The general consensus among sports writers and commentators was that a draw would be the best result for cash-strapped Diyar at Avni Aker. But the southeastern representative proved all pre-match forecasts wrong. Giray Kaçar broke a deadlock in the 34th minute, heading in a free kick from Argentine midfielder Gustavo Colman to give the Storm a 1-0 lead. But Cameroon forward Thierry Fidjeu-Tazemeta, also known as “Weah,” equalized for Diyar in the 69th with a powerful shot that left Trabzonspor's Senegal keeper Tony Sylva completely spellbound.
The 26-year-old Cameroonian sealed Diyar's victory in the 90th minute, capitalizing on a defensive blunder by Trabzonspor captain Egemen Korkmaz to slot the ball into the back of the net.
“We had a well-organized team before us,” Trabzonspor's Belgian coach Hugo Broos said after the match. “We did not show as much determination in this game as we did against Sivasspor a week ago [when Trabzon won 2-1 away]. The reason? I don't know, we'll find out,” he added.
But pity the Trabzon Black Sea Storm, which had 10 glaring scoring chances but could only convert one. Diyarbakırspor had only three and converted two. Soccer is not a meritocracy and has never been.
Elsewhere on Saturday, Ankaraspor held visiting newcomer Manisaspor to a 1-1 draw at the capital's 19 Mayıs Stadium. Manisapor played with 10 men for over 20 minutes after Canadian player Joshua Simpson was sent off in the 70th for a second bookable offense.
