League action back with clash in Ankara
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Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 23, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Fortis Cup games were good to quench the thirst of football fans during the winter break, but for most, the real action begins when the Turkcell Super League returns tonight. The second half of the season begins with an Ankaraspor-Konyaspor match.
The Turkcell Super League goes back into action tonight after a four-week break with a game featuring Ankaraspor and Konyaspor.
The league was given a break, unusually, after the 16th week of the season, as opposed to the 17th at the exact midpoint of the 34-game league. So, tonight’s game will mark an unlikely start to the second period, while mathematically it is the end of the first one. Players, coaches and board members are probably not losing sleep over that slight confusion though.
The Fortis Turkish Cup games took front stage during the league’s winter break and Ankaraspor enjoyed winning a ticket out of a tough group. Aykut Kocaman’s side took second place in the Group B, and managed to knock reigning cup champion Kayserispor out of the competition.
The team from the capital city, however, did it the hard way. It risked its chance with a 2-1 loss at home to Kayserispor and won the runner-up position only with a hard-fought 3-2 win at League One side Altay. Inthe end, both Kayserispor and Ankaraspor were equal on points and goal difference, though Ankara bettered its opponent with its record of total number of goals scored.
On the other side, Konya never was in contention for the next stage of the cup. Despite being seen in the easiest group, the only one that has no previous league or cup winners in it, Konya lost all of its three opening games.
Despite its Fortis Turkish Cup disappointment, Konyaspor is a textbook mid-table team. In recent years, it has battled relegation on several occasions but managed to survive each time. It does not possess a flashy squad nor does it have one of the rare teams that make the headlines causing upset wins against the big boys of the league, but sits comfortably at 12th place, four points clear of the relegation line.
Ankaraspor, however, is almost the opposite. Last year, it survived relegation in the last weeks but this year it is running riot in the league. It is fifth in the league, only four points behind leader Sivasspor.
The league was given a break, unusually, after the 16th week of the season, as opposed to the 17th at the exact midpoint of the 34-game league. So, tonight’s game will mark an unlikely start to the second period, while mathematically it is the end of the first one. Players, coaches and board members are probably not losing sleep over that slight confusion though.
The Fortis Turkish Cup games took front stage during the league’s winter break and Ankaraspor enjoyed winning a ticket out of a tough group. Aykut Kocaman’s side took second place in the Group B, and managed to knock reigning cup champion Kayserispor out of the competition.
The team from the capital city, however, did it the hard way. It risked its chance with a 2-1 loss at home to Kayserispor and won the runner-up position only with a hard-fought 3-2 win at League One side Altay. Inthe end, both Kayserispor and Ankaraspor were equal on points and goal difference, though Ankara bettered its opponent with its record of total number of goals scored.
On the other side, Konya never was in contention for the next stage of the cup. Despite being seen in the easiest group, the only one that has no previous league or cup winners in it, Konya lost all of its three opening games.
Despite its Fortis Turkish Cup disappointment, Konyaspor is a textbook mid-table team. In recent years, it has battled relegation on several occasions but managed to survive each time. It does not possess a flashy squad nor does it have one of the rare teams that make the headlines causing upset wins against the big boys of the league, but sits comfortably at 12th place, four points clear of the relegation line.
Ankaraspor, however, is almost the opposite. Last year, it survived relegation in the last weeks but this year it is running riot in the league. It is fifth in the league, only four points behind leader Sivasspor.