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Canaries and Tarzans in Ziraat Turkish Cup semifinals -- almost
With the suspended Fenerbahçe players -- who missed Sunday’s match against Sivasspor -- back in the fold, the match turned into a practice session for the Yellow Canaries and shooting practice for their strikers. The Canaries easily won 3-0 with first half goals by Brazil playmaker Andre Dos Santos in the 22nd minute, Uruguay defender Diego Lugano in the 25th and Turkey international striker Semih Şentürk in the 40th -- to earn a huge advantage for the second leg in Bursa next Thursday.
Moreover, the Crocs were saved by the woodwork from a complete rout as Özer Hurmacı and Gökhan Ünal’s shots rebounded off the post and back into play in the second half.
Fener an also-ran
Victory in front of thousands of their cheering and drum-beating fans in freezing temperatures in İstanbul on Thursday night could mean that the Canaries are determined to break their cup jinx this season.
As we mentioned in the preview to this match on Thursday, the Canaries have only won the Turkish Cup four times since the inception of this competition in 1962-63, the last time being in 1983.
The record books, however, show that the Canaries have been losing finalists in the cup eight times, meaning that winning the Turkish Cup itself is where the problem lies for Fener, not advancing to the final. For instance, the Canaries were the losing cup finalists last season when they were beaten by the Beşiktaş Black Eagles and sent home with their heads bowed again.
German coach Christoph Daum has said he will turn the tide in the Canaries’ favor this season, but no one seems to believe this because we have heard these vain promises so many times since 1983 that no one takes them seriously anymore.
Good match, saith Daum
“We knew it was going to be a tough match,” Daum said. “It was a good match and we won the first 90 minutes. But there is the second 90 minutes to play next week. The only bad news is that [leftie] Uğur Boral was badly injured and the season appears to be over for him,” he added.
Young Bursaspor coach Ertuğrul Sağlam took a swipe at the referee for disallowing their goal, and waving offside instead. “Television replays showed it was a clean goal,” Sağlam said. Nonetheless, Sağlam asserted that they will take their chances next week and try to beat the Canaries by more than a 3-0 margin to advance. “It is a tall order indeed, but it is not impossible,” Sağlam noted.
Tarzans run riot
Manisaspor, nicknamed the Tarzans, lived up to its name as it mercilessly mesmerized the visiting Denizlispor Roosters 4-1 at Manisa’s 19 Mayıs Stadium.
Goals by defender Hüseyin Tok in the 16th minute, Güven Varol in the 31st and a brace by Canadian star striker Joshua Christopher Simpson in the 64th and 80th gave Manisaspor a resounding victory and virtually turned next Thursday’s return leg in Denizli into a mere formality. The Roosters’ consolation goal came from a penalty converted by Bulgarian forward Emil Rosenov Angelov in the 20th.
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