Black Eagles one step closer to happy ending

Beşiktaş is on the verge of clinching its 13th Turkcell Super League title after its 2-1 victory over archrival Galatasaray on Sunday.

The Black Eagles did not seem to be at their best against Galatasaray, but managed to win the game anyway to earn a huge advantage going into the last week of the league. With only one game left, Beşiktaş holds top spot with 68 points, two ahead of its closest trailer, Sivasspor.

Galatasaray started the game with an attacking approach, and found some decent chances, mainly wasted by Milan Baros, who was not having one of his best nights in the Lions’ shirt.

Still, the Czech striker’s lack of luck did not cause as many problems as did Mehmet Topal. Beşiktaş’s Brazilian forward Bobo’s header hit Topal to get in past goalkeeper Orkun Usak in the 41st minute.

The second half also started with visiting Galatasaray pressing forward at the İnönü Stadium, and after two decent chances in three minutes, again by Baros, Australian star Harry Kewell found the net in the 49th.

No panic

Beşiktaş could have panicked with the score level again, but it did not. Galatasaray defender Emre Aşık lost the ball to Yusuf Şimşek, who dribbled the ball for about 30 meters before finding Usak again, who found the empty net with half an hour left in the game. Galatasaray, who had an impressive 65 percent of possession through the game, could not translate its attacking football into goals in the remainder of the match and saw its Istanbul rival get an important victory on its way to the league title.

Coach Mustafa Denizli agreed that his team was close to the perfect ending for the season. "Now the season’s ending is near, we need just a tiny step to reach our main goal," said a relieved Denizli after the derby. "We beat Fenerbahçe, which beat us twice in the league, to claim the [Fortis Turkish] cup. Now we are on the brink of the second trophy. "We will do anything not to lose it." Denizli said that his team had to deal with a great pressure while Galatasaray had nothing to lose, which made playing against the rival all the more difficult. "That was a game in which even the most experienced players had trouble passing and shooting, but we beat one of the best squads of the division," said the coach, adding that next week’s Denizlispor game may be tricky in that sense.

"Denizlispor is guaranteed to stay in the league, but sometimes it is hard to play against a comfortable team," he warned. "There would need to be major interesting results to change the standings from now on. But we should be prepared for any possibility." Captain İbrahim Üzülmez said the team could not perform at its best against Galatasaray, due to experience problems. "The stress gets higher as the league comes to an end," said the Turkish left back. "We made the most unlikely mistake in the game, and Galatasaray played better."

"That is a result of not winning the title for a long time," said Üzülmez, who is the only remaining player that was a part of the 2003 Beşiktaş squad that won the team’s last championship. "There are not many players to have won a title before." Beşiktaş will play in Denizli, where Fenerbahçe dramatically lost the title in the last week of the 2005/2006 season to Galatasaray. Üzülmez said that the team was wary of such a risk of frustration. "We will not make the mistake that Fenerbahçe did," he added. "We will win the league. We are not there yet, but we have the strength to." Sivasspor beat Gençlerbirliği 3-2 to keep its dream alive as well.

"Of course we are happy to win, but the fact that Beşiktaş won disappointed us a little," said captain Mehmet Yıldız. "Now we will wait for next week. We hope to win at Galatasaray, and expect Beşiktaş to lose. We will do what we can."