Kayserispor scores four to dent Fenerbahçe’s title dreams

KAYSERİ

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Kayserispor, which is fighting against relegation, dealt a major blow to Fenerbahçe’s dreams of winning the Spor Toto Super League title on Jan. 29 when it destroyed the Istanbul club 4-1 at home.

Turkish international striker Umut Bulut put the home side ahead in the 32nd minute at the Kadir Has Stadium, while Fenebrhaçe leveled the game in the 41st through Mehmet Topal.

The second half, however, was a different story, with midfielder Giray Vural leading the Kayserispor charge. 

Vural put his side ahead in the 70th minute, set up a goal for Brazilian striker Welliton in the 88th minute – one minute after he replaced Bulut – and scored another with a fabulous long-range shot in the dying minutes of the game. 

With the heavy loss, Fenerbahçe remained in fourth spot with 35 points, seven points behind Başakşehir and six behind Beşiktaş, which was to play Konyaspor at home late on Jan. 30.

Speaking after the game, Fenerbahçe’s Dutch coach, Dick Advocaat, said his squad needed reinforcements.
“We need other players; we need to bring better-quality names here,” he said.

“Our club is doing everything to help us, that’s not the solution at the moment. I do not know how to explain it as a coach,” he added.

The experienced coach said he knew “the problem and the solution to it,” but he would not reveal it publicly.

“As Fenerbahçe, as the squad, the technical staff, we should think about and determine how we will proceed,” said Advocaat. “I know the source of the problem, I know the solution, but it is not right to share it here in front of the press.”

Kayserispor coach Sergen Yalçın, who signed with the team on Jan. 4 and fielded five of the seven players the club signed during the winter transfer window, was delighted with the victory.

The former Beşiktaş and Turkish international star noted that they had a very short time to prepare for the game.

“We are going through a distressing process because we are still in the relegation zone,” Yalçın told a post-game press conference.

“We will have the happiness of this victory tonight and start concentrating on our next game tomorrow morning.”

Kayserispor sits in 16th spot with 16 points from 19 games. Four of those points have come from games against Fenerbahçe, as the teams drew 3-3 in Istanbul in the first half of the season. It also means that more than one third of the 18 goals the Central Anatolian club has scored so far in the league have been tallied against Fenerbahçe.

Fenerbahçe’s shocking defeat came in a week its city rival Galatasaray roared again with a 6-0 home victory against Akhisar Belediye. 

Portuguese midfielder Bruma scored twice for Galatasaray in Jan. 28’s game, while Dutch midfielder Wesley Sneijder also shone with three assists. Semih Kaya, Yasin Öztekin, Selçuk İnan and Sinan Gümüş scored once each in the victory.

Elsewhere, Başakşehir beat Bursaspor 1-0 at home with a stoppage-time goal, Trabzonspor won its first game at the club’s new home, Akyazı Stadium, 4-0 against cellar-dweller Gaziantepspor, and Gençlerbirliği and Osmalıspor shared the spoils in Ankara in a 1-1 draw.

In Jan. 28’s games, Antalyaspor beat Alanyaspor 2-1 and 10-man Rizespor won 1-0 against Karabükspor at home.