Lions end October jinx with win over Kayseri

ISTANBUL

Galatasaray forward Burak Yılmaz (L) celebrates with teammate Emmanuel Eboue after scoring against Kayserispor in the Spor Toto Super League. The Turkish international team forward took his goal tally to six goals this season. AA photo

Spor Toto Super League leader Galatasaray beat Kayserispor 3-0 on Oct. 27 to end its five-match jinx.
Goals by Umut Bulut, Cris and Burak Yılmaz clinched the win for the defending champions, who enjoyed their first and only win in the six matches they played in October.

Galatasaray continued its league lead with 18 points in nine matches.

Second-place Medical Park Antalyaspor, who has 15 points, will wrap up the Super League’s ninth round with an important match with title contender Fenerbahçe tonight.

On Oct. 27, Galatasaray opened the scoring account early, when Umut headed the ball in after a cross ball by former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich midfielder Hamit Altıntop.

Galatasaray doubled its lead in minute 32 when a Cris header found the net after a high Selçuk İnan free kick. That was the first Galatasaray goal of the Brazilian defender, who was signed from Lyon in the summer.

Four minutes later it was Burak Yılmaz, last year’s top goal scorer in Turkish league, who found the net, again with an assist by Selçuk İnan.

Galatasaray failed in its chances to increase the lead in the second half, but that was still enough for the Istanbul team who enjoyed bringing a bad streak to an end.

The Lions suffered a defeat at Orduspor and had draws against Eskişehirspor and Gençlerbirliği in the Super League in October. The team also lost 2-0 to Portugal’s Braga and barely secured a draw against Cluj of Romania in the Champions League during that period.

“Of course, we are happy with the win, which came after an unusually long break,” coach Fatih Terim said after the game. “Not winning four or five matches is a long time for Galatasaray and it affected the team psychologically. But today the team played very well.”

The defeat meant Kayserispor, who is coached by Croatian great Robert Prosinecki, remained in the relegation zone.

“We had our positive periods in the game, but they didn’t last long,” said Prosinecki, who had his second match at the Kayserispor helm. “We need time and have to work hard.”

Also on Oct. 27, Mersin İdman Yurdu had its first win of the season, thanks to a 2-0 victory over Istanbul BB. Another relegation battler, Akhisar won 2-1 at Sivasspor.

On Oct. 26, Beşiktaş ended a four-match streak without a win, as it crushed Kasımpaşa 3-1.
Sanica Boru Elazığspor, sitting on the bottom with five points, held Eskişehirspor to a 1-1 draw.

Elazığspor is the only team that has yet to win a game in the campaign.