Last-gasp goal over Manisa keeps Canaries firmly in playoff race

The victory at Manisa's 19 Mayıs Stadium not only reduced the gap between the Canaries and runaway leader Galatasaray to four points, it also kept the Canaries firmly in the playoff race for this season's championship.

As is known, the Super League leader will not automatically be the Turkish champion from now on. As decreed by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF), the champ will be determined by a playoff among the top four teams at the end of the regular season.

Therefore, finishing in the top four is of utmost importance. The “Big Four” -- Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, Beşiktaş and Trabzon -- are currently on top and this is good news for league sponsors and broadcasters.

Back to the 19 Mayıs Stadium. The Manisaspor-Fenerbahçe encounter on Monday was still deadlocked at 1-1 in the fifth minute of added time (95th), and it was therefore only natural that some shivering fans were already leaving the 19 Mayıs Stadium and heading home.

Then, all of a sudden, Fenerbahçe winger Caner Erkin was brought down outside the Manisa box and referee Kuddusi Müftüoğlu awarded a free kick for this infringement.

Fener lefty midfieder Emre Belözoğlu sent the ball to the Manisa penalty area that was headed by Brazilian midfielder Cristian Baroni that deflected off Manisaspor's Turkey international midfielder Yiğit İncedemir and that sailed into the back of the net to give Fenerbahçe a hard-fought 2-1 win.

Thrilling match

After a goalless first half, the goals rained in after the break. Caner opened the scoring for Fener in the 55th minute, capitalizing on a cross from Czech winger Miroslav Stoch to bang in the ball past Manisa keeper İlker Avcıbay.

But Manisaspor's Canadian forward Joshua Christopher Simpson erased the deficit six minutes later, beating Fener first-choice keeper Volkan Demirel from a very difficult angle after a perfect pass from Ömer Aysan Barış.

The Tarzans, as Manisaspor is popularly called, then held on until the fateful 95th minute, when they conceded a second goal to lose the match and extend their winless streak to eight games -- four draws and four defeats.

Misfiring Bienvenu

Fenerbahçe's Cameroonian striker Henri Bienvenu, until he was replaced by Recep Niyaz in the 79th, displayed his expertise on how clear scoring chances can be squandered. And one therefore cannot stop doubting the wisdom of the Canaries in keeping this misfiring striker on their squad.

Like every Fener fan, coach Kocaman was a happy man on Monday as the depleted Canaries -- without captain-playmaker Alex de Souza, midfielder Selçuk Şahin, striker Semih Şentürk, left back Özgür Çek or right back Bekir İrtegün -- were still good enough to overcome the Tarzans at home.

“This was our best performance on the road this season,” the coach said. “We dominated play until we conceded the equalizer. We were kind of demoralized, but didn't give up and were eventually rewarded for our efforts and determination [with a late goal],” he noted.

And with Bienvenu's poor form in mind, Kocaman indicated they may buy back their former striker, Mert Nobre, from Mersin İdman Yurdu. Mersin has said it wants Fener to swap striker Semih for Nobre in order for this deal to materialize, but Semih has stated categorically that he will not go to Mersin.

Kayserispor and Gaziantepspor shared the spoils after a 1-1 draw at Kayseri's Kadir Has Stadium.