Turkey 0- Romania 1

Turkey Shocked in 1-0 Home Loss Against Undefeated Romania


Coach Avci has a lot to ponder after this shocking loss

Romania visited Istanbul, Turkey to face a nation who want to be victorious to avoid another qualifying blow by winning and jumping up to six points, which would level them with the visitors. However, Romania scored the only goal in the final minute of the first half to shock the nation of seventy million.

Gheorghe Grazev caught the Turkish defensive line sleeping when he sprinted to the top of the 18 and blasted a long range shot into an empty net as Volkan Demirel was only inches away from him. 1-0 was the score, and it stayed that way for the entire second half.

Turkey started out strong in the second half: possession, defending, and overall control of the game. The one aspect they lacked however was taking a clear shot at goal until the end of the game.

Early in the second, left back Hasan Ali Kaldirim took a shot form outside the area which met the grateful arms of the keeper. There was no danger whatsoever.

Arda Turan crept inside the area after cutting past the defender then sent a slow, low, rushed shot right at the keeper. He could have done a bit more with that.

In the final two minutes of added time, Arda Turan breezed by a defender inside the left of the 18 but rushed a cross which was easily cleared by the defense.

The final chance which was arguably the best arrived a minute later when a cross from the left was headed over the bar from a wide open Nuri Sahin. He isn’t known for heading in goals, but he certainly could have done better there.

Now, Turkey sit with three points, six behind Romania and by the same amount behind the Netherlands, if their lead over Andorra holds.

On Tuesday, Turkey will travel to Hungary while undefeated sides Romania and the Netherlands will meet in Bucharest.

Aydin Reyhan
AReySportsNews