Lions roar loud and clear in UEFA victory

A draw would have been enough but Galatasaray chose to give a more commanding display against Hertha Berlin and qualified for the next round in the UEFA Cup with a 1-0 win, and in doing so taking three points instead of just the required one.

Milan Baros’ penalty in the 69th minute was enough for Galatasaray’s advance to the next round in the UEFA Cup Wednesday, as it dimmed Hertha Berlin’s hopes of progressing any further.

While the stars on both wings, Harry Kewell and Arda Turan, were far from their best, the Brazilian star Lincoln took charge of orchestrating the attack. Probably playing too ambitious to prove his worth following last weekend’s arguments, Lincoln gave one of his best performances of the two years he has been in Turkey. Apart from dribbling and spraying killer passes; he put on some spectacular moves as well, and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet. His long-distance shots were stopped by classy Hertha goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny.

Criticized for making speculative moves to humiliate the opposition in the last minutes of the Hacettepe game, Lincoln seemed to have the full support of the team, as he captained the team for the first time in the absence of the first two-choice skippers, suspended Ayhan Akman and injured Ümit Karan.

One of the reasons why Lincoln was playing at this class was the combined midfield work of youngster duo Mehmet Topal and Barış Özbek. Both of them coming from long term injuries, Mehmet and Barış gave Hertha midfielders no space to breathe and passed the ball to the front to great effect. In their first start together, the two players’ high performance at both ends of the pitch may leave playmaker Ayhan sidelined in the upcoming weeks.

Also Milan Baros performed solidly as the lone striker, managing to contain the ball and supported the midfield, while defenders Hakan Balta, Servet Çetin and goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis contributed to Galatasaray’s away victory.

Still waiting
Although still topping the group, Galatasaray now has to wait one week longer to see if Benfica can stop Metalist from another unexpected win. The unbeaten Ukrainians are the second team to qualify for the next stage and still have a chance to top the group if they win in Portugal. Olympiacos, Hertha and Benfica are still in the running for that third spot in the group for making it through to next round, but for Galatasaray, it was all about relishing the victory, especially for coach Michael Skibbe.

After recent criticisms of underachieving, Skibbe was under pressure from both the media and fans. Following the Hertha victory, Skibbe was apparently relieved.

"We battled really hard and played really well," said Skibbe. "We were in full control of the game until the goal. In the dying minutes we were a little lucky because Hertha was attacking gung-ho on us."

Skibbe also gave full credit to Galatasaray fans, who filled most of the Olympic Stadium in Berlin and chanted "Auf wiedersehen," singing "farewell" to anger the German fans in their own language. "I thank our fans, who were influential," he said. "I think everybody is happy with the win."

But apparently not everybody; the Italian referee, Nicola Rizzoli, called play on to the Hertha players, who wanted a penalty after Harry Kewell handballed in the Galatasaray box in the final minutes of the game, much to the anger of the German side.

"Maybe as an Italian, he did not love the Germans," captain Arne Friedrich was quoted as saying in the German daily Bild. "He should have given us a penalty after giving one against us in a position like that."