Title hopeful Başakşehir suffers shock in 4-0 defeat against Kasımpaşaspor

ISTANBUL

Başakşehir suffered an unexpected 4-0 loss against Kasımpaşaspor on Feb. 12, making it miss its chance to climb back to the top of the Spor Toto Super League standings and failing to capitalize on its closest rival’s loss.

Beşiktaş, which suffered a 2-1 shock defeat at Karabükspor’s field on Feb. 10, remained atop the standings, two points ahead of Başakşehir.

The game in Istanbul was practically over in the 13th minute for Başakşehir, with the home side’s defender Titi scoring the opener in the 10th minute and forward Ade Büyük adding another one three minutes later.

While many expected the title hopeful club to make a comeback in the second half, as it did many times this season, Kasımpaşa continued to dominate the game. Forward Samuel Eduok scored his side’s third goal in the 82nd minute, while midfielder Andre Castro declared the score two minutes before the final whistle. 

In Karabük, substitute Ermin Zec put the home side ahead in the 50th minute with a highly contested goal. The player was in offside position in the lead up to the goal, replays showed. 

Yevhen Seleznyov scored Karabükspor’s second goal in the 73rd minute before Africa Cup of Nations hero Vincent Aboubakar scored a consolation goal for the visiting side just before the final whistle.

Beşiktaş was led by assistant coach Tamer Tuna as its coach, Şenol Güneş, served a one-match ban for his altercations with opponent players in last weekend’s cup game loss against Fenerbahçe.

“We aim for the championship, this is always on our minds and on our players’ minds,” Tuna said after the match.

“We will move forward without ever losing our concentration. For this, we have full confidence in our team, players and in ourselves,” he added.

Fenerbahçe, another title hopeful club, also dropped its points, failing to win against 10-men Bursaspor.

The home side held Fenerbahçe at a 1-1 draw with a penalty goal in the 88th minute, after Moussa Sow scored for the visiting side in the 22nd minute, also from a penalty shot.

Bursaspor’s Boban Jovic was sent off after receiving his second yellow card in the 43rd minute.

The referee of the game, Halil Umut Meler, was in hot waters after the game, with both his penalty decisions severely criticized by pundits.

Fenerbahçe coach Dick Advocaat pointed his finger at the referee when asked about his choices of substitutions.

“We had the chances to score a second and a third goal, but after such a penalty decision, the questions you will ask should be ‘how can the referee rule such a penalty?’ The decision was like a joke. It was like the referee waited for a moment like that [to award a penalty shot],” the Dutchman said after the game.

“I’m really angry. We did not lose, but it was like a loss. Our team did this, it was entirely our fault. Really unbelievable,” he added.

Trabzonspor on Feb. 11 extended its winning streak to four games by beating Osmanlıspor with a 1-0 in an away game.

Trabzonspor has won all its games since the winter break of the Spor Toto Super League, climbing up to the sixth spot in the standings.