2002-2003 1.Süper Lig

Week 24 - Analysis by Serbülent Şengün

from Gençlerbirliği-Gaziantepspor game

Another week of intense games, especially at the bottom of the standing, has passed by. From eight to the eighteenth, every team is in some kind of danger of relegation, while at the top, three teams look like they are going to chase the title till the end.

The regular league fixtures started with the game between Gençlerbirliği and Gaziantepspor on Friday. On the 9 games played, there were 2 draws, 4 games were won by the home sides and 3 were won by the visiting teams. Home sides scored 12 of the 25 goals scored this week, while visitors managed 13.

Games :

Gençlerbirliği (3) – Gaziantepspor (6): Once again title contenders Gençlerbirliği had to play most of the game with one man missing, and once again they succeeded to win. This was the best game of the week. Both teams rushed in to score an early goal, with the home side creating the better chances at the start. There were no goals scored in the first half, but this was mainly due to the heroics of Ömer at Gaziantepspors goal, and Hasan, who is actually the reserve goalkeeper, at Gençlerbirliği’s goal. Both of the goalkeepers made great saves to keep their team in the game, and right before the end of the first half Gençlerbirliği got one player sent off. The second half continued to produce great football. Despite being one man down home side scored the first goal and a beauty it was, the visitors answered back in 8 minutes through another beautiful goal. Both teams continued to squander chances until Gençlerbirliği scored their second through yet another beautiful goal from a freekick. The last 15 minutes of the game had everything football had to offer, shots hitting posts, great saves, great passes, scissor kick etc. but no one managed to score another. In the end the home side won another game, after a great night of football. (2–1)

Elazığspor (15) – Fenerbahçe (4) : Another good game of football, if not as good as the opening game. Both teams needed the points desperately and both teams lived up to that desperation. Elazığspor scored the first goal of the game after missing two early chances, which were exact copies of the goal they scored. Fenerbahçe’s center defence seemed like a freeway in which any player could run around without any stop signs. After the goal Fenerbahçe tried to wake up from the sleep, and they found the equalizer, while the Elazığspor defence was in some kind of a sleep. The half ended one a piece. The second half started with another goal of the home side, where once again Fenerbahçe’s defence looked like they had fallen asleep once again. Things changed when Fenerbahçe substitute Ceyhun stepped up on the pitch. The game inclined to the visitors. Ceyhun struck one from 25 metres, and then Serhat scored another goal to give the visitors the edge. But for no more than 3 minutes as Elazığspors Ze Roberto scored a beautiful 25 meter freekick to tie the game once again at the 82nd minute. The last 8 minutes of the game both teams squandered many chances, and the game ended with 6 goals giving one points for each team. (3-3)

İstanbulspor (12) – Galatasaray (2) : OK, they are contending for the title, but to be honest, they played like they are in the “avoiding the relegation” fight, yet they managed to win. So obviously mentally they are up to the competition. Throughout the game it was İstanbulspor that dominated the field, but they have their chronic finishing problem and they just can not manage to score easy goals. Galatasaray scored two goals which were finished within 5 meters of the goal, and were made by finishing balls crossed from freekicks. So there you have it, nothing else to say about them but that they know what to do with their crosses. İstanbulspor ?, well they play solid, but someone has got to step up to score some goals. When you catch a title contender having such a bad day, you can not go along without punishing them. (1-2)

Adanaspor (13) – Denizli (9) : Adanaspor was on the road of getting out of their slump and all they needed was a W to make things better. Denizli on the other hand, after being eliminated from the UEFA cup, look like they are just hanging out, no intensity whatsoever. The home side rushed into the game, creating chances left and right, but it was the visitors that scored the first goal, when in an awkward moment all Adana defence and most of the Denizli players were waiting for the referee to call an out, but he didn’t and that ball turned out to İlyas who punished everyone else for watching. From then on it was once again all Adanaspor. 6 minutes later they equalised, and for the rest of the game they tried to find the game winner. They managed to find that goal at the 82nd minute through a penalty, and Necati, the talented striker who had been silent for weeks finally found the chance to find the net. Overall the home side deserved to win, while Denizli needs to find out what they want to do for the rest of the season. (2–1)

