Week 15 - Analysis by Serbülent Şengün
 FB's Tuncay after İstanbulspor own goal - from Fenerbahçe - İstanbulspor game
The week started off with UEFA Cup games of Denizlispor and Beşiktaş on Thursday. Denizlispor tied goalless with O.Lyon of France. On a game in which solid defending was the most essential figure, a draw looked like the most likely score. Nevertheless Denizlispor keeps its hopes high for an unlikely surprise they wish to produce in France.
Beşiktaş on the other hand played one of the best footballs of the season to win 3-1 against D.Kyev of Ukraine. Although the Kyev side scored the first goal of the match, Beşiktaş with impressive domination turned the tables around to win 3-1, carrying an important advantage to the second game.
The regular league fixtures started on Friday with Fenerbahçe hosting İstanbulspor. In the 9 games that were played 14 goals were scored distributed evenly between the home sides and the visitors. Home sides won 2 of the games, 3 visitors stole all three points and 4 games were tied. Overall this week was one in which everyone fought for the points and the visitors were the successful sides for most part of the fixtures. With Beşiktaş tying Gençlerbirliği in İstanbul, Galatasaray picked up the top spot after one week recess.
Games :
Fenerbahçe – İstanbulspor: Fenerbahçe back in business at home court after one month though the game was very low in quality. A quarrel between coach Lorant and star player Ortega hours before the game obviously caused great concentration problems on the field. İstanbulspor players did their best, however a terrible mistake by their goalkeeper left them helpless. Fenerbahçe only started playing after the goal which came at the 71st minute. They scored another one to seal things off. In the end there was not much football to speak of yet Fenerbahçe continues it chase for the top spot. (2-0)
Elazığspor - Kocaelispor : Kocaelispor’s struggle is continuing, and they are getting better at that. This week a well-fought game was played at Elazığ, where both teams needed the points. Elazığspor tried to use the flanks but were successfully stopped by the visitors defence. Kocaelispor’s Hüseyin is playing pretty good ball in the last few weeks, and this week was no different. His physical capacity and willingness to play ball helped out the visitors throughout the game. With a well-organised counter attack they hit the three pointer. (0-1)
Gaziantepspor – Trabzonspor : Two teams in good form, fighting for the top spots yielded a good game but no goals. Trabzonspors zonal defending and system has worked out great for them in past two months, Gaziantepspor on the other is unarguablely the best counter attack team of the league. So basically what happened should not surprise anyone. Although both teams created good chances, with the home side creating more, none managed to score. (0-0)
Altay – Bursaspor : Bursaspor had a new coach, and a will to start things over yet Altay needed the points, and they were on the field for no less than three. Altay does not have the bench necessary to complete the league with a good spot on the table yet the guys on the field try very, very hard. Right winger İnanç is constantly developing himself into being one of the best in the league, Çağdaş with his strong physical ability is getting better everyday, and Sinan at the offence, is a threat to all teams and a likely transfer to the İstanbul clubs in the summer. Bursaspor on the other hand with all the talent, lacks the concentration, and their morale has obviously rock - bottomed. Well deserved win for Altay. (2-1)
Galatasaray – Ankaragücü : Another one of the “not so great games” of the week. Ankaragücü grabbing the lead in just the first two minutes, Galatasaray had to fight for the win very hard. Most of the game the tension on the field was more visible than the football. Ankaragücü looks like they lack concentration even when they look concentrated. The winning goal for Galatasaray came through a corner kick in which no Ankaragücü player was around Berkant the goalscorer. How is that for an example. In the end Galatasaray got their leadership back after a week. (1-2)
Malatyaspor - Diyarbakırspor: Malatyaspor was in decreasing form the past two weeks and this week it finally showed up on the scoreboard. The team who had never lost on home ground and usually played great football could not manage it this time. Diyarbakırspor was smart on the field this time, they looked for the goal patiently and once they got it, they did some good defending, and more importantly their goalkeeper did some great work. Malatyaspor started playing like they used to once they realised they were losing the game, however the effort was not enough. Diyarbakıspor got the breathing space they needed so badly for weeks. (0-1)
Adanaspor – Samsunspor : Another match where two teams needed points desperately. Adanaspor gained an early lead, however the visitors fought back hard to grab a point. Samsunspor forward Sinan looked in good shape, besides scoring the equaliser he also did some very impressive work to help his team out. Overall, both teams need to improve a lot to be able to avoid relegation. (1-1)
Beşiktaş - Gençlerbirliği: Undoubtedly the game of the week as weekly leaders Beşiktaş faced the 5th placer Gençlerbirliği. The game yielded some fierce competition, lots of bookings and two well organised goals. Both teams had their moments throughout the game and at any time during the game, the game could have gone both ways. But it didn’t and the game yielded the most just result. Beşiktaş with still a game to play against third place Fenerbahçe is one points below Galatasaray, and Gençlerbirliği maintained its position as the fifth. A brawl broke out between Beşiktaş manager Sinan Engin and some Gençlerbirliği players after the game which was obviously the most unpleasant scene of the week. (1-1)
Denizli – Göztepe: Denizli once again draw after a tiring UEFA Cup game. Obviously they can’t get their focus back easily, and that is something coach Çalımbay has to work on. Göztepe on the other hand is making the best out of its squad, and the draw was what they got there for in the first place. Not the best game of the week. (0-0)
Goals of the week :
1. Sergen (Beşiktaş) : It was a goal so beautifully prepared. Winning the ball at midfield, Beşiktaş players made 5 smart passes and off the ball runs to end at Sergen and a first time shot. Total teamwork.
2. Youla (Gençlerbirliği) : Another teamwork goal. A cross from Ahmet Hassan, headed into the penalty zone by Veysel and finished with a volley by Youla, it all happened in 5 seconds. Well done.
3. Oktay (Altay) : İnanç made a great dribble at the right wing, crossed beatifully and Oktay finished in class. Another fast and furious goal.
Team of the week :  Diyarbakırspor K
None of the leagues dominant teams managed to win at Malatya, but Diyarbakırspor did. Maybe the football they put forth wasn’t the best quality, but it got the job done. With Murat Hacıoğlu getting used to play striker, it will be interesting to see what they will do in the coming weeks.
Player of the week : Şenol Karagöl (Diyarbakırspor)
The last 20 minutes of the game, the basically was “the team”. With great reflexes, and shot stopping, the goalkeeper gave his team confidence to hold on to the game, when things were getting rougher. Without a doubt he was the single one player with the most influence on the scoreboard on any game this week.
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2002-2003 1.Süper Lig