Duo claim final places in Turkey

Trabzonspor and Gençlerbirligi SK will contest the final of the Turkish Cup after semi-final victories this evening.

Third appearance
Gençlerbirligi secured only their third appearance in the showpiece final thanks to a hard-fought 2-1 win against Second Division A side Çaykur Rizespor in Rize. Veysel Cihan gave the visitors a 38th-minute lead but defender Merthan Açil equalised midway through the second half.

Golden goal
Neither side could find a winner in normal time, sending a pulsating match into extra time. With only two minutes of the first additional period on the clock, the Ankara-based side's Egyptian midfield player Ahmed Hassan made himself a hero by scoring the decisive golden goal.

Easy for Trabzonspor
In the night's other semi-final tie, Trabzonspor progressed after a comfortable 3-0 victory at top-flight rivals Malatyaspor. Tayfun Cora's powerful 31st-minute strike gave the visitors the lead in Malatya, and Mehmet Yilmaz headed in Gökdeniz Karadeniz's cross to double the lead four minutes before the interval. Fatih Tekke converted from Marco Aurelio's corner in the 66th minute to complete the scoring.

Venue to be announced
The winners will now meet in the final on 23 April, with the venue yet to be announced by the Turkish Football Association (TFF).