Everything to play for as lame Lions host Antalya in second-leg quarters

For a few tantalizing moments in the opening minutes of last Wednesday’s match, the Lions took the game to Antalyaspor and moved forward in search of goals, knowing they had to win or at least draw to gain the advantage for today’s second leg. The Lions were rewarded with a goal from captain-playmaker Arda Turan in the 10th minute.

Thereafter Galatasaray slid into that horrendous performance that has characterized its play in the season’s second half. The Antalyaspor Scorpions got back into the game after an equalizer from Cameroon striker Serge Pacome Djiehoua in the 26th and a goal by striker Necati Ateş, a Galatasaray reject, in the 40th, put the match beyond reach.

Uphill task

The Galatasaray Lions therefore go into this evening’s match with a 2-1 deficit and will need a much-improved display to overcome this deficit. But that, indeed, is a tall order because the Lions are not performing well these days.

With Shabani Nonda let go as a free agent, Milan Baros, Harry Kewell and newly acquired Joao Alves nursing various forms of injuries, the Lions have no strikers to bang in the goals. Dutch coach Frank Rijkaard has tried many things but to little or no avail.

The Lions could not beat a 10-man Kayserispor in the league on Sunday because makeshift forwards Mustafa Sarp, newly signed Mexican Giovani Dos Santos Ramirez and leftie Caner Erkin are not natural strikers, in the real sense of it, and therefore just could not put the ball into the back of the net. You can’t win if you don’t score in soccer and that is a dilemma Dutchman Rijkaard is facing.

The Lions do not need to score a hatful of goals because a win by the slightest of margins, 1-0, would be enough for them to go through on the away goals rule. The problem, however, is that the Lions have no one on the squad to score goals.

And Nonda is reportedly laughing his head off. “They [the Galatasaray Lions] made the biggest mistake of their lives by sending me away. They might as well forget about goals; it’s that simple,” he said this week.

Scorpions set to sting Lions

The Antalyans hold a slim lead going into this evening’s match, and “Şifo” Mehmet’s men seem determined to defend that advantage to the very end.

“Galatasaray is one of the best teams in the league,” Antalyaspor Chairman Hasan Akıncıoğlu said on Monday. “But we are going to do all we can to eliminate Galatasaray and advance to the semifinals. And I have confidence in our players and technical staff,” he further stated.

Antalyaspor defender Yalçın Ayhan, another Galatasaray reject, should expect an unwelcome reception when he steps foot into Ali Sami Yen this evening. “Soccer is a manly game for manly men,” Yalçın gloated after Joao was stretchered off the pitch in last Wednesday’s match.

Rijkaard harshly criticized Yalçın in his news conference after the Kayseri match on Saturday. And you can rest assured the Galatasaray fans in the stands will try to complete their coach’s unfinished job this evening.

The game starts at 8 p.m. and will be refereed by Bünyamin Gezer.

The other cup second-leg quarterfinal today will be between Trabzonspor Black Sea Storm and İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor -- a match that will be played at the Yeni Rize Stadium in Rize because Trabzon’s Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium is undergoing renovation.

Both teams shared the spoils after playing to a 1-1 draw in İstanbul last Wednesday. Striker Tevfik Köse put İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor ahead in the 31st minute, and Croatia defender Hrvoje Cale equalized for Trabzonspor two minutes from time.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the rampaging Black Sea Storm is expected to sweep aside Abdullah Avcı and his İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor lads.

Under the tutelage of Şenol Güneş, in his fourth coming to Trabzon, the Storm has gone from bad to better. The team has won five and lost only one in its six league games under Güneş. Trabzonspor beat Ankaragücü 3-0, Denizlispor 1-0, Sivasspor 3-1, Diyarbakırspor 2-1, Manisaspor 3-0 and only lost 1-0 to Fenerbahçe.

In the Ziraat Turkish Cup group B qualifiers, the Storm lost 2-1 to Galatasaray, then went on to beat Denizli Belediyespor 6-0, Ankaragücü 2-1 and Orduspor 2-1 to qualify for the quarters.

Judging from current form, the Storm is the favorite. But form does not necessarily determine the outcome of games in the Ziraat Turkish Cup -- “the tournament of upsets.” Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m., and the referee will be Hüseyin Göçek.

Live on TRT 1 / 16:30 Trabzonspor-İstanbul BşB

Live on TRT 1 / 20:00 Galatasaray-Antalyaspor