Turkey round-up: Galatasaray take control

Away wins for Galatasaray SK and Besiktas JK gave the battle at the top of the Turkish 1. Liga a familiar look as the teams involved resumed the positions in which they started the week.

Away win
Galatasaray had seen their three-point lead wiped out by Fenerbahçe SK's victory over Göztepe on Friday night but a 1-0 win at Samsunspor - their fourth in fifth games - was enough to restore the advantage. They left it late, however, as their relegation-threatened hosts held out until the 85th minute before Radu Niculescu headed in Ayhan Akman's cross to seal the points.

Tümer Metin strike
Besiktas stayed within five points of the lead, and moved back within two of Fenerbahçe, with a similar 1-0 success at Malatyaspor. The goal came in the first-half this time but Besiktas' inability to build on Tümer Metin's 20-metre effort after 37 minutes ensured that nerve-endings were just as frayed by the end.

Istanbulspor held
Bottom club Yozgatspor put a significant dent in Istanbulspor AS's UEFA Cup hopes by holding the sixth-placed outfit to a 1-1 draw, Yaw Preko's 70th minute strike earning the seemingly doomed hosts a point.

Saffet Akyuz hat-trick
Elsewhere there was no shortage of goals, as lowly Antalyaspor beat visiting Trabzonspor 4-2 and Kocaelispor drew 4-4 at home with fourth-placed MKE Ankaragücü. Saffet Akyuz was the star for Antalyaspor with a hat-trick, completed in the final minute, to ensure Robson Da Silva's double for Trabzonspor was to no avail.

Eight-goal thriller
And Akyuz's feat was matched by Zdravko Lazarov, whose treble strike helped Kocaelispor, winners of the Turkish Cup, come from behind four times for a point against Ankaragücü.