Fener Canaries perch at summit at halfway point

“We were lucky to win,” Daum said after the match. “But that should not conceal the fact that we played well. Trabzonspor also had its moments, but I think luck favored the better side,” he further stated.

“We finished as leaders in the UEFA Europa League, and we are also leaders in the domestic league. This is very good performance. So I praise my players, my chairman, fans and everyone who has contributed to this success. I am very happy, and I say we will return to the second half of the season a better and stronger side,” he added.

This was coach Şenol Guneş’s first defeat in three outings in his “fourth coming” to Trabzonspor. And the loss was indeed hard to bear. “From now on, we have to look at where we ought to have been, not where we are,” Günes said at his post-match press conference. “We will try to make amends in the second half and improve the standard of play,” he added.

İstanbul sets the pace

The Canaries ended the first half with 37 points, followed by the Galatasaray Lions with 36, Bursaspor with 35, Kayserispor with 34 and defending champion Beşiktaş with 32. This means that the three İstanbul soccer aristocrats -- Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş -- who have monopolized the Turkish league since its inception in 1959 remain in the leading pack.

But minnows such as Altay, Göztepe, Eskişehirspor, MKE Ankaragücü, Bursaspor, Sakaryaspor, Kocaelispor, Gençlerbirliği and recently Kayserispor have all lifted the Turkish Cup, some more than once.

But it is worth pointing out that only four teams -- Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Beşiktaş and Trabzonspor -- have won the league championship. And the fact that Trabzonspor last lifted the coveted silverware in 1983-84 means the league, unfortunately, has turned into an all-İstanbul affair -- and will continue to be so. Every season Anatolian pretenders pop up, but they later fade away like the morning dew.

It ain’t over yet

Fenerbahçe is the “winter champion,” but the record books show that the leader at the halfway point does not usually win the league championship. Last season Sivasspor was the winter champ, but it was the Beşiktaş Eagles who clinched the crown in May. Even if the Canaries don’t win it, the championship looks certain to remain in İstanbul.

The winter break should be a time for real soul-searching -- for the players, the coaches and of course the referees.

Just too many refereeing mistakes were made in the season’s first half; too many mistakes were also made during Sunday’s Trabzonspor-Fenerbahçe match. The league needs better and more professional refereeing standards in the second half.

And we thank the Turkish fans for their maturity in putting up with some of the horrendous refereeing errors and urge them to keep it up.