Trabzon, Beşiktaş drop points in league

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Hugo Almeida, Beşiktaş. AA photo

Trabzonspor and Beşiktaş blew chances to come closer to the top spots during a Spor Toto Super League weekend when their fierce rivals met.

Trabzonspor gave away its lead to suffer a 2-1 loss against Istanbul BB yesterday, hours before the leading Galatasaray was to meet second-place Fenerbahçe.

A day earlier, Beşiktaş was held to a 1-1 draw against Gençlerbirliği.

Beşiktaş has 27 points while Galatasaray has 29 and Fenerbahçe has 27, with Trabzonspor remaining at 23.

Ekrem Ekşioğlu and Pierre Webo found the net for Istanbul BB after Brazilian forward Paulo Henrique opened the scoring for Trabzonspor.

Elsewhere, midfielder Olcay Şahan equalized for Beşiktaş 15 minutes after Gençlerbirliği took the lead in the 20th minute, thanks to defender Ante Kulusic.

Beşiktaş had several chances in the second half but could not find the winning goal, mostly due to a wasteful night by Portuguese forward Hugo Almeida.

“We were the better side in the second half and found chances,” Beşiktaş coach Samet Aybaba said, “I wish we could have won, but that did not happen.”

Elsewhere yesterday, Kardemir Karabükspor got its second straight win thanks to a 1-0 victory over Sivasspor to jump out of the relegation zone, climbing to ninth with 21 points.

In another crucial match for the relegation battle earlier in the weekend, Mersin İdman Yurdu beat Akhisar 2-1. The two teams are still occupying the lowest two spots of the 18-team league, with Mersin at 15 points and Akhisar at 11.

Elazığspor, sitting 16th with 16 points, held Gaziantepspor to a 0-0 draw.

The Eskişehirspor vs. Bursaspor game ended in a 2-2 draw on Dec. 14.