Samsunspor (11) – Trabzonspor (5): With the rising form of Samsunspor, I expected that the home side would give Trabzonspor a hard time, but it did not happen. Trabzonspor with their young and talented squad are playing one of the most up tempo and beautiful football in the league. Their only match is Gençlerbirliği in this sense. Again at this game they dominated the field, through the great football of Marco Aurelio and Gökdeniz. They scored three and missed about 7 more. Fevzi Samsunspor’s goalkeeper flunked on the first goal, but he saved at least three to avoid the increase of goal difference. Right at the end of the game Trabzonspor’s goalkeeper gave away a goal like a gift to give the home side some kind of consolation. (1-3)

Altay (14) – Malatyaspor (7) : Altay is having a hard time, and Malatyaspor had to make amends for last weeks poor performance. With Duro and Tolga back in action Malatyaspor seemed to find its integrity. They scored the first goal of the game in the first 15 minutes. This goal I believe is a Malatyaspor classic for the season, as the combination of a Duro cross and Tolga header has found the net one more time this season. From there on Altay looked for the equaliser, but their attacks seemed pretty weak. Malatyaspor looked for the counter attack, and they found their second goal in the second half. They found a few more chances but they could not manage a third. Overall the visitors deserved their win, and Altay has to reorganise themselves mentally. (0-2)

Bursaspor (16) – Göztepe (17): This was a very crucial game for both teams. Bursaspor looked like they had regrouped to get out of the slump. The stadium was almost sold out, and they were aware that this could be the beginning of the end of the slump, and so it happened. The home side created great chances to score and they finally got their three pointer at the 40th minute through Okan, the league’s leading goal scorer, who had been silent for ages. At the second half Bursaspor’s Fatih got a red card leaving the team in a tense situation. However they managed to live through the stress as Göztepe could not create a chance to equalise. As a matter of fact it was again the home side that created more chances to score. After the game, the relief and the confidence boost of Bursaspor players were clearly visible. (1-0)

Kocaelispor (18) – Diyarbakırspor (10) : Time after time, Kocaelispor plays ball, but they cannot win. That has been their story all throughout the season, and there was nothing different this week. The visitors found a goal at the 5th minute through their inform striker Murat Hacıoğlu, Kocaelispor hit back 5 minutes later. At the remaining 80 minutes the home side did everything at their disposal to grab a lead, but it did not happen. Diyarbakırspor played solidly in defence, and got pretty much what they came for considering the situation Kocaelispor was at. The draw did not help Kocaelispor at all. (1-1)

Beşiktaş (1) – Ankaragücü (7): The leaders had no concentration whatsoever, and Ankaragücü did not want to play either, so….. a boring game. Beşiktaş had a little action in the first half, but after they scored there was nothing left to call football except that there were 22 men on the field and one ball. Beşiktaş was obviously having concentration problems considering their game against Lazio Thursday, but what on earth was Ankaragücü’s problem. Not much to say really. (1-0)

Goals of the week :

Finally a week where there was no lack of beautiful goals.
1. Ceyhun (Fenerbahçe) : He is not the man to score easy goals, again this week scoring one of the best goals of the season, he twisted around his defender and shot a marvellous 25 meter shot to leave the goalkeeper barely helpless.
2. Mustafa Gürsel (Gençlerbirliği) : In a game in which goalkeepers were tremendous, this was probably the only way to score. His first time shot from 20 meters was yet another beauty.
3. Erdal (Gaziantepspor) : Beautiful game with beautiful goals continued when after a back pass from Viola, the youngster hit a 20 meter first timer to leave goalkeeper Hasan helpless.
4. Marco Aurelio (Trabzonspor) (Second Goal) : A ball deflected from Samsunspor defence, Aurelio made a quick chest control and hit a first time looper, a classy finish to match his classy game.
5. Ze Roberto (Elazığspor) : A 40 meter freekick shot fiercely into Rüştü’s goal, Ze Roberto scored one of the best freekick goals of the season.
6. Zdebel (Gençlerbirliği) : Another 30 meter freekick, another beautiful goal. This was the game winning goal in the game, and thus, besides the beauty, had an important impact to the outcome. Critical and classy.

Team of the week : Gençlerbirliği SK - Ankara and Trabzonspor K

Both teams played great football. This comment is beginning to get kind of regular, but what else is a man to do, when both teams play the ball they play.

Player of the week : Marco Aurelio (Trabzonspor)

The master of the orchestra, passes, defends, scores, dribbles, the guy does pretty much everything. Another week of classy football for the Brasilian, who is one of the biggest assets for Trabzonspor - Oh, and should I say he scored two goals.