Turkey round-up: Narrow win for Besiktas

Turkish Super League leaders Besiktas JK maintained their three-point advantage at the head of the standings thanks to a narrow 1-0 win against MKE Ankaragücü.

Narrow win
In a tight game, the leaders struggled to break down the away side, and needed Ahmet Dursun's 42nd-minute goal to secure a hard-fought victory. Ankaragücü battled throughout the game, but were unable to find an equaliser, despite putting the home team under sustained pressure in the final ten minutes.

Galatasaray boost
Galatasaray SK remained in second place after also claiming a narrow victory, eventually securing a 2-1 win at Istanbulspor AS. The away side took the lead eight minutes into the second period through Ümit Karan, but the hosts were level seven minutes later thanks to Alioum Saidou's close-range finish. However, Cihan Haspolatli restored Galatasaray’s lead 18 minutes from time, heading a Ergün Penbe corner into the net to seal three important points.

Gençlerbirligi stay third
Gençlerbirligi SK consolidated their position in third place on Friday with a 2-1 home win against Gaziantepspor. Despite being reduced to ten men a minute before half-time as defender Ömer Topraktepe was dismissed, Gençlerbirligi took the lead through Mustafa Gürsel six minutes after the interval. Although Gaziantepspor drew level seven minutes later with a long-range strike from Erdal Günes, Thomas Zdebel scored the winning goal after 73 minutes, when his left-wing free-kick went in off the crossbar.

Fenerbahçe frustrated
Fenerbahçe SK continued to lose ground on the top teams after being held to a 3-3 draw at struggling Elazigspor, who took the lead through Ümit Hatipoglu 13 minutes into the game. Tuncay Sanli equalised before half-time, only for Elazigspor’s Juraj Czinege to make it 2-1, before two goals in two minutes from Fenerbahçe’s Ceyhun Eris and Serhat Akin seemed to have turned the match around. However, Zé Roberto’s free-kick nine minutes from time earned the home side a deserved point.

Away success
Trabzonspor enjoyed a comfortable 3-1 away win at Samsunspor, with two goals from Marco Aurelio and one from Fatih Tekke giving the visitors a comfortable lead, before Ertugrul Saglam scored a consolation for Samsunspor in stoppage time.

Bursaspor hold on
Bursaspor defeated Göztepe 1-0 with an Okan Yilmaz goal, with the home side holding on despite the dismissal of Fatih Sen midway through the first half. Elsewhere, Kocaelispor drew 1-1 with Diyarbakirspor, with the away side taking the lead after five through Murat Hacioglu only for Emrah Eren to equalise for Kocaelispor five minutes later. Both teams ended the match with ten men, with Kocaelispor’s Revaz Kemoklidze and Da Silva of Diyarbakirspor both sent off.

Important win
Meanwhile, Altay GK suffered a 2-0 home defeat to Malatyaspor, while Adanaspor AS secured three important points with a 2-1 home win against Denizlispor.