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Champion Beşiktaş back in Super League championship race
Teenage left back İsmail Köybaşı, acquired from Gaziantepspor this season, scored from some 30 meters with a cracker of a shot in the 16th minute to break the deadlock -- and that was the only thing that separated the two teams.
The match was played under heavy rain, strong winds and on a slippery pitch difficult to walk on, let alone run. So the Eagles not only beat Ankaragücü, they also beat a more formidable adversary -- Mother Nature. This victory, without doubt, has put the Black Eagles within striking distance of the Super League frontrunners.
This win, though by the slightest of margins, was a morale booster for the Eagles ahead of the tough UEFA Champions League Group B match against German champion VfL Wolfsburg at İnönü on Wednesday.
Eagles no longer a laughingstock
What a difference four games can make! Not too long ago, in week seven, to be more precise, the Eagles, with one game in hand, were placed in an unfamiliar 13th place with only six points from one win, three draws, two losses, three goals for and five against.
The Eagles became a laughingstock in the league, were booed and insulted by their own fans and were lambasted from all sides by the merciless sports media for their worst start to a season in living memory.
Now after 11 weeks the Eagles have 21 points, a commendable performance, indeed. But it is worth noting that the Eagles, like all the other teams in the league, were awarded three points and three goals after Ankaraspor was relegated to the Bank Asya Lig 1 (second division) by the Turkish Soccer Federation (TFF) for its “shady” deals with Ankaragücü.
“I said before that we were down but by no means out, and the results speak for themselves now,” Beşiktaş coach Mustafa Denizli stated in his post-match news conference. “We have jumped on the winning bandwagon, and there’s no turning back.”
Denizli also criticized the TFF for not scheduling this match on Friday to give them ample time to prepare for Wednesday’s match against VfL Wolfsburg. “It is the duty of the TFF to think about teams with European commitments. And we are speaking not only for ourselves, but also for every team that falls under this category.”
Scorpions and Crocs share booty
The Antalyaspor Scorpions held the visiting Bursaspor Green Crocs to a 1-1 draw, thereby putting an end to Bursaspor’s five-game winning streak.
Ivory Coast striker Serge Pacome Djiehoua put “Şifo” Mehmet’s Antalyaspor ahead in the 24th, heading home a corner kick taken by Brazilian striker Sidney Cristiano Dos Santos, popularly known as “Tita.”
Bursaspor’s equalizer also came from a dead ball situation in the 70th when central midfielder İvan Ergiç towered above the Antalyaspor defense to head the ball into the back of the net.
Antalyaspor finished the game with 10 men after defender Şenol Can was sent off by referee Fırat Aydınus in the second minute of injury time. With too many controversial calls, ref Aydınus was arguably the worst man on the pitch.
Arbitration board approves ban for Bilica
Turkey’s soccer arbitration board has rejected an appeal by Fenerbahçe against a three-match ban imposed on Brazilian defender Fabio Bilica by the Turkish Soccer Federation’s Disciplinary Committee due to a brawl between Fenerbahçe and Galatasaray players before their derby last weekend. “Bilica’s case was examined, and the appeal by the Fenerbahçe club was rejected. In making this decision, videos of the match were screened and the case was thoroughly discussed,” said the board in its decision. The board also ruled that if unsportsmanlike conduct is not caught by the referee, it does not mean the perpetrators will go unpunished. İstanbul Today’s Zaman
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