Turkey round-up: Istanbulspor set pace

A goal from midfielder Alioum Saidou helped Istanbulspor AS defeat Adanaspor AS 1-0 to stay top of the Turkish Super Liga come the end of the weekend.

Salidou clinical
Istanbulspor were forced to toil against their visitors on Saturday but just before half-time, Salidou was decisve, latching on to a back-heeled pass from Alex Yordanov to slot in and preserve his side's 100 per cent record this season.

Quality strike
Elsewhere on Saturday, defending champions Besiktas JK secured a narrow 1-0 defeat of Bursaspor to ensure victory in their first home game of the campaign, captain Tayfur Havutçu collecting the only goal with a quality strike in the 20th minute. Aside from the top two of Istanbulspor and Besiktas, two other teams have a 100 per cent record after their second games of the new campaign.

On the up
Malatyaspor moved into third position following their 3-1 defeat of Sebatspor on Sunday. New signing Atilla Birlik put Malatyaspor ahead on 21 minutes with a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area only for Selahattin Kinali to equalise soon after the interval. However, Mithat Yavas and Fazli Ulusoy gave Malatyaspor an unassailable lead and to make matters worse for the visitors, Macit Güven was sent off with 15 minutes to play.

Hasan Sas the hero
Galatasaray also enjoyed a bumper Sunday, coming from behind for a 2-1 away victory against Gaziantepspor. Mehmet Polat put the home side in front on 64 minutes but Hasan Sas equalised for the visitors nine minutes later before making his side's winner for Ali Lukunku. One sour note for Galatasaray was the dismissal of Bülent Korkmaz, while Gaziantepspor's Erhan Namli was also shown a red card.

Points shared
The day before, Super League newcomers Rizespor took a point after their 1-1 draw with Denizlispor, who went ahead through a Timuçin Beyazit free-kick. Rizespor replied through Murat Sözkesen’s header nine minute from time and would have had a winner if Okan Öztürk’s fine effort had not been denied by the post.

Tenacious display
Ankaragücü, meanwhile, came from behind to run out 4-2 winners against Samsunspor. The home team were 2-1 down at the break thanks to Serkan Aykut and Mehmet Nas, but Ramadan Ragap pulled one back and Hakan Keles equalised in the 61st minute. Ragap gave his team the edge with his second then Milton Do, of Samsunspor, wrapped up the victory on Saturday by blundering in an own goal.

Narrow win
Fenerbahçe SK, meanwhile, were relieved to get back on track on Friday following last week’s 3-0 defeat by Istanbulspor, overcoming Trabzonspor 1-0 away from home. Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk’s well-taken free-kick proved the difference, flying directly into the net in the 12th minute. Trabzonspor defender Oumar Dieng was sent off in the 68th minute after a challenge on the Dutchman.

Games to go
The remaining two games both came on Sunday. Elazigspor were held to a goalless draw by newcomers Konyaspor at home, while Diyarbakirspor earned a terrific 3-2 home win against last season's surprise package Gençlerbirligi SK. Despite two goals from Souleymane Youla, efforts from Ramazan Tunç, Saffet Akyüz and Murat Hacioglu won it for Diyarbakirspor, who had Kais Ghodhbane sent off.