Depleted Antalya squares off against Lions in cup quarters

The Antalyaspor Scorpions were beaten by the slightest of margins, 1-0, by the Beşiktaş Black Eagles in their Super League clash in İstanbul on Friday with the help of a highly dubious penalty, so the Scorpions are not in the best of moods going into this evening’s match.

But after Galatasaray’s shoddy away performance against the cellar-dwelling Denizlispor Roosters on Sunday, which the Lions luckily won 2-1, the inconsistent Antalyaspor Scorpions may possibly begin to feel that anything is possible when they take on the Lions today.

Moreover, it is going to be a grudge match for the Antalyans, who were beaten 3-2 at home by the Lions in their Super League encounter on Dec. 11. What precautions the Antalyaspor Scorpions, who led 2-0 but ended up losing that match 3-2, are going to take today remains to be seen.

Defense is key for Lions

The Dec. 11 match and the horrendous Galatasaray defending are still fresh in the minds of the Lions, and they will definitely guard against making the same mistakes again. A rock-solid defense, no doubt about it, will be of utmost importance for Galatasaray today because Antalya’s best chance of an upset will be to attack with everything it’s got.

That means Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard is very likely to give newly acquired Aussie defender Lucas Neill, who performed exceptionally well in his debut against Gençlerbirliği in week 18 of the league, a chance on the starting XI.

But the same cannot be said of Mexico striker Giovani Dos Santos, acquired on loan from Tottenham, and Brazil’s Joao Alves from Manchester City. Both players are formless, to say the least, and performed well below par against Denizlispor, even though Jo managed to score the winning goal for Galatasaray.

And with Czech forward Milan Baros still nursing a broken foot and Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Shabani Christophe Nonda released as a free agent, Rijkaard may be tempted to give Jo another chance and the Galatasaray fans are anxiously waiting to see more glimpses of their Brazil international. “We are battling on three tough fronts [the Super League, the Turkish Cup and the Europa League],” Rijkaard said this week. “If we guard against complacency and raise our level of concentration, we can triumph in all three competitions,” he further noted.

Rijkaard’s hopes will again rest heavily on captain-playmaker Arda Turan, who scored the opening goal against Denizlispor on Sunday, to deliver the goods in Antalya today.

Antalya’s dilemma

Antalyaspor, at least on paper, needs victory at all costs today. In other words, the Antalya Scorpions must play open, attacking soccer and not catenaccio, in order to accomplish this feat.

And that’s the heart of the matter. Offensive or defensive play or a little bit of both? That is the Antalyaspor dilemma. For if coach “Şifo” Mehmet decides to send his men forward, Galatasaray has many players, old and new, who can exploit the gaps in midfield and defense. If they play defensively, they might not score enough goals needed to give them an advantage in the second leg in İstanbul on Feb. 10.

No wonder Şifo” Mehmet sounded subdued but cautiously optimistic when he talked to reporters after a training session on Monday. “There is not much to say about Galatasaray,” he said. “It is one of the best teams in the land with a huge star-studded roster of players. They want to win the cup; we do, too,” he stated. Antalyaspor is highly depleted going into this match. Veteran Tunisia international striker Ali Zitouni, attacking midfielder Kerim Zengin, striker Hakan Özmert and defender Orhan Ak -- a Galatasaray reject -- will all be missing this evening.

Yet “Şifo” Mehmet said they are bent on going as far as it takes. “If we can eliminate Galatasaray, then we can stay the course,” he added. However, the coach would not comment on Galatasaray’s horrendous performance against Denizlispor on Sunday.

The other first-leg quarterfinal today pits İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyesi against Trabzonspor at İstanbul’s Atatürk Olympic Stadium.

Match-ups at a glance 

17:00 İstanbul BşB-Trabzon

Referee: Özgür Yankaya

 20:00 Antalya-Galatasaray

Referee: Bülent Yıldırım

Note: The matches will be aired live on TRT 1 today.