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Antalya has one foot in Turkish Cup semifinals
But that’s only speculation. The truth of the matter is that as things now stand the Antalyans have the advantage. That is it!
The Galatasaray Lions, who have clinched the Turkish Cup a record 14 times, looked completely disorganized against the tiny but gutsy Antalyaspor Scorpions, who have never ever won the Turkish Cup. The Turkish Cup again lived up to its name as the “tournament of upsets,” where it is not uncommon to see super minnows in Turkish soccer send the heavyweights packing humiliatingly.
Antalyaspor proved the truism without doubt on Wednesday as it completely dominated the match for a well-deserved victory.
The new signings on the Galatasaray squad were literally like somnambulists roaming aimlessly around the pitch. Aussie defender Lucas Neill, acquired from Everton, performed well below par.
Brazil striker Joao Alves De Assis Silva, or just Jo, signed from star-studded Manchester City, struggled upfront until he was stretchered off the pitch in the 36th minute.
But his substitute, Mexico leftie Giovani Dos Santos Ramirez, acquired from Tottenham Hotspur, was worse than any player in the Turkish amateur leagues. And so when Galatasaray captain-winger Arda Turan redirected a Caner Erkin corner kick into the back of the net in the 10th minute to put the Lions up 1-0, it was really against the run of play.
However, justice was attained in the 26th minute when Ivory Coast striker Serge Pacome Djiehoua’s deflected shot beat young Galatasaray keeper Ufuk Ceylan neat and clear for Antalyaspor’s equalizer. And a goal by striker Necati Ateş, a Galatasaray reject, in the 40th settled the score: Antalyaspor 2, Galatasaray 1.
“I had said before this match that if we can eliminate Galatasaray, then we will stay the course,” Antalyaspor coach “Şifo” Mehmet said after the match. “Now the first 90 minutes are over, and we are looking forward to the remaining 90 minutes in İstanbul next week,” he stated.
For his part, Galatasaray’s Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard spoke like a real loser. “I can’t say we played well,” he said. “We lost all the midfield battles and made too many turnovers. We played badly and lost; Antalyaspor was the better side and won,” he added.
And nothing could be more true, Mr. Rijkaard, if we may add. But the truth of the matter is that the lamentations after every debacle do no one any good.
Rijkaard should consider returning to his old guard, the players who brought Galatasaray to where it is so far. The so-called star players signed from the English Premier League have not gotten acclimatized to the team yet. And perhaps by the time they do, the 2009-10 season may well be over.
İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor and the Trabzonspor Black Sea Storm shared the spoils after playing to a 1-1 draw in the other first-leg quarterfinal, which was played in İstanbul.
Germany-born striker Tevfik Köse put İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor ahead in the 31st minute, and Croatia defender Hrvoje Cale leveled things up for Trabzonspor two minutes from time.
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