Beşiktaş wins away to remain league race

ANKARA

Defending champion Beşiktaş defeated Black Sea’s Trabzonspor 2-0 late on March 5 away in the closing game of the league’s 24th week to remain in the tight league race.

Two goals within 10 minutes into the second half helped the Istanbul side beef up its unbeaten league run to seven matches.

In the 71st minute, Spanish striker Alvaro Negredo found Ryan Babel inside the box, who finished easily with a clean shot.

The second goal came in the 78th minute after another pass from Negredo to Babel.

Beşiktaş coach Şenol Güneş praised Negredo, who came from the bench in the 56th minute.

“We played one of our most difficult games. Trabzonspor is not an ordinary team and it can beat any rival when motivated and playing with enthusiasm,” said Güneş, a former Trabzon hero, goalkeeper and coach.

Trabzon coach Rıza Çalımbay complained of a shortage of available players, signaling a major cadre reshuffle at the end of the season.

Beşiktaş is now in third place with 47 points, three behind leaders Galatasaray and Başakşehir.

On March 3, Galatasaray defeated Karabükspor 7-0 away, finding six goals in the first half of the game against a hopeless rival. French striker Bafetimbi Gomis scored four goals.

Last year’s runner-up Başakşehir defeated İzmir’s Göztepe 2-0 to continue its chase, on the same points-level as the leader. Başakşehir Coach Abdullah Avcı was happy with the win, but expressed concern about how often his team had given away the ball.

Fenerbahçe was the sole title contender to drop points, bowing 3-2 at home to Akhisarspor on March 5. Akhisarspor found two goals in the first half thanks to Serginho Mineiro and Evgen Seleznyov. In the second half, the Yellow Canaries’ attacking midfielder Giuliano’s header cut Akhisar’s lead to 2-1, but Akhisar managed to extend the lead with a goal from Daniel Larsson.

Aatif Chahechouhe’s 67th minute goal failed to galvanize Fenerbahçe, which suffered a rare home defeat at its Ülker Arena on the Asian side of Istanbul.

Fenerbahçe, which bowed to Beşiktaş 3-1 a week earlier, has suffered its first back-to-back losses in the domestic league since the 2013/2014 season.

Bursaspor beat Kayserispor with a single goal in the opening game of the week on March 2. Kasımpaşa and Osmanlıspor reached stalemate with a 1-1 draw on March 3. Ankara’s Gençlerbirliği bowed 1-0 to Alanyaspor at home on March 4, when Malatyaspor beat Konyaspor 1-0 away and Central Anatolia handed Antalyaspor a 4-1 defeat.