Giant-killing Sivasspor continues its league lead

Sivasspor’s 2-0 win over defending Turkcell Super League champion Galatasaray on Saturday was not only good for extending the team’s spell at the top of the standings but also to prove its form is not temporary.

The game’s first half signaled a goalless draw was on the way after a slow-paced 42 minutes, but Sivasspor got a real chance when Galatasaray striker Ümit Karan was sent off. Sliding to the muddy ground, the Lions’ captain stood up and kicked the mud. For linesman Erdinç Sezertam, that was an act of protest toward him and called the referee to send him off. After the game, the referee Yunus Yıldırım said Sezertam told him that Karan had verbally abused him, which Karan denied.

The one certainty was that Sivasspor went on the attack more after Galatasaray was reduced to 10 men. Israeli striker Pini Balili was brought into the game to strengthen the attacking line and the plan worked immediately Ğ right back Abdurrahman Dereli scored in the 51st minute. Fifteen minutes later, Sezer Badur scored the second goal for Sivasspor, while shorthanded Galatasaray took a risk and played more up front. Even after the second goal, it was still Sivasspor that had more chances but the game ended 2-0, enough for the team to extend its lead at the top of the league.

After the game, Sivasspor was understandably happy with the win, its first ever victory against Galatasaray.

"Galatasaray was the only team that Sivasspor was yet to win against in its previous four seasons in the Turkish League," said coach Bülent Uygun after the game. "Today my players believed in the win and did their best despite the bad conditions on the pitch."

That win also marked a great improvement in Sivasspor’s big-game performances after last year when the team managed only three points from a possible 18 in games against the top three teams.

This year, Sivasspor has already taken seven points from a possible nine in games against Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş, and this signals that the Central Anatolian team may be on its way to win the title.

"We have a mission," said Uygun. "We had to show that a bunch of people from Anatolia could achieve a lot of things. We believe this, a team from Anatolia will win the title, and hopefully it will be us."

Galatasaray coach Michael Skibbe, however, blamed the pitch and Ümit Karan’s red card for the win.

"A game cannot be played in these circumstances, not in Eastern or Western Europe," said Skibbe. "That was not professional football, it was more like a gambling game in open air."

"Of course it was not only the pitch, Ümit Karan’s red card affected the game and the score as well. What I cannot understand is that Ümit kicks the pitch in anger and the referee runs over with a red card to punish him."

The German coach said they would continue their battle for the title despite the loss. "Despite the decisions, we will strive for more wins, we will battle against everything and everyone and we will play for a win next week, hopefully under better conditions."

Skibbe found time to praise the winner as well.

"I congratulate our opposition because their performance had nothing to do with the pitch or the referees."

The two teams will clash again this week as Galatasaray welcomes Sivasspor in the quarterfinal of the Fortis Turkish Cup on Wednesday.