Upbeat Kayseri Tigers aim for honorific ‘winter championship’

Going into the weekend’s matches, the Kayserispor camp, which has led the 17-team standings for two weeks in a row, is brimming with confidence. Finishing as the leader at the winter break is the talk of the town. The coach, officials and even the fans are gloating -- here, there and everywhere.

For coach Tolunay Kafkas, himself a legendary Trabzonspor and Turkey midfielder, there is every reason to be optimistic because he has no injured or suspended players.

Confidence sky high

“We’ve come a long, long way together, through good times and bad times, to achieve what we have so far,” Kafkas said during a training session at their Karpuzatan facilities on Wednesday.

“It’s tough at the top, no doubt about it. What’s important though is for us to play our game, maintain our system and let the others think about the rest,” he further stated.

“Good things are happening at Kayseri, but what we need is consistency. And if we can garner maximum points [today], there is no reason why we shouldn’t finish as leaders,” he added.

Club spokesperson Oğuz Ortaköylüoğlu also hopped onto the bandwagon to heap praise on Kayserispor. “We have set ourselves a major target. And that is finishing the season’s first half as leaders,” he said in unequivocal terms.

“There may have been ups and downs, but we have been consistent for five years and our success now is no fluke,” he further asserted.

Goal machines

Democratic Republic of the Congo-born Portugal forward Ariza Makukula and Argentine striker Franco Dario Cangele are almost synonymous with Kayserispor nowadays because they are scoring with gay abandon. Kayserispor has netted a total of 27 goals in 16 outings -- 13 of them by Makukula and Cangele.

These two stars also scored the two goals for the Tigers in their 2-1 away victory over İstanbul Büyükşehir last weekend. And if Makukula and Cangele can find their rhythm today, then the fans at Kadir Has can expect a goal feast.

With the poor Antalyaspor Scorpions, beaten 3-2 at home by Galatasaray last weekend, counting their walking wounded, this match could not have come at a better time for Kayserispor.

Antalyaspor coach Mehmet “Şifo” Özdilek will be missing nine players today through injury and suspension. Midfielder Kerim Zengin, defender Vahap Işık, midfielder Volkan Altın, strikers Veysel Cihan and Pini Balili and reserve goalkeeper Hasan Sönmez are all injured, while Brazilian striker Sidney Cristiano dos Santos (Tita) and Turkish midfielder Ertuğrul Aslan are suspended.

One man’s misfortune can be another man’s fortune, and so Antalyaspor’s woes could turn into a blessing for the rampaging Kayseri Tigers.

Lions host Gençler

Galatasaray coach Frank Rijkaard was scratching his head after his reserves were beaten 1-0 away by Austrian whipping boy Sturm Graz in their last UEFA Europa League group match on Wednesday. And he will scratch it even more if the Lions drop points in İstanbul against gritty Gençlerbirliği this evening.

The Lions fought back from two goals down to beat injury-hit Antalyaspor 3-2 away in the league last weekend, but the general consensus was that the Lions were not impressive despite the victory. Rijkaard therefore will continue the daunting task of trying to win over skeptical Lions fans in today’s match against Gençler.

The Dutchman rested several regular starters on Wednesday, meaning Arda Turan, Harry Kewell, Elano Blumer and Shabani Nonda will be playing with fresh legs today, so there will be no excuse whatsoever for dropping points.

Gençler’s German coach Thomas Doll, who cannot keep his mouth shut, spilled the beans on Wednesday when he said: “Galatasaray has quality internationals. But it also has defensive flaws, and we will try to exploit them.”

This should be a timely warning to Rijkaard to fix the Galatasaray defense, which is famous for leaking goals like a sieve.

Live on LİG TV / 13:00 Kayserispor-Antalyaspor

Live on LİG TV / 20:00 Galatasaray-Gençlerbirliği

Today’s fixtures and referees

13:30 Gaziantepspor-Denizlispor

Referee: Özgür Yankaya

13:30 Eskişehirspor-Diyarbakırspor

Referee: İlker Meral

13:30 Kasımpaşa-Manisaspor

Referee: Deniz Çoban

13:30 Kayserispor-Antalyaspor

Referee: Yunus Yıldırım

16:00 Ankaragücü-Sivasspor

Referee: Abdullah Yılmaz

20:00 Galatasaray-Gençlerbirliği

Referee: Kuddusi Müftüoğlu