Beşiktaş out, Fener’s Turkish cup path cleared

ISTANBUL

Beşiktaş was knocked out of the Turkish Cup after a shocking 1-0 defeat to Boluspor, playing at the second-tier League One.

Fenerbahçe will be the only member of the country’s “big four” in the Ziraat Turkish Cup quarterfinals after Beşiktaş joined the list of big-name casualties.

Second-tier side Boluspor shocked Beşiktaş 1-0 in the round of 16 of the domestic cup yesterday. Earlier this week, Galatasaray lost 1-0 to Sivasspor on March 20 while Trabzonspor suffered an extra-time 2-1 defeat at the hands of Medical Park Antalyaspor on March 21 to bow out of the competition as well.

Fenerbahçe comfortably beat Samsunspor 3-0 on March 21 to advance to the quarterfinal. The win gave Fenerbahçe a spot in the last eight of the competition.

The Yellow Canaries have not won the Turkish Cup since 1983, and the 29-year period has been among the most notorious droughts in Turkish football. But the team will boast a serious chance to end the drought in the absence of 14-time cup winner Galatasaray, last year’s cup champion, Beşiktaş, and Trabzonspor.

Apart from Fenerbahçe, Medical Park Antalyaspor, Sivasspor and Boluspor, Eskişehirspor, Kardemir Karabükspor and Bursaspor will also be in the quarterfinals.

Boluspor is the only lower-division team left in the competition.

The eighth quarterfinalist was to come from the winner of last night’s Kayserispor-Istanbul BB tie.