Three horse-race for the title !

Last weekend (24th week ) ,  it was bad for Fenerbahce and Galatasaray while It was good weekend for Besiktas !

While Galatasaray draw with Basaksehir at home Fenerbahce went down in Ankara ,against Genclerbirligi.....

On the other hand Besiktas, beat Erciyes with  5-1 score in Ankara .....

Well, since then things are not going well for Besiktas and Besiktas coach Bilic !

First, on Thursday in front of their fans, after going ahead against Brugge team in the Europa Cup match, they choked  and  elimenated  from Europa Cup !

On Sunday, in the league match against Fenerbahce they went down in the very last minutes of injury time .....


Besiktas had many chances to score but they could not !


Fenerbahce forward Sow scored the only goal in the match.....



In the 19th minute,  Nigerian forward Emmanuel Emenike missed a one-on-one chance, failing to take advantage of a defensive mistake by Besiktas player Necip Uysal.


Emenike was heavily protested by Fenerbahce  fans after missing the chance. He wanted to be replaced but he stayed on the pitch until half time.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/video.php?v=10153177386818430&pnref=story

It was a scene that I never seen  before !


While Fenerbahce players Raul Meireles  and Dirk Kuy went out with injuries , Besiktas lost keeper Tolga Zengin and  Tolgay Arslan too .....

Besiktas's third string keeper Gunay Guvenc had to coming in to the match since second string keeper Cenk Gonen was hurt too ....

Besiktas while attacking in the very last minutes of injury time, caught with their pants down on the defense and Sow cashed in !

It has not been a good week for Besiktas , this week ......

Only thing left for Bilic and Besiktas is the STSL league title !

The last nine weeks won't be easy for Besiktas ....

They need to refresh as a team and start playing as a team.....

On the other hand, Fenerbahce with this win ,put them selfs on the title chase again !

But, there are a lot of issues with Fenerbahce team !

Issues with players like Emre ......

And coach Ismail Kartal .....

After what I saw in this match, I don't think, Ismail Kartal has any control over this team !

He lost his credibility  from sideline as a coach .....

On  Saturday, Galatasaray comeback from behind and beat Kasimpasa in their stadium.

Things, did not looked good at all for Galatasaray in the first half of the match ....

Kasimpasa closed theh first half with 2-0 score .....


However, in the second half, Galatasaray was diffrent team !

They score three unanswered goal and they won the match 3-2 .......

They were eather lucky or  Kasimpasa did not know how to protect the 2-0 score !


So, this weekends results were good to Galatasaray and Fenerbahce ...

It was not good for Besiktas !

With this loss, Besiktas coach has not win anyy derby match in Istanbul ....

That might be trouble for Bilic !

At the end of the 25th week in the Turkish Super League, Galatasaray on top with 55 , Besiktas on second with 54 and Fenerbahce on third place with 53 points.

This race is three horse race, once again !

Because of the National Team matches there won't be any matches this coming weekend in the league ..

Turkish National team will play very important match  against Holland on Saturday !


It is do or die match for Turkey and Fatih Terim's boys........


Results.......

Balikesirspor 4-1 Eskisehirspor
Kardemir Karabukspor 0-1 Torku Konyaspor

SAI Kayseri Erciyesspor 0-3 Caykur Rizespor

Mersin Idmanyurdu 0-1 Gaziantepspor

Medicana Sivasspor 4-1 Bursaspor

Kasimpasa 2-3 Galatasaray

Istanbul Basaksehir 3-1 Genclerbirligi
Trabzonspor 2-0 Akhisar Belediyespor

 Fenerbahce 1-0 Besiktas



Standings......

