The Away Section in Denizi yesterday prior to kick-off. In fine voice as usual !!
Greetings Kankas and Kankies.
Talking of meek
and mild animals, Ankaragucu started the match like lambs (bah .. bah .. bah)
and allowed Denizli to dictate the flow of the match from the off !
This was not the
way I expected the team sitting 2nd top of the league to play
against a team in 3rd bottom position. So, it was all doom and gloom from the off
till the end for Battle Damaged Kanka Damon and I watching in The Kara Simit
Cafe.
Ankaragucu fanatiks happy smiley faces outside the Kara Simit Cafe BEFORE kick-off !!!!
Denizlispor 3
ANKARAGUCU 1
The writing was
on the wall from the 10th minute when Denizli was awarded a penalty
when Sedat brought down an attacker just inside the box. As an ex-Class 1 referee, I can understand
the referee’s decision and in all fairness he had no hesitation in pointing to
the spot. Sedat put his leg against the
attacker’s thigh and there was only one way he would go and that was ........
to the ground.
It could be
argued that he made a meal of it, but, as I said, the referee obviously saw it
as a blatant foul. Korcan almost saved
it and managed a hand to it, but it went in and so it was tails-up for Denizli
as they continued to take the game to Ankaragucu.
A few minutes
later came Ankaragucu’s only serious attempt in the first half when Kenan was
put through, but he shot straight at the goalkeeper.
From then, it was
scrappy play with lots of niggling fouls and bad temper from both sides.
Then, fast
forward to the 41st minute and an unbelievable decision from our
Coach Ismail Bey. The one player in
midfield who was showing any enterprise and endeavour was taken off !! Arrrrrrrgh !!! It wasn’t as if Mbamba was injured or
showing any discomfort, and as he walked off his face spoke a thousand words
! Putsila replaced him, but it could
be argued that both of them should have started !!
4 minutes later
came the controversial and contentious decision of the match when the referee
gave Alihan a 2nd yellow and therefore a red card. It was an immediate decision with right hand
to right pocket for yellow and followed immediately by left hand to left pocket
for red ! Alihan had been on the
receiving end of some vicious tackles and elbowing to the face during the match
but I don’t think his tackle on the Denizli attacker was malicious. Alihan made the tackle near the left
touchline, so there was no imminent danger to Korcan. Alihan won the ball, but the referee
indicated that he had stamped on the attacker’s foot in doing so. Okay, the referee was up with play, but this
was a harsh decision and one which changed the face of the match !
It took about 10
minutes or so before the match could re-start with chaos on the touchline and
in the VIP Section. The cameras didn’t
pan to the VIP Section, but is is reported by our Maniac Kanka Harun, who was
in the vicinity, that our Chairman, Mehmet Yigner, became embroiled in an
argument with the Denizli management and blows were exchanged ! A punishment could be on the cards for this
me thinks !!!
Back on the
touchline and heated words were directed
to the referee, and substitute, Mehmet Sak, obviously overstepped the mark and
was subsequently shown a yellow card.
Order was eventually restored, but from the re-start Denizli broke out
on the left. The ball was crossed into
the box and an incoming unmarked Denizli attacker looped a header over the
exposed Korcan. Time of goal ....... 45
plus 17 – perhaps one for the Guinness Book of Records ?!
Lots of
mumblings of discontent in the Kara Simit with the bleak outlook of starting
the 2nd half 2-0 down and playing with 10 men against a fired-up
Denizli who at that stage were flattered by the scoreline !
Both teams had
so far served-up a bad tempered and niggling footie match which could quite
easily be described as 3rd Division footie !!!
Into the 2nd
half then and 4 minutes in Ankaragucu gifted Denizli and ‘offside goal’ after
some insane passing in defence direct to a Denizli attacker. Denizli was cutting the Ankaragucu defence
to pieces and Alihans’s absence was beginning to cause panic stations ! Korcan came to the rescue soon after with a
good save after excellent approach play from Denizli.
However, the 3rd
goal came 10 minutes later, and to be honest, it came as no surprise. Denizli broke away from a goalkeeper
clearance and Ankaragucu’s defence was posted missing at the speed of the break. The ball was cut back from the right to an
unmarked striker who angled his shot across Korcan and Denizli were giving us a
demonstration on how to score on the break.
As I said on
Whatsap yesterday, Parlak was posted Absent Without Leave during the 1st
half, but he revealed himself twice in the 2nd half to remind us
that he was still on the pitch !! Firstly,
he had a headed attempt midway through the 2nd half which was
parried by the goalkeeper. He attempted
a shot from the rebound but it struck a defender’s arm and went out for a
corner. The ball to arm was on the referee’s
blindside, therefore no penalty was given !!
Secondly, Parlak
had a goalbound effort well saved by the Denizli keeper on the 71st
minute mark, and that was the extent of his match contribution !!
5 minutes later
and Umut had a great chance when he was picked-out with a cross, but with only
the goalkeeper to beat, he sent a weak shot straight at him
10 minutes to
go, came the best chance of the match.
Putsila weaved his way through about 3 tackles and sent a great ball to
Kenan who copied Umut’s previous attempt and shot weakly at the
goalkeeper. I hesitate to criticise
Kenan who worked tirelessly throughout !
Note for Ismail
Bey .........please practice this on the Training Ground this week ! When you are one on one against a
goalkeeper, you ‘dummy’ one way to commit him, take the ball around him, and
then slot it into an empty net. QED !!!
Deep into time
added on and a consolation goal for Ankaragucu which it has to be said was a well
constructed goal. A cross from Putsila
on the right and a bullet of a header from Umut high into the roof of the net.
In the final
analysis, a well deserved 3 points for Denizli in their fight to avoid
relegation, and I should add that I hope they don’t go down.
As for
Ankaragucu, they need to change their match philosophy and start their
remaining matches in the belief that they can WIN them. I repeat (lost count of how many times I’ve
said this on this blog)......... a footie match lasts for effin 90 plus minutes
!!!! Yesterday they shot themselves
in the foot and I could hear the cheers and laughter from Rize and Umraniye all
the way to Ankara !!!
Ismail Bey now
has a major job on his hands to prepare them for next Saturday’s visit of Giresun,
and more importantly, the ‘six pointer’ in Umraniye the following weekend !
It’s not too
late to turn the corner after yesterday’s hiccup. Let’s do it Ankaragucu !!!
All the best
from Eski Kanka Jim
