Draw puts Fener behind leader
ISTANBUL
Fenerbahçe drew with Black Sea giant Trabzonspor 1-1 late on Sept. 1 in Turkey’s top-tier football league, following two consecutive wins that have already excited its fans who have been disappointed in the previous years.
On the third match day of the Turkish Super League, Fenerbahçe’s Garry Rodrigues scored the opening goal at the 17th minute, while Trabzonspor’s Caleb Ekuban leveled the score at the 28th minute.
Fenerbahçe, thus, increased its points to seven and was placed at second place behind Alanyaspor, while Trabzonspor got their second draw in the league and was placed fifth spot with five points in three matches.
Fener coach Ersun Yalan did not miss a chance to praise his players for their efforts and enthusiasm despite the two points they lost on their home pitch.
“One can question the individual performances of our players, but they will fix the problems. We will also have new players on board. But I have to underscore that we had a very willing team all throughout the game,” he said in a post-match interview.
Trabzonspor coach Ünal Karaman admitted that they were beaten in the midfield.
“I believe that the national team break will be good for us,” Karaman said.
The Turkish Super League will give a break along with other European countries next week for the UEFA 2020 European Cup qualification games.
Turkey will face Andorra at home on Sept. 7 before visiting Moldova on Sept. 10.
Elsewhere, in one of the two opening games of the week on Aug. 30, Istanbul’s Kasımpaşa beat Ankaragücü of the Turkish capital with a single goal, as Galatasaray, the defending champion, survived a late night thriller, beating Kayserispor 3-2 with a buzzer beater.
Beşiktaş, another title contender, came from behind against visiting Rizespor but failed to score a winning goal on Aug. 31
Konyaspor and Antalya drew: 2-2, as Göztepe and Denizlispor failed to score against each other.
Başakşehir beat Gençlerbirliği 2-1 away on Sept. 1.
Sivasspor and Gazisehir drew 1-1. Alanyaspor managed to keep its perfect start record, beating Yeni Malatyaspor 3-2 away to defend its driver’s seat at the end of three weeks.