Rank	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	+/-	Pts
1.	GALATASARAY	25	17	4	4	46	30	16	55
2.	BESİKTAS	25	17	3	5	42	24	18	54
3.	FENERBAHCE	25	16	5	4	40	19	21	53
4.	ISTANBUL BASAKSEHIR	25	11	10	4	35	18	17	43
5.	TRABZONSPOR	25	11	10	4	48	38	10	43
6.	BURSASPOR	25	11	8	6	49	35	14	41
7.	GAZIANTEPSPOR	25	10	4	11	24	32	-8	34
8.	MERSIN IDMANYURDU	25	9	5	11	39	37	2	32
9.	GENCLERBIRLIGI	25	8	8	9	34	33	1	32
10.	TORKU KONYASPOR	25	8	7	10	22	32	-10	31
11.	KASIMPASA	25	7	8	10	38	46	-8	29
12.	AKHISAR BELEDIYESPOR	25	7	8	10	31	40	-9	29
13.	CAYKUR RIZESPOR	25	7	7	11	31	36	-5	28
14.	MEDICANA SIVASSPOR	25	7	6	12	29	35	-6	27
15.	ESKISEHIRSPOR	25	6	9	10	30	38	-8	27
16.	SAI KAYSERI ERCIYESSPOR	25	4	8	13	30	44	-14	20
17.	KARDEMIR KARABUKSPOR	25	4	6	15	27	39	-12	18
18.	BALIKESIRSPOR	25	4	6	15	31	50	-19	18

Last Ten Weeks in the Turkish Super League ! #Stsl

Neck and neck  battle !


Galatasaray and  Besiktas have 51 points each, while Fenerbahce have 50 points ....


Neck and neck  title race in Turkey's  in the Spor Toto Super League (#STSL ) , continues as league leaders Galatasaray and runners-up Besiktas have 51 points each while Fenerbahce are in third place with 50 points in the run-up to matchday 24.


  Galatasaray will host Istanbul Basaksehir at their home ground, the Turk Telekom Arena, on Saturday. Galatasaray, who lost the derby against archrivals Fenerbahce 1-0 last weekend, are looking for a win against Istanbul Basaksehir.


  Besiktas will meet Erciyesspor in Ankara on Sunday and are aiming to climb to the top of the league by winning against their opponents.


 Atiba Hutchinson and  Jose Sosa, were not risked  on Thursday due to their injuries and both players are still doubtful for the league match.

The game  is at the Osmanli Stadium in Ankara , Turkey

 Another title contender Fenerbahce will play away to Genclerbirligi in Ankara on Sunday.

As week go in to last ten weeks in the Turkish Super League, the tittle race will get very intersting !

We could say  this ... "Three way race" on the top ....

 At the bottom, Balikesir, Karabuk and Erciyes  has to win matches if they don't want to relagate !

WEEK 24:

Friday:
Bursaspor vs Balikesirspor at 20:00 (1800 GMT)

Torku Konyaspor vs Kasimpasa at 20:00 (1800 GMT)



 Saturday:

Akhisar Belediyespor vs Kardemir Karabukspor at 13:30 (1130 GMT)

Caykur Rizespor vs Medicana Sivasspor at 16:00 (1400 GMT)

Galatasaray vs Istanbul Basaksehir at 19:00 (1700 GM Sunday:

Eskisehirspor vs Mersin Idmanyurdu at 14:00 (1200 GMT)

Besiktas vs SAI Kayseri Erciyesspor at 16:00 (1400 GMT)

Genclerbirligi vs Fenerbahce at 20:00 (1800)


Monday:

Gaziantepspor vs Trabzonspor at 20:00 (1800 GMT)


Standings:

Rank	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	+/-	Pts
1	Galatasaray	23	16	3	4	41	26	15	51
2	Besiktas	23	16	3	4	37	22	15	51
3	Fenerbahce	23	15	5	3	38	17	21	50
4	Trabzonspor	23	10	10	3	46	36	10	40
5	Istanbul Basaksehir	23	10	9	4	30	15	15	39
6	Bursaspor	23	10	8	5	44	29	15	38
7	Mersin Idmanyurdu	23	9	5	9	39	34	5	32
8	Genclerbirligi	23	7	8	8	31	29	2	29
9	Kasimpasa	23	7	8	8	35	41	-6	29
10	Gaziantepspor	23	8	4	11	21	32	-11	28
11	Akhisar Belediyespor	23	6	8	9	26	37	-11	26
12	Torku Konyaspor	23	6	7	10	19	31	-12	25
13	Eskisehirspor	23	5	9	9	27	34	-7	24
14	Medicana Sivasspor	23	6	6	11	24	32	-8	24
15	Caykur Rizespor	23	5	7	11	26	35	-9	22
16	SAI Kayseri Erciyesspor	23	4	8	11	29	36	-7	20
17	Kardemir Karabukspor	23	4	6	13	26	33	-7	18
18	Balikesirspor	23	3	6	14	25	45	-20	15

