Sivasspor maintains bid for title

Following two consecutive defeats, Sivasspor lost its position at the top of the league, but finally returned to form against a Hacettepe side that has already lost all hope of avoiding relegation.

After a silent first half, Murat Erdoğan’s strike outside the box gave Sivasspor the lead in the 59th minute, and Herve Tum extended the lead 13 minutes later.

Sivasspor seemed to be heading for a comfortable lead, but after goalkeeper Michael Petkovic handled a ball coming from the boot of defender Fabio Bilica, the referee, Fırat Aydınus, awarded Hacettepe an indirect free kick due to the back pass rule.

Murat Sözgelmez handballed İbrahim Şahin’s strike to earn a red card and a penalty against his side. Şahin scored from the spot, but it was only a consolation for the lowly ranked Ankara side.

"In the last few weeks, my players suffered from the pressure, as they could not score goal chances," said coach Bülent Uygun. "We knew it would be hard against Hacettepe, but managed to win anyway."

Sivasspor is on 63 points with two games left to play. Beşiktaş, which has 62 points, was scheduled to play Ankaragücü later Sunday.