Leader Sivasspor starts league’s second half with victory

ISTANBUL-Anadolu Agency

Turkish Super Lig leader Sivasspor started the second half of the season picking up where it left off, beating Beşiktaş 2-1 on Jan. 19 night.

In an away match in Istanbul, Sivasspor’s goals came by Erdoğan Yeşilyurt in the seventh minute and Mustapha Yatabare in the 45th, while Adem Ljajic scored Beşiktaş’s sole goal in the 33rd minute.

Sivasspor was down to 10 men for around 20 minutes after Uğur Çiftçi was given a red card in the 67th minute.

Following the victory, Sivasspor is in the top spot with 40 points after 18 games, while Beşiktaş is in the seventh place with 30 points, 10 behind the leader.

The leader’s victory came in a week other league title contenders also won their games.

On Jan. 18, Başakşehir thrashed Malatyaspor 4-1 at home to extend its unbeaten run to 16 matches, with 10 wins and six draws.

Başakşehir is currently in second place, trailing Sivasspor by four points.

Defending champion Galatasaray also made a winning start to the second half of the season, beating Denizlispor 2-1 on Jan. 19.

At home at Türk Telekom Stadium in Istanbul, Galatasaray’s goals came from Turkish international Emre Akbaba in the 26th minute and Colombian star Radamel Falcao in the 57th minute, while Muhammet Özkal scored Denizlispor’s sole goal in the 64th minute.

Galatasaray’s new signings Uruguayan left-back Marcelo Saracchi and Nigerian right-winger Jesse Tamunobaraboye Sekidika both made their debuts for the club.

The Istanbul club is currently in sixth spot with 30 points.

In Trabzon, Trabzonspor stunned Kasımpaşa 6-0 to stay in third place with 35 points.

The Black Sea side’s six goals was the most scored for the club in a single match this season.

Elsewhere, Fenerbahçe beat Gaziantep 2-0 on Jan. 18.

In an away football match in the 18th week game in Gaziantep’s Kalyon Stadium, Fenerbahçe’s goals came by Max Kruse in the 51st minute and Vedat Muriqi in the dying minutes.

After scoring his team’s second goal, Muriqi received a red card.

Fenerbahçe currently sits in the fourth spot with 34 points.

Also on Jan. 19, Alanyaspor beat cellar-dweller Kayserispor 5-1 at home to climb up to the fifth place in standings.

In other Week 18 games, Ankaragücü’s winless streak in the league extended to 12 games with a 1-0 home loss against Konyaspor and Göztepe grabbed a three-goal victory at Antalyaspor.