Beşiktaş finishes road trip on a perfect record
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 19, 2009 10:40
ISTANBUL - A highly prominent 12-day road trip ends for Beşiktaş, which takes confident steps toward a trophy double. Days after getting a famous win over fierce rival Fenerbahçe in the Turkish Cup, Denizli’s boys beat Ankaragücü to maintain their position as the Turkish league leader
Beşiktaş coach Mustafa Denizli said the last 12-day road trip was the highlight of his team’s season so far.
The Black Eagles beat Ankaragücü 3-1 on Sunday, a week after it took the Turkcell Super League’s top spot with a 4-2 win over Ankaraspor. Between the two fixtures in the capital city, Beşiktaş also found the time to trounce archrival Fenerbahçe 4-2 on Wednesday in the Fortis Turkish Cup final in İzmir.
"Before we came to Ankara, we had neither the cup nor the league lead," said Denizli after Sunday’s game. "In a 12-day trip we got six points, seven goals and a trophy. That is the most precious trip of the year." Beşiktaş started the night in flashy fashion, with Bobo finding the net in the second minute. Ankaragücü leveled 15 minutes later with Leonardo Iglesias, who followed a ball that goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber failed to hold. Before even Beşiktaş began to worry, German midfielder Fabian Ernst shot a well placed effort outside the box in the 23rd minute to give his team the lead again.
Bobo on top form
The league leader managed to slow down the pace of the game in the second half, while Ankaragücü found a couple of chances to equalize the score again. However, it was Beşiktaş that had the final word, as Bobo headed the ball in with seven minutes from time. That was the fifth goal for the Brazilian striker in the last three games, marking a fabulous season.
Bobo, who also scored a brace against Fenerbahçe to be named the man of the match in the cup final, was one of the main factors why Beşiktaş survived this 12-day period. Nevertheless, Denizli refused to pick a standout player in his team’s successful run.
"I congratulate all of my players for their great performances," said the Turkish coach, whose team sits atop standings with 65 points, two clear of the closest side, Sivasspor.
Beşiktaş is in the pole position to win the league, and will play a crucial derby next weekend, as it welcomes Galatasaray at the İnönü Stadium. Denizli said that this game should even be a title-decider.
"Our biggest aim is to win the league two weeks after, we will do anything to maintain our position," said Denizli. "But we can win the title next week, too."
Sivasspor already beat Hacettepe 2-1 Saturday.
Trabzonspor also continued its bid for the title, battling its way through a 1-0 win over Bursaspor, one of the finest performing teams of the year. Coming to the game with a four-game winning streak, Bursaspor needed a win in its attempt to get the third spot for a berth in next year’s European campaign, but was downed by a late goal.
Striker Gökhan Ünal fired up a 90th minute free kick to maintain his team’s hopes for getting a place in the top two. Trabzonspor is currently third and on 62 points, expecting Beşiktaş and Sivas to suffer slumps in the last two weeks of the league.
That was the third win in as many games with coach Ahmet Özen at the helm. Former reserve team coach Özen was appointed as caretaker manager three weeks ago when Ersun Yanal resigned as Trabzonspor coach following an 3-0 loss in the Sivasspor game.
Despite the good form, Özen played down the title talk. "Only God knows where will be when the season ends," he said. "But we will keep doing our best." Meanwhile, down south, Konyaspor dug itself a hole, as it was beaten 2-1 by Eskişehirspor in a crucial relegation battle Sunday. After Kocaelispor and Hacettepe were relegated, there is only one team to wave goodbye to the top-flight, and Konyaspor is the first team in the red zone with 35 points. However, Antalyaspor and Ankaragücü are not yet in the clear, as they have 36.
A team that was lost a battle against relegation last year, Kasımpaşa returned to the Turkcell Super League, with a 2-1 overtime win over Karşıyaşa in the playoff final in Ankara Sunday. The Istanbul side joined Manisaspor and Diyarbakır, who already won promotion.
The Black Eagles beat Ankaragücü 3-1 on Sunday, a week after it took the Turkcell Super League’s top spot with a 4-2 win over Ankaraspor. Between the two fixtures in the capital city, Beşiktaş also found the time to trounce archrival Fenerbahçe 4-2 on Wednesday in the Fortis Turkish Cup final in İzmir.
"Before we came to Ankara, we had neither the cup nor the league lead," said Denizli after Sunday’s game. "In a 12-day trip we got six points, seven goals and a trophy. That is the most precious trip of the year." Beşiktaş started the night in flashy fashion, with Bobo finding the net in the second minute. Ankaragücü leveled 15 minutes later with Leonardo Iglesias, who followed a ball that goalkeeper Rüştü Reçber failed to hold. Before even Beşiktaş began to worry, German midfielder Fabian Ernst shot a well placed effort outside the box in the 23rd minute to give his team the lead again.
Bobo on top form
The league leader managed to slow down the pace of the game in the second half, while Ankaragücü found a couple of chances to equalize the score again. However, it was Beşiktaş that had the final word, as Bobo headed the ball in with seven minutes from time. That was the fifth goal for the Brazilian striker in the last three games, marking a fabulous season.
Bobo, who also scored a brace against Fenerbahçe to be named the man of the match in the cup final, was one of the main factors why Beşiktaş survived this 12-day period. Nevertheless, Denizli refused to pick a standout player in his team’s successful run.
"I congratulate all of my players for their great performances," said the Turkish coach, whose team sits atop standings with 65 points, two clear of the closest side, Sivasspor.
Beşiktaş is in the pole position to win the league, and will play a crucial derby next weekend, as it welcomes Galatasaray at the İnönü Stadium. Denizli said that this game should even be a title-decider.
"Our biggest aim is to win the league two weeks after, we will do anything to maintain our position," said Denizli. "But we can win the title next week, too."
Sivasspor already beat Hacettepe 2-1 Saturday.
Trabzonspor also continued its bid for the title, battling its way through a 1-0 win over Bursaspor, one of the finest performing teams of the year. Coming to the game with a four-game winning streak, Bursaspor needed a win in its attempt to get the third spot for a berth in next year’s European campaign, but was downed by a late goal.
Striker Gökhan Ünal fired up a 90th minute free kick to maintain his team’s hopes for getting a place in the top two. Trabzonspor is currently third and on 62 points, expecting Beşiktaş and Sivas to suffer slumps in the last two weeks of the league.
That was the third win in as many games with coach Ahmet Özen at the helm. Former reserve team coach Özen was appointed as caretaker manager three weeks ago when Ersun Yanal resigned as Trabzonspor coach following an 3-0 loss in the Sivasspor game.
Despite the good form, Özen played down the title talk. "Only God knows where will be when the season ends," he said. "But we will keep doing our best." Meanwhile, down south, Konyaspor dug itself a hole, as it was beaten 2-1 by Eskişehirspor in a crucial relegation battle Sunday. After Kocaelispor and Hacettepe were relegated, there is only one team to wave goodbye to the top-flight, and Konyaspor is the first team in the red zone with 35 points. However, Antalyaspor and Ankaragücü are not yet in the clear, as they have 36.
A team that was lost a battle against relegation last year, Kasımpaşa returned to the Turkcell Super League, with a 2-1 overtime win over Karşıyaşa in the playoff final in Ankara Sunday. The Istanbul side joined Manisaspor and Diyarbakır, who already won promotion.