Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş share the spoils in derby

ISTANBUL

DHA photo

An Istanbul derby between Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş in the Spor Toto Super League ended in a goalless draw late on Dec. 3, with the visiting side Beşiktaş maintaining its unbeaten record this season in all competitions.

The game at Şükrü Saraçoglu Stadium was a drab affair, with the city rivals unable to record any shots on target throughout the entire game.    
  
Beşiktaş, which travels to Kyiv on Dec. 6 for a crucial Champions League match, is now 20 games unbeaten this season, with 10 wins and 10 draws. But it has won just three of its last eight fixtures in all competitions.
Beşiktaş coach Şenol Güneş said he was satisfied with the result.

“As it wasn’t the final game of the season, we focused more on the result than the performance,” the experienced Güneş said after the match, adding that “not losing was not something to be sorry about.” 

“We were facing a major contender on their home ground and could not afford to lose. A victory here would have given us a serious advantage over them. But in any case my players battled hard tonight and came out with their heads held high. The race for the title continues,” he added.

Beşiktaş player Tolgay Arslan was also content. 

“We fought hard and we got one point. We are not happy but we are also not sad,” said the Turkish-origin German midfielder.

“We will return home with one point, and on Tuesday we will play an even bigger match with Dynamo Kyiv,” he added.

Fenerbahçe coach Dick Advocaat sounded less happy.

“Both teams gave everything to get a good result, we had to win to close the gap but Beşiktaş had no such obligation,” the Dutchman told reporters.

“We expended a lot of energy due to the need to win. We watched a real derby. I am satisfied with the struggle of my players and my team really worked hard,” Advocaat added.

Fenerbahçe’s Dutch forward Jeremain Lens rued a missed opportunity to win.

“We could have gotten a better result. We found the positions but we could not score,” Lens said. 

“We had a fight to get a good result but we were not lucky today. I think we deserved a victory,” he added.

The derby was tense with Simon Kjaer and Alper Potuk from host Fenerbahçe and Ricardo Quaresma, Dusko Tosic, and Necip Uysal from visitor Beşiktaş receiving yellow cards.

In another game earlier on Dec. 3, league leader Başakşehir managed to preserve top spot in the league despite dropping two points at home in a 2-2 draw with Antalyaspor.    
 
With the derby draw, Beşiktaş and Fenerbahçe remained in second and third places, trailing by two and six points, respectively.