Week 3 - Analysis by Serbülent Şengün
 "Don't move. I dropped my contact lenses." - from Denizli - Malatyaspor gamme
Before the third week of the Turkish league, we had a national friendly game against Georgia in Trabzon. World Cup third placers had an easy going game, and managed to win by three goals. Arif had a free kick goal in the first half. Two goals came in the second half by Cihan and Nihat, of whom the first couldn’t make the 23 player squad in Japan-Korea, and the latter only played a little as a substitute. Coach Senol Gunes talked about renewing the team squad in the coming months both before and after the game, and the squad he chose on the field supported his words.
We had one game postponed this week, the supposedly opener between Gaziantepspor and Fenerbahce due to the upcoming Fenerbahce vs Feyenoord UEFA Champions League Qualification Round 3 game.
Out of the eight games played, 3 was one by the home sides, 4 was won by the visitors and only one draw. Home sides scored a total of 10 goals whereas the visitors managed 13.
Games :
Göztepe - Adanaspor : Göztepe looks like they are going to have a hard time this year if things do not improve soon. They conceded 8 goals in the last two games to two newcomers. Adanaspor played the counter attack very effectively. Necati, the young striker of Adanaspor managed to score two goals again, giving him a total of 5 goals in 3 games. The 22 year old and his counterpart in the offence Elias Pachola had a great time on the other side of the field helping Adanaspor win their first away victory. (1-4)
İstanbulspor – Beşiktaş : Another interesting and controversial game for Besiktas. İstanbulspor scored the opener, Besiktas struck back with a beautiful goal from Sergen Yalçın in the first half. Then came the moment when Pascal Nouma, the Besiktas fans’ favourite, entered the game. The Frenchman got booked on his first move to the ball because of his aggressive tackle. Then Tümer, the substitute scored another delightful goal. Right after the goal Pascal turned to the Istanbulspor players to make a “shsh” move. The referee immidiately sent him off with another yellow card. Nouma stayed on the field for about a total of 5 minutes. The game left the Turkish media with 3 “handsome” goals, and a debate topic to discuss for 2 days. (1-2)
Trabzonspor - Altay : The only team in the league that still couldn’t manage to score a goal is Trabzonspor and they had 2 of the 3 games on their own field. Both sides had their chances, it was definitely a two way game, especially in the second half, but neither could score. The newcomers from İzmir are still unbeaten, giving the media that declared them relegated before the season started, something to think about. (0-0)
Kocaelispor – Samsunspor: Kocaelispor, the winners of last years Federation Cup are suprising everybody by not being able to grab a point in three games. Samsunspor had the very early opener with a penalty goal, then came the second goal out of a good counter attack. Kocaelispor’s only goal was an own goal by the veteran Osman. Both sides had their chances after that but the score stayed the same and Kocaelispor remained the only pointless team of the league. (1-2)
Ankaragücü - Elazığspor : Ankaragücü managed to get their first three points with some very nice football at times. Elazığspor had their moment when a shot by Meszaros hit the post in the first half, but later it was all about Ankaragücü. Scoring three and missing a dozen more, Ankaragücü fans were definitely satisfied at the end of the game. Meszaros scored the consolation goal for Elazığspor late in the game.. (3-1)
Denizlispor - Malatyaspor: Denizlispor managed their first victory with a penalty goal from Mustafa. Malatyaspor fought back strong, had their chances but couldn’t manage to score. A tie would probably be a more just result, but obviously only the balls that hit the net count. (1-0)
Diyarbakırspor – Gençlerbirliği: Well it is obvious now, Gençlerbirliği are the team to watch, 3 wins in 3 games, 2 on the opponents pitch. But the result does not really reflect the nature of the game. Diyarbakırspor looked the better team most of the game, but just wasn’t able to find the net. Then at the 75th minute came in Youla, the brilliant substitute, who scored three aesthetic goals and stole the game in fashion. Diyarbakırspor fans booed the coach and players after the game but things could have been different, they really could have. (1-4)
Galatasaray – Bursaspor: The game was fine in quality indeed. The home side secured victory by two goals from Arif, one in each half. The veteran forward is another super starter to the season with his 5 goals in 3 games. Both teams played an offensive game, and both teams spent their chances way too easily. Galatasaray with three wins in three games, once again is one of the chief candidates of the championship. (2-0)
Gaziantepspor - Fenerbahçe: Postponed
Goals of the week :
1. Arif (Galatasaray) : The first goal Arif scored was one of a kind. The cunning striker controlled the ball that was deflected from the Bursaspor defence, hit furiously from the left corner outside the penalty area (at perhaps a 25o angle), over the goalkeeper to right corner of the net. Definitely looked like a “Hagi” goal, it was spectacular indeed.
2. Youla (Gençlerbirliği)(2nd goal) : Youla controlled the ball at around 35 metres to the goal, passed his defender, saw that the goalie was a little out of place and curled a magic ball over the goalkeeper from about 25 metres. A beauty indeed.
3. Sergen (Beşiktaş) : A corner cross was deflected from the İstanbulspor defence right to Sergen. The super leftie had the ball coming to his right, but make no mistake, this guy can hit the ball with his right, at least the goal he scored proved it. A fist time strike that first hit the bar and then went into the net. The shot was so furious for a second everyone might have thought the bar might have been broken.
Team of the week :  Adanaspor
It’s them again, I know, but come on, you have to appreciate a newcomer from the second division who has stolen a 4-1 victory against Göztepe, whose fans are one of the most aggressive in Turkey. With lots of team discipline, talented and well adjusted players, the team from the south is possibly going to break more hearts.
Player of the week : Souleymane Youla (Gençlerbirliği)
What would you say to a guy who scored 3 aesthetically beautiful goals against a very tough defending team? Good job perhaps. What would you call the guy if he came in as a substitute and did all that in just 15 minutes. Well I think we should definitely call him the player of the week. The 20 year old Guinean supersub, showed everyone that he would be there when his coach needed him.
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2002-2003 1.Süper Lig