Fenerbahçe regains its form with milestone win

ISTANBUL- Hürriyet Daily News

Fenerbahçe attacker Miroslav Stoch (L) celebrates his goal, as teammate Özer Hurmacı comes to congratulate him against Mersin İdman Yurdu in a Spor Toto Super League match on Jan 29, 2011. The Slovakian winger has had seven goals in this campaign. İHA photo

Fenerbahçe beat Mersin İdman Yurdu on Jan. 29 to become the first team to claim its 1,000th win in the history of Turkish football leagues.

Henri Bienvenu and Miroslav Stoch were on the score sheet for Fenerbahçe, who cut the gap between leader Galatasaray to two points, while Nduka Ozokwo of Nigeria had the only goal for troubled Mersin İdman Yurdu.

Even apart from marking a milestone, the victory meant a lot for Fenerbahçe, who bounced back from a midweek defeat to Istanbul BB.

Fenerbahçe had one of its worst displays in recent years, as it was beaten 3-2 to Istanbul BB on Jan. 26.

“It was probably one of the hardest nights I lived as Fenerbahçe coach,” Aykut Kocaman said after the Mersin victory. “To respond the way we did was important and I am happy with the win.”

Bienvenu, who has been highly criticized since the start of the season, scored his sixth league goal for Fenerbahçe only on the eighth minute of the game with a close-range effort.

Then Stoch made it two with a beautifully placed scorcher outside the box. The Slovakian winger is maintaining a stunning form this season and is starting to earn a name among football fans for his memorable goals.

In the second half, Ozokwo cut the difference to one, but it could not stop the bleeding for Mersin, who has lost all six matches it played in 2012. The Mediterranean team is 13th and placed only six points ahead of the relegation zone, a far cry from its early season performance, which saw the side climb as high as second spot.

Earlier on Jan. 29, Trabzonspor continued its goal spree with a 4-0 victory over hapless Ankaragücü, thanks to a prolific Burak Yılmaz.

The Turkish international forward was on the score sheet twice, along with newly-acquired midfielder Olcan Adın and Ankaragücü’s İshak Doğan’s own goal, giving no chance to the home team.

Burak took his tally to a stunning 25 goals and closed in on Tanju Çolak’s 39-goal haul, where the former Galatasaray star won the European Golden Shoe award in the 1987-88 campaign. With a six-goal playoff stage to be played at the end of the regular season, Burak has a good chance of breaking the longstanding record.

Burak’s domination could be understood better when compared with his peers. Gençlerbirliği’s Herve Tum is the second man on the high-scoring list with 10 goals to his name.