2002-2003 1.Süper Lig

Week 17 - Analysis by Serbülent Şengün

from Fenerbahçe - Göztepe game

The week started off joyfully with UEFA Cup victories of Denizli and Beşiktaş on Thursday. Denizli won 1-0 in France versus O.Lyon and qualified to the last 16 on a 1-0 aggregate. Denizli found an early and rather surprising goal with Mustafa, and with especially the heroics from their goalkeeper Dirk Heinen, they managed to keep the game that way till the end. Great achievement for Denizli in their first ever appearance in the UEFA Cup.

Beşiktaş on the other hand played a solid defensive game to tie 0-0 with Dynamo Kyiv in Ukraine. In a game played at –8 degrees, Dynamo had a couple of good chances but were constantly denied by the successful Beşiktaş defenders.

The regular fixtures, started off on Friday with Gaziantepspor hosting Galatasaray. One game was postponed this week, the game between Denizli and Ankaragücü. On the remaining 8 games 20 goals were scored of which 12 were scored by the home sides and 8 were managed by the visitors. 2 games were tied, 4 were won by the home sides and 2 were won by the visitors. This week was actually the end of the first half, however due to the T.F.F. schedule there will one more week played before mid-season break takes place.

Games :

Gaziantepspor – Galatasaray: Galatasaray is getting their form back increasingly. Gaziantepspor after going so well for so long, fell into a slump a couple of weeks ago, and still can’t get out of it. The game was mostly dominated by Galatasaray, as Gaziantep only looked for the counter attacks probably thinking that Galatasaray would attack relentlessly. However that is not the way things happened. The visitors played very smartly to stop the known capacity of the home sides counter attack force, and controlled the ball most of the game. Though the home side scored the first goal, Galatasaray answered back in a minute, and the winning goal of the game at the last minutes through a spectacular goal from Arif. This one was his 99th goal in the Turkish league. (1-2)

Adanaspor – Kocaelispor : Kocaelispor had increasing form in the past weeks, and Adanaspor on the contrary was playing some very sloppy ball. However on this particular game, though the visitors looked like they were the ones that played the better ball, Adanaspor managed to grab a very important three pointer. The first half Kocaelispor was the team that had all the good chances, in the second half things equalized on the pitch, and after a very hard fought goal, Adanaspor huddled back at their court for counter attacks. In the end, Kocaelispor had no one to blame but themselves for the loss. (1-0)

Altay – İstanbulspor : Certainly the game of the week, unfortunately played in front of few spectators. İstanbulspor rushed into the game creating decent chances to score but it was the home side who managed to score first, and then a second two minutes later. From then on İstanbulspor pressed forward again, however it was again Altay who scored early in the second half. The visitors then managed to score two goals in two minutes to push a comeback; but it did not happen. Sinan, scored his second beautiful goal of the game as the home side extended their lead to two goals once more. İstanbulspor’s late goal could not revive their hopes for an equalizer and the home side got away with precious three points. Another brief note from the game, Andre Kona who has been so close to being the second foreign player to score 100 goals in the Turkish league for more than 6 months finally managed to score his 99th. Second player this week to do so. Now Kona has one more to go, to have his name in the history books. (4-3)

Malatyaspor – Trabzonspor : It is a fact that Malatyaspor is great on home ground, and it is also a fact that Trabzonspor has a very solid defense, so the game was expected to yield some good football and so it did. First the home side took the lead, then the visitors scored two to grab the lead, however at the last instance Malatyaspor made a comeback to share the points one each. Trabzonspors goalkeeper Petkovic who has been so great so far made, probably his first real mistake, and a former Trabzonspor striker Hasan Özer took advantage of it. Overall all a good game of football which had all the necessary elements, drama, motivation, chance, work rate, and of course goals. (2-2)

Fenerbahçe – Göztepe : With Werner Lorant gone, Fenerbahçe now has their own Oğuz Çetin, a former Fenerbahçe and National team captain as the head coach. However all the turbulance the team had in the past month could not have changed in a couple of days, and it didn’t. Though Fenerbahçe looked the team eager to play better ball, their lack of a good striker, (ever since Washington had heart disorder) showed its face again. Göztepe on the other hand played rough defense and good chances on the counter attack, but neither could they do anything for the scoreboard. The game ended the way it started. Recovery for Fenerbahçe, obviously not any sooner than the mid season break. (0-0)

Elazığspor – Diyarbakırspor: Diyarbakırspor’s push upwards is continuing. After their win against Fenerbahçe last week, they managed to pull another three pointer this week against the inconsistent Elazığspor. Diyarbakırspor jumped to the tenth spot after this week, and their striker Saffet who had struggled so much in the beginning of the season is beginning to get his momentum. This is his third in two weeks. On the other end danger bells are ringing for Elazığspor. (0-1)

Gençlerbirliği – Bursaspor : Gençlerbirliği is keeping its composure, and though they are the third spot team, they are right now the most dominating team in the league. Like in the previous matches this month Gençlerbirliği dominated the field, created numerous chances, scored two and grabbed another victory. The key point once again, they make it look too easy. Bursaspor on the other hand, with a squad so qualified, are the most unsuccessful team in the league, as they just can’t start anything up. Their squad quality is not very different than Gençlerbirliği’s, but while Gençlerbirliği is fighting for the top spot, Bursaspor is right above relegation. (2-0)

Beşiktaş – Samsunspor: Beşiktaş keeps on winning on every front, and this week was no different. Though Samsunspor had a coaching staff change and the experienced Sakıp Özberk is in control now, their play on the field was no different than the past weeks, not that any miracle should be expected in a couple of days. The difference in the quality of the two teams yielded the most likely score. Interesting note; the two goals scored by Beşiktaş were scored by İlhan and Tümer both former Samsunspor players, and the goalkeeper of Samsunspor was a former Beşiktaş goalkeeper Ike Shorunmu. (2-0)

Denizli - Ankaragücü: Postponed

Goals of the week :

1. Arif (Galatasaray) : Shot first time at 25 meters to a bouncing pass, Arif scored another one of those goals most likely to be seen in a “sports programs highlights”, as the ball curved to upper post and then hit the net. And what more; it came at the 88th minute, and was the goal that delivered the three points to his team.
2. Sinan (Altay) : At a 45 degree angle and around 25 meters length, the young starlet hit a looper to hunt down the İstanbulspor goalkeeper. A real “smart” goal.
3. İlhan (Beşiktaş) : An aesthetic right foot volley to a rightwing cross, İlhan made amends after the weeks that he could not manage to score. Actually this one looked like classical İlhan.

Team of the week : Galatasaray SK İstanbul

On one of the most difficult away games of the league, Galatasaray managed to win the game not only on the scoreboard but also in the eyes of the viewers through very solid football. Coach Terim, is searching for a new legendary team to build, and his task is harder with the squad at hand, but it is obvious that Galatasaray is on the edge of some good things to come.

Player of the week : Sinan (Altay)

This youngster is improving at a very good pace. He is good with his dribbling, he is improving his finishing, and his unselfishness is very vital to any success his team is up to in the near future. He has already made the transfer lists of most of the “bigger” clubs of the league, and he is a regular selection for the U-21 squad. I surely believe he has a lot to offer in the future, and I am eager to see his development.