second spot Iceland in Eskişehir in the Group I game on Oct. 6 before it visits Finland for the closing game on Oct. 9.