Trabzonspor upbeat despite draw at home

TRABZON

Turkish Süper Lig leader Trabzonspor inched towards its first title in almost three decades despite a 1-1 draw at home against defending champion Beşiktaş on April 3.

“We will be the champions, we should just wait for it to be official,” Trabzonspor coach Abdullah Avcı said after the game.

“I think we can celebrate the title around the end of [the holy Muslim month of] Ramadan.”

The former Turkish national team coach asked Trabzonspor supporters to be ready to celebrate.

“I want our supporters to prepare their flags, start celebrations. It will be a double joy with bayram,” Avcı said, referring to the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday celebrated at the end of Ramadan.

At Medical Park, Andreas Cornelius broke the deadlock to give Trabzonspor a 1-0 lead in the 56th minute.

Michy Batshuayi missed a penalty for the visiting side in the 69th minute before Valentin Rosier leveled the score in the 71st.

Beşiktaş finished the match with 10 men after Cyle Larin was sent off in the 80th minute.

Trabzonspor sits comfortably atop the Süper Lig standings with 71 points in 31 matches, 13 points ahead of its closest rival Konyaspor.

Trabzonspor was the first club to break the three big Istanbul
clubs’ monopoly in winning Turkish league titles when it claimed the trophy in the 1975-1976 season.

It dominated the league from there and won five consecutive league titles, including the 1980-1981 season, and added another in the 1983-1984 season, earning the nickname “The Black Sea Storm.”

The club came close to winning the league again on several occasions since, most notably in the 2010-2011 season, but fans’ longing for a league title continued.