Turkey round-up: Galatasaray fire blanks
Saturday, March 30, 2002
Article summary
A goalless draw meant Galatasaray SK missed the chance to take control in the title race.
Article body
A goalless draw saw Galatasaray SK miss the opportunity to take control in the 1. Lig title battle.
Leaders slip up
Galatasaray would have opened up a three-point lead at the top of the table if they had overcome Diyarbakirspor but it was not a day Galatasaray will want to remember after firing a blank with Ümit Karan booked for diving as frustrations boiled over on the hour.
Gilt-edged chance
Hasan Sas squandered a gilt-edged second-half chance, shooting straight at keeper Senol Karagul and Andres Fleurquin headed wide shortly after, but Fazli Ulusal's long-range effort on 68 minutes almost secured a shock win for the home side.
No joy for Ankaragücü
MKE Ankaragücü's bid to further cement a UEFA Cup spot was dealt a blow when Halit Köprülü fired a 77th-minute equaliser for Gaziantepspor in a 1-1 draw. Hakan Keles had fired the visitors into the lead as early as the tenth minute, but Halit had the last word for the home side.
Keles strikes
An unmarked Keles cashed in from Yilmaz Özlem's corner, lashing the ball home from close range to give home keeper Ömer Çatkiç no chance but, unable to build on their lead, the fourth-placed visitors were made to pay when Erdal Günes headed down Maxim Romaschenko's cross for Halit to place the ball wide of keeper Zafer Özgul Tekin.
Topraktepe on target
Istanbulspor AS and Kocaelispor were both denied by the woodwork on two occasions as Istanbulspor's faint UEFA Cup hopes were dealt a major blow by a narrow 1-0 home defeat. Serdar Topraktepe headed an 87th-minute winner for the visitors, leaping above the Istanbulspor defence to power home Roman Dobrowski's pin-point cross.
Rizespor go down
Osman Özköylü condemned struggling Rizespor to their 12th defeat of the season with a 79th-minute winner for Trabzonspor as the home side earned a 2-1 victory. The hosts climbed three places to seventh in the table with the decisive goal coming from Hami Mandirali's free-kick from the left when Osman reacted quickest to head home.
Aktas from the spot
Robson da Silva had given the home side a sixth-minute lead, shooting low into the corner from Osman's chest-down before Rizespor pulled level two minutes after the break. Ünal Alpugan was brought down in the penalty area by home defender Cem Beceren to allow Mustafa Koray Avci to beat keeper Metin Aktas from the spot for the Rizespor equaliser.
