Sivasspor beats Fenerbahçe, remains atop Süper Lig standings
ISTANBUL
Sivasspor defeated Istanbul club Fenerbahçe 3-1 in a Week 15 match in the Turkish Süper Lig to extend its surprise stay atop standings.
Sivasspor’s victory came in a week when all three title hopefuls based in Istanbul dropped points.
Beşiktaş suffered a shock 2-0 home loss aganst Malatyaspori while Galatasaray conceded two late goals to be held to a 2-2 draw by Ankaragücü at home.
At the Yeni Sivas 4 Eylül Stadium, Sivasspor’s Brazilian forward Fernando Andrade scored the opening goal in the 32nd minute.
In the 59th minute, Emre Kılınç made a close-range finish through Ziya Erdal’s assists, and Sivasspor doubled the gap.
Deniz Türüç found the net with a close range shot in the 85th minute to pull one back for the visiting side.
While Fenerbahçe hoped for a late draw, Sivasspor added a third on a counterattack in the 97th minute when Malian forward Mustapha Yatabare’s low cross found Ziya Erdal, who did not make a mistake inside the penalty area.
With the comfortable win, Sivasspor is in the first of table with 33 points after winning seven consecutive league matches. Fenerbahce remained in 25 points.
Fenerbahçe finished the game with nine men, as Garry Rodrigues was dismissed with a red card when he brought down midfielder Erdoğan Yeşilyurt. Meanwhile, Ozan Tufan was sent off after arguing with the referee.
At Beşiktaş’s Vodafone Park, Malatyaspor won 2-0 with two late goals to end the home side’s six-game winning streak.
Congolese player Thievy Bifouma opened the scoring in the 85th minute, and Macedonian player Adis Jahovic successfully converted a penalty shot in the dying minutes to seal the victory.
With this result, Malatyaspor increased its points tally to 23, while Beşiktaş remained with 27 points.
On Dec. 14, Galatasaray drew with 10-man Ankaragücü 2-2.
At Turk Telekom Stadium in Istanbul, neither team was able to break the deadlock in the first half. In the second half, Sofiane Feghouli scored the opening goal in the 53rd minute, while Younes Belhanda doubled the gap in the 83rd minute for the home side.
Ankaragücü’s Jamaican forward Dever Orgill was sent off in the 72nd minute.
Galatasaray supporters were ready to celebrate the victory when Ankaragücü forward İlhan Parlak found the net with a close range shot in the 88th minute.
Greek defender Stelios Kitsiou equalized the match three minutes later, putting the home side fans in agony.
It was the sixth draw of the season for Galatasaray, while Ankaragücü ended a six-game losing streak but remained at the bottom of the league standings.
Also, in the Süper Lig in Week 15 games, Alanyaspor and Antalyaspor played a goalless draw, Rizespor lost 3-0 at home to Kasımpaşa, Gençlerbirliği beat visiting Göztepe 3-1 and Gaziantep grabbed a three-goal victory against Kayserispor at home.
