Turkey round-up: Gençlerbirligi lead the way
Sunday, August 25, 2002
Article summary
Galatasaray SK's winning start to the season continued with a routine victory over Bursaspor.
Article body
Champion form
Turkish international Arif Erdem scored either side of half-time to make it a comfortable afternoon for the champions at the Ali Sami Yen stadium. However, it was Ankara club Gençlerbirligi SK who led the way after they kept up their 100 per cent record with a 4-1 triumph at Diyarbakirspor.
Souleymane's the man
Souleymane Youla was the hero for Gençlerbirligi with a second-half hat-trick after the hosts had cancelled out Tomasz Zdebel's opener through Onder Kolgu.
Capital show
MKE Ankaragücü claimed their first three points with a 3-1 home success against Elazigspor. Goals from Ismet Tasdemir, Horia Radu Niculescu and Augustine Ahinful sealed the win before Lubomir Meszaros's late consolation for the visitors. Denizlispor beat Malatyaspor with Mustafa Ozkan's penalty the difference between the sides.
Besiktas's brief reign
Besiktas JK had moved to the top of the table on Saturday with a 2-1 victory at Istanbulspor AS. The points did not come easily, however, with Istanbulspor scoring first through Cenk Isler on 19 minutes. Sergen Yalçin replied for the visitors when he converted an Ibrahim Üzülmez cross eight minutes later.
Metin wins it
Besiktas had to wait until 14 minutes from time for the deciding goal, which came from Tümer Metin's powerful strike after the home defence failed to clear a corner.
French farce
The win was marred by the dismissal of Besiktas's French forward Pascal Nouma, who was sent off nine minutes after appearing as a late substitute for two yellow-card offences.
Seven up
Adanaspor AS joined Besiktas on seven points following a 4-1 away success at Göztepe. Domires Pachola registered in the first half before Ahes Necati struck twice and Murat Bölükbas once to seal the win. Zafer Biryol was on target for the hosts.
Trabzon blank
Meanwhile, Trabzonspor failed to score for the third game running, hence the 0-0 home draw with Altay GK. The Black Sea club could not find a way through a packed Altay rearguard.
Still pointless
Trabzonspor have at least earned two points; Kocaelispor have none. The bottom team lost 2-1 at home to Samsunspor after conceding goals to Celil Sagir, a penalty, and Adnan Güngör. An own goal by Samsunspor's Osman Özköylü was no consolation.
