Black Eagles soar to the top of the super league
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 11, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Sivasspor's four-month lead in the Turkcell Super League comes to an end, as Istanbul Municipality gets one of the most surprising victories of the season. Beşiktaş takes the top spot of the league, thanks to a 4-1 away victory against Ankaraspor.
Sivasspor's first home defeat in more than one year helped Beşiktaş advance to the top of the Turkcell Super League with three games left to play.
Eight games were played on a tightly scheduled evening slot on Saturday and the league standings saw drastic changes. Sivasspor was downed 2-1 by the relegation-battling Istanbul Municipality, while Beşiktaş beat Ankaraspor 4-1 to get a precious win in what may be a crucial turning point of the season.
Beşiktaş is now on 62 points, while Sivas stayed on 60. Third-place Trabzonspor has 59 points.
Two early goals by Gökhan Kaba of the visiting Istanbul Municipality handed Sivasspor's first home defeat after the 5-3 loss to Galatasaray on May 4, 2008, while a 75th minute goal by Herve Tum did little more than a consolation for the Central Anatolian side. After failing to capitalize on Sivasspor's defeat at Gaziantepspor last week, Beşiktaş did not let another chance slip through its fingers and fought its way to a 4-1 victory over Ankaraspor.
Slovakian striker Filip Holosko took the lead in the 29th minute for Beşiktaş, but Ankaraspor leveled the score at the end of the first hour of the game, thanks to a header by Ediz Bahtiyaroğlu. However, a string of goals by İbrahim Toraman, Bobo and Rodrigo Tello in 20 minutes gave Beşiktaş the win, and the chance to lead the league two points over Sivasspor with three weeks to go.
Three crucial games
That was the best Beşiktaş could expect, as coach Mustafa Denizli admitted. "That was a great weekend," said Denizli after the game. "Now we have three crucial games and we need to win them to reach our targets, but we have a huge advantage compared to our rivals. We don't want to miss it."
Beşiktaş had the chance to take the league lead twice in the last four weeks, but lost points each time Sivasspor was defeated or held to a draw, too. Denizli is in a better-late-than-never mood about it.
"We took the lead late, I was expecting it one or two weeks ago," said the Turkish coach. "But it's all a part of the game." While Beşiktaş was enjoying its hard-won lead, Sivasspor was totally in pain after losing its pole-position.
"Unfortunately, we did not have luck on our side," said coach Bülent Uygun. "Neither the goal posts, nor our luck let us win."
Had Sivasspor win, it would have a big chance to become the first team out of Istanbul to win the title after Trabzonspor's victory in 1984. However, Uygun believes that it is not over yet. "We are sorry, but we go on," said the coach. "We still have our chance and our will [to win the league]. I think Beşiktaş may drop points, too, so we should do what we can in the remaining games."
Trabzonspor seemed to be completely out of the title race when it was beaten 3-0 by Sivasspor three weeks ago, and coach Ersun Yanal resigned, but after two weeks it became a dark horse in the race again. A weekend win for Trabzonspor keeps them in the title race as they stay close to the table toppers.
2 more sides get relegated
Hacettepe and Kocaelispor waved goodbye to the Turkcell Super League following defeats on Saturday.
Already counting days in the top-flight, Hacettepe, which had only 22 points, went down with the 3-1 defeat to fellow Ankara side Gençlerbirliği.
Kocaelispor had slightly more chance to stay in the league, but Trabzonspor defeat canceled its hopes.
The fact that two teams are now out did not make life easier for other title contenders, as a dazzling number of seven teams are still feeling the heat. Konyaspor, Denizlispor, Antalyaspor are on 35 points, while Ankaragücü, Istanbul Municipality and Eskişehirspor have 36. Gençlerbirliği (38) is slightly more comfortable with three weeks left to play.
Eight games were played on a tightly scheduled evening slot on Saturday and the league standings saw drastic changes. Sivasspor was downed 2-1 by the relegation-battling Istanbul Municipality, while Beşiktaş beat Ankaraspor 4-1 to get a precious win in what may be a crucial turning point of the season.
Beşiktaş is now on 62 points, while Sivas stayed on 60. Third-place Trabzonspor has 59 points.
Two early goals by Gökhan Kaba of the visiting Istanbul Municipality handed Sivasspor's first home defeat after the 5-3 loss to Galatasaray on May 4, 2008, while a 75th minute goal by Herve Tum did little more than a consolation for the Central Anatolian side. After failing to capitalize on Sivasspor's defeat at Gaziantepspor last week, Beşiktaş did not let another chance slip through its fingers and fought its way to a 4-1 victory over Ankaraspor.
Slovakian striker Filip Holosko took the lead in the 29th minute for Beşiktaş, but Ankaraspor leveled the score at the end of the first hour of the game, thanks to a header by Ediz Bahtiyaroğlu. However, a string of goals by İbrahim Toraman, Bobo and Rodrigo Tello in 20 minutes gave Beşiktaş the win, and the chance to lead the league two points over Sivasspor with three weeks to go.
Three crucial games
That was the best Beşiktaş could expect, as coach Mustafa Denizli admitted. "That was a great weekend," said Denizli after the game. "Now we have three crucial games and we need to win them to reach our targets, but we have a huge advantage compared to our rivals. We don't want to miss it."
Beşiktaş had the chance to take the league lead twice in the last four weeks, but lost points each time Sivasspor was defeated or held to a draw, too. Denizli is in a better-late-than-never mood about it.
"We took the lead late, I was expecting it one or two weeks ago," said the Turkish coach. "But it's all a part of the game." While Beşiktaş was enjoying its hard-won lead, Sivasspor was totally in pain after losing its pole-position.
"Unfortunately, we did not have luck on our side," said coach Bülent Uygun. "Neither the goal posts, nor our luck let us win."
Had Sivasspor win, it would have a big chance to become the first team out of Istanbul to win the title after Trabzonspor's victory in 1984. However, Uygun believes that it is not over yet. "We are sorry, but we go on," said the coach. "We still have our chance and our will [to win the league]. I think Beşiktaş may drop points, too, so we should do what we can in the remaining games."
Trabzonspor seemed to be completely out of the title race when it was beaten 3-0 by Sivasspor three weeks ago, and coach Ersun Yanal resigned, but after two weeks it became a dark horse in the race again. A weekend win for Trabzonspor keeps them in the title race as they stay close to the table toppers.
2 more sides get relegated
Hacettepe and Kocaelispor waved goodbye to the Turkcell Super League following defeats on Saturday.
Already counting days in the top-flight, Hacettepe, which had only 22 points, went down with the 3-1 defeat to fellow Ankara side Gençlerbirliği.
Kocaelispor had slightly more chance to stay in the league, but Trabzonspor defeat canceled its hopes.
The fact that two teams are now out did not make life easier for other title contenders, as a dazzling number of seven teams are still feeling the heat. Konyaspor, Denizlispor, Antalyaspor are on 35 points, while Ankaragücü, Istanbul Municipality and Eskişehirspor have 36. Gençlerbirliği (38) is slightly more comfortable with three weeks left to play.