Brugge 2- Besiktas 1 !

 Besiktas left  it to Istanbul  ! 

After going down 1-0 from a Gokhan Tore strike at the start of the second half, Club Brugge sprung to life with Tom De Sutter and a penalty from Lior Rafaelov, giving the Belgian side the advantage ahead of the second leg of the UEFA Euro League last-16 tie.


After scoreless first half, the game sprung to life immediately after interval on the 46th minute, when Besiktas winger Gokhan Tore scored with fanc y footing !


Burugge team answered back in the 64th minute .......

Tom De Sutter connected to a long-range shot from Felipe Gedoz. Besiktas keeper Cenk Gonen went down to quick  as the ball rolled into the back of the net, tying the game at 1-1.

 
In the 78th minute  Brugge team earned a  penalty kick thanks to  Serdar's mistake and Brugge's biggest floper and diver Gedoz !


Lior Rafaelov stepped to the spot and put through a low shot to the right side, to secure a 2-1 win.

Besiktas having previously eliminated Premier League side Liverpool looked favorites on paper. 

 In the second half, Besiktas   failed to coordinate attack, with striker Demba Ba !


Lastly, Brugge's coach beat Besiktas coach Bilic  with  the game plan ....


I just hope, Bilic will have better game plan in the second leg match in Istanbul.


Besiktas team  needs a mastermine midfielder, who will control the team !


Keeper Cenk Gonen  and defense should be very strong in the second leg match ....


Defense and keeper, somehow cost this loss !

Club Brugge vs Besiktas !

Besiktas will look to continue their dream season, including qualifying from the Europa League Group ahead of Tottenham Hotspurs, and overcoming a 1-0 away loss to oust Liverpool after the penalty shoot out.

 

 
Although on paper Club Brugge would appear to be a less stronger opponent, the ‘Black Eagles’ coach Slaven Bilic warned against overconfidence, stating that chances were 50-50 during Wednesday’s press conference. “We have played well against big names, and that gives us confidence. But that is also tricky and dangerous to think, 'Oh we beat Liverpool, and now we can also beat any other team'.”



Besiktas will be looking for the feet of Senegalese Demba Ba. The former Chelsea and Newcastle striker has so far found the net 8 times in the competition.

 
Club Brugge, on the other hand, has proven to be no pushover. The Belgian side swept through their group and the round of 32 undefeated and have only drawn three times. Nevertheless coach Michel Preud'homme struck a wary tone ahead of the game.

“We face a very strong team and have a very tough task," underlined the former Belgium goalkeeper, “ are a well-organized team with a lot of quality, a team who can play a physical game as well as a skillful one; a team that has a strategy and a big coach behind it.”

Besiktas beat Liverpool in front of record crowd

                                                                  Tolgay  Arslan

The only team from Turkey left in the Europa League , beat Reds of Liverpool , after match decided with penalty kicks!

It was a huge 12th man support at the Atatturk stadium where ,Besiktas fans broke the record in the Europa League match.

Crowd of 63,324 watch Beşiktaş settle Liverpool score

Looking back,  at the first  half, Besiktas and Besiktas defense looked worry....

Besiktas keeper Cenk Gonen had two good saves in the first half.

But, second half , was totally diffrent....

Hungary Besiktas, with a good game plan , and right man at the right time ,subtitution by Besiktas coach Bilic , gave Besiktas that hope after huge goal by young German born Tolgay Arslan .

