Beşiktaş’s unbeaten run ends at Kasımpaşa

ISTANBUL

Beşiktaş suffered its first defeat of the Spor Toto Super League season on Dec. 17, losing 2-1 at tiny city rival Kasımpaşa.

With the loss, Beşiktaş fell three points behind leader Başakşehir, which maintained its unbeaten record with a 1-0 home victory over Trabzonspor earlier in the day.

Kasımpaşa came from behind with second-half goals against the defending champion at the Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Stadium in central Istanbul. Cenk Tosun put the visiting side ahead in the 31st minute, but Tunay Torun equalized two minutes into the second half.

Gökhan Gönül’s own goal three minutes later gave Kasımpaşa its fifth win of the season in 15 games.

Beşiktaş coach Şenol Güneş said the early goals in the second half took his side by surprise.

“We were expecting our rival to play a defensive game,” he said. “We scored without surrendering any chances in the first; we were in total control. But we dropped back with two shocking, unexpected goals at the beginning of the second half and could not recover.”

Kasımpaşa coach Kemal Özdeş said the mood of the team was down in the dressing room at halftime.

“I told my players that an enthusiastic and playful game in the second half would bring us the match,” he told a post-game press conference.

“We started the second half with a goal and scored the second later thanks to the Beşiktaş players’ shock,” the coach added.

Başakşehir’s victory against struggling Trabzonspor came thanks to a goal by Bosnian midfielder Edin Visca in the 63rd minute. The loss was the seventh of the season for the Black Sea side, which has garnered a mere 18 points in 15 games.

Still unbeaten, Başakşehir sits at the top of the Spor Toto Super League standings with 35 points from 15 games. Beşiktaş is second on 32, while Galatasaray was third with 29 points pending a fixture late on Dec. 18 against Osmanlıspor.