Consistent Besiktas march on

Besiktas JK, who defeated AC Sparta Praha 1-0 in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, maintained their lead at the top of the Turkish Super League on Sunday courtesy of a 2-1 defeat of Gençlerbirligi.

Own goal
Two first-half strikes practically secured the result, Ilhan Mansiz’s fine volley putting his side ahead early on and eight minutes before half-time Tümer Metin forcing Abdelzaher El Saka to concede an own goal after a powerful shot which took a deflection off the post. Souleymane Youla pulled one back in the second half with a powerful shot over the top of goalkeeper Óscar Córdoba but his side failed to force the leveller despite the dismissal of Emre Asik.

Istanbul winners
Galatasaray SK, in second position, ensured that both Istanbul sides came out on top against teams from Ankara thanks to their 2-1 defeat of MKE Ankaragücü. The visitors actually went ahead in the 14th minute through Hakan Keles, who prevailed in a one-on-one with goalkeeper Faryd Mondragón but Romanian Florin Bratu levelled soon after. Cihan Haspolatli hit the winner in the 56th minute when he struck in from the right side of the box to go some way to consigning the 3-0 UEFA Champions League reverse by Olympiacos CFP to the past.

Tight match
Third-placed Fenerbahçe SK were held to a 1-1 draw by Çaykur Rizespor at the Sükrü Saraçoglu stadium on Saturday. In a tight match, the first goal did not come until the 67th minute, when the visitors took the lead through Murat Sözkesen. Semih Sentürk then equalised but the home team could not muster the finish which would have allowed them to take all three points.

Another victory
Gaziantepspor, fresh from their UEFA Cup success against RC Lens, came out 2-1 victors at home against Denizlispor. Zdravko Lazarov opened the scoring foe the visitors from the penalty spot in the 37th minute but strikes from Çagdas Atan and