He gave that signal just before the goal ,when he took a strike outside of the box area !


Tolgay Arslan gave a new blood to Besiktas team in the middle ......


With that huge goal by Tolgay Arslan in the 72th minute , brought Besiktas fans on their feet !

Demba Ba's strike would have ended the match in the very last second of  the injury time ...

Ba's strike, hit the upper post and went back in to play !

 During the over time , score stayed same and the match went to penalty kicks!


While Besiktas score five of the penalties , Liverpool missed the last one....


After that, Besiktas fans in the Ataturk stadium and Besiktas fans around theh world went crayz !


Besiktas has not loss to any English teams at home this season at Ataturk stadium.....

And they did not score any goals against Bilic's Besiktas team this season !

BILIC FACTOR .......

Wheather you like him or not, you have to give credit where credit is due !

Bilic was under fire after losing to Eskisehir last weekend in the Turkish Super League.

But in his head , this Liverpool match ,was more important....

He wanted  to win and beat Liverpool in Ataturk stadium.

He showed that with his game plan and his subsutition from sidelines.......

He was big factor in winning against Liverpool on Thursday.

Kudos to Slaven Bilic and Besiktas's  President Fikret Orman .....

Lastly, Bilic is happy with Besiktas now, but this huge win against Liverpool, will earn him a coching job in the EPL !

Next, Besiktas will face Clubtha Brugge ......

Finaly, Besiktas  knock out , one of the teams that was suppose to win Europa Cup .

With this moralle Besiktas should make it to next round ...

But, they should never underestimate ,Club Brugge

Month of March could be another joy for Besiktas fans around the world !

Besiktas President Fikret Orman : We still have a chance against Liverpool !

 

Ahmet B. Turgut talking to Besiktas President Fikret Orman in New York

Besiktas team president Fikret Orman, after watching first leg match against Liverpool in England , he took time to attend Besiktas USA'a  GALA in New York on Sunday.

He spent the weekend in New York with Besiktas USA organization members and watched Besiktas's Turkish Super League match against Eskisehirspor  in Ali Baba restaurant in Manhattan !

Where he saw his team lost  against Eskisehir.....

Fikret Orman was  very upset with that loss !

After the match, he attended Besiktas USA Gala, that night.

At the Besiktas USA Gala , I had a brief chance to talk to Fikret Orman about  the second leg match .

He said, "Besiktas still has a chance and with the help of the 12th man (Besiktas fans ),  we will fight until last minutes of the match "

He also said, if Besiktas plays like Besiktas we should have no problem beating Liverpool in Istanbul.

He went on to say ,"we want to go to our new stadium Vodafone Stadium as a Champion of Turkish Super League this year !"

********************************

According to him, Besiktas will move in  to Vodafone Satadium around September of this year !

Coming back to today's match against Liverpool, both team will miss important players...

Liverpool has  theh advatage but, it's very important to remember, a quick goal could put pressure on Liverpool at Ataturk stadium with rowdy Besiktas fans !

Besiktas, has huge problems at the back four.....

To order to win tonight, defense should have flowless match and they have to score goals..

Demba Ba and Gokhan Tore might play ....That will will be huge plus for Besiktas !

******************************************



At the Besiktas USA Gala,  Besiktas USA  organizations president Emrah Ogut and vice president  Ferruh Zor,  presented a check for fifteen thousand dollars to Fikret Orman to help ,Vodafone stadium.

At the Gala, Demba Ba's jersey  sold for 30 thousand dollars while Besiktas USA raised  a lot of money from Besiktas players jerseys .

Former Besiktas Captain and Turkish National Team player Rahim Zafer who coaches Dallas City FC soccer team also was at the Besiktas USA event .

Turkish pop singer Gokhan Tepe who is also Besiktas fan was the entertainer for the night ...

Follow Turkish(Turkey) Football(Soccer) on Twitter

Dear Turkish football followers , follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/turkishsoccer

www.turkishsoccer.com