Nine-goal defeat gives Manisa conniptions

TRABZON

Tabzon and Manisa coaches got involved in an exchange of words over the 9-0 scoreline. AA Photo

Trabzonspor showed no mercy to Manisaspor in a Ziraat Turkey Cup game Dec. 25, triggering a hot debate between the respective managers about the ethics of running up the goal tally.

Manisa’s unlucky goalkeeper, Murat Demir, burst into tears at Trabzonspor’s Avni Aker Stadium in the wake of a game he will probably never forget. Both coaches tried to comfort Murat after the game before they got involved in an exchange of words over the 9-0 scoreline.

“I have nothing to say about why they were that assertive,” said Dilaver Mutlu, the Manisa coach, in a post-game interview. “Their coach should evaluate the issue.”

However, Trabzonspor coach Ersun Yanal, who steered Fenerbahçe to last season’s championship, expressed frustration at the accusation.

“What nonsense is this?” he asked. “Not being assertive is levity. This is not our problem, but theirs.”

The score was only 2-0 at half, but the Black Sea Storm buffeted the Aegean club with four goals in the first 10 minutes of the second. Ultimately, five different Trabzon players found the net, with Soner Aydoğdu posting a hat-trick.

Trabzon did not score any goals after the 78th minute.

The win was Trabzorspor’s biggest ever, beating previous 7-0 shellackings of Adana Demirspor in 1995 and Kasımpaşa in 2010.

The defeated coach said his team was concentrating on the PTT First League race, something many other clubs have also been doing in deploying second-string lineups.

Earlier in the competition, Galatasaray beat fourth-tier Balçova Yaşamspor of İzmir 9-1. However, the Istanbul side had an excuse for the cruelty, as Yaşamspor’s goalkeeper pledged to beat Galatasaray by at least four goals in a social media posting before the fixture.