2002-2003 1.Süper Lig

Week 4 - Analysis by Serbülent Şengün

"Up in the air" - from Elazığspor - Gaziantepspor game

The week started of with the Champions League qualifying round game of Fenerbahçe against Feyenoord. A traumatic game indeed for Fenerbahçe fans, a 2-0 home ground defeat that left them out of the champions league and slid them into a little domestic turmoil.

And with Friday the excitement was back again. A total of 34 goals were scored this week, so far the highest in a week. The home sides scored 18 whereas the visitors managed 16. 4 matches were won by home sides, 4 matches were won by the visitors and again this week only one draw. This is the third consecutive week in which there was only one draw. Does it mean anything? I will argue it does, I believe the teams are more concentrated in winning the games then in securing a single point. Everybody seems to believe they can beat anybody, which is increasing the quality of the league.

Games :

Beşiktaş - Diyarbakırspor : Third consecutive win for Beşiktaş, third consecutive loss for Diyarbakırspor. Beşiktaş pretty much controlled the game from the beginning till the end. The first goal was pretty interesting as two Diyarbakırspor veteran defenders Burhan and Nuri was incapable to kick a very slow coming cross from the right and Pancu scored easily. The mediocrity of defending was shameful to the two experienced players. The second goal came in the second half from a set pieces lay up by Sergen and Tayfur who were both substitutes. (2-0)

Malatyaspor – Galatasaray : The quality of the game was very high considering it was played under a burning sun and 33 degree Celsius heat. In the first game that Malatyaspor played on home ground this season, Arif had the opener for Galatasaray in the first half, scoring his sixth in four games. Malatyaspor equalized with their captain Fazlı after a beautiful lay up from the left side. Galatasaray scored again with Ümit Karan; and then it was all Malatyaspor. The fighter character of the team showed its face, and after missing a couple of chances Fazlı again equalized. A draw was pretty much the just score, and so it was. (2-2)

Adanaspor – Trabzonspor : The beautiful run by newcomers Adanaspor was ended on home ground by the first goal Trabzonspor managed to score in 356 minutes. Newly transferred Fatih Tekke scored a late, funny looking goal to end the drought Trabzon faced in the previous games. Overall, not a very interesting game. (0-1)

Altay – Ankaragücü: It was an interesting game indeed. The opener came from the home side, the visitors equalized through a goal in which Altay’s goalkeeper Altay (it is interesting to have a goalkeeper with the same name as the club) fumbled seriously. In the second half Altay took the lead once again with a beautiful strike from the youngest player on the pitch İbrahim. (just 18) The equalizer came, this time through the oldest player on the pitch, Hami (just 34). The freekick master scored from about 25 metres. Then another 25 meter strike, this time from another veteran Yılmaz, took the visitors to their second consecutive win. (2-3)

Bursaspor – Kocaelispor : The best game of the week was in Bursa. Both teams desperate for three points gave the fans a lot of excitement and six well done goals. The visitors had the opener, then Okan equalized. The second half started with Okan again. Then Kocaelispor youngster Ugur Boral equalized. Then Okan finished his hat trick, and at the close of the game Brazilian Junior sealed things off. Good game, beautiful goals, and while Bursaspor grabbed their first three points, Kocaelispor remained the only pointless team in the league. (4-2)
Elazığspor - Gaziantepspor: Gaziantepspor who rested last week after the postponing of their Fenerbahçe game, looked fit and ready for action. The whole game Gaziantepspor dominated the field with their smart counter attacks. Gaziantepspor had the opener in the first half. Elazığspor came back in ten minutes. Late in the half the visitors took the lead once more. More attacks by the home side, and more effective counter attacks by the visitors were pretty much the second half. Right at the close of the game Preko who missed some very important chances throughout the game scored the goal that ended Elazığspor hopes to equalize. (1-3)

Fenerbahçe – Denizli: The game started off as an answer from the highly criticized Fenerbahçe striker Washington to the Turkish media, as he managed to score two goals in the first fifteen minutes against Denizli who are rightfully respected for their tough defense. The first half was pretty much Fenerbahce all around the field. The second half started with good attempts from the visitors. Then Washington sealed his hat trick. It looked like the game was going to end that way when in the last five minutes first a beautiful strike from Bencik, then a beautiful header from Mustafa Özkan took the game to a tight end. Time was up for Denizli, they basically started scoring too late. (3-2)

Gençlerbirliği – Göztepe: Gençlerbirliği made it 4 wins in 4 games, scored 14 goals (3.5 goals/game) and conceded 4. The well deserved leaders of the league this week showed a lack of concentration on the pitch, as the quality of their game was far away from the previous weeks. But a good team wins even when they play in a mediocre fashion, and that’s pretty much what they did. Göztepe lost their third consecutive game, and things are still looking foggy on that side. (3-1)

Samsunspor – İstanbulspor: İstanbulspor won their first three points in an away game whereas Samsunspor’s two weeks winning streak ended. Samsunspor started off well, scoring the opener in the first twenty minutes. Both teams had their chances as Samsunspor switched to their counter attack tactical, and İstanbulspor pushed for the equalizer. İstanbulspor insisted and insisted till they got the equalizer from their veteran defender Uche at the 75th minute. Right towards the end of the game, a free-kick goal from 25 meters let the visitors steal their first three points after a hard game. (1-2)

Goals of the week :

1. Bencik (Denizlispor) : The goal was premium in quality indeed. The Slovakian, controlled the ball with his chest right at the penalty area , made a very quick swift move to his right, and stroke furiously to the right side of Rüştü. Hard to explain, beautiful to watch.
2. İbrahim (Altay) : There were a lot of long range goals this week, however none was as sweet as this youngster's. He controlled the ball at half field, first dribbled to his right, then making a quick turn to his left and then shooting a beautiful curling ball to the far left side of the goalkeeper. He is only 18, and I hope we see a lot of these goals in the years coming.
3. Okan (Bursaspor)(2nd goal) : Personally this the type of goal, I would prefer to long range shots. Okan made a move to the left side of the field towards the penalty area to catch a pass. He then quickly turned to his right, entered the penalty area, and with great pace, passed his first defender, continued to run parallel to the goal with the ball, then passed his second defender and right when he had the angle shot a beauty to score his second in the game.

Team of the week : Bursaspor

I think this team is going to give football fans a lot to talk about in the coming weeks. They play an attacking concentrated game, and they do it with great speed. This week's best game was pretty much the result of this week's best playing team. Nedžad Bijedić has always done a good job with the Bursa side, and it looks like this year is not going to be an exception.

Player of the week : Okan Yılmaz (Bursaspor)

Okan missed so many easy goals in the previous games, that his form was nothing but a question mark. However this week the killer was back. He looked at his best on home ground, pace, sudden acceleration, dribbling, finishing and style, all at premium levels. This guy was the leading goal scorer in the 2000-2001 season, and make no mistakes, he looks like he is back on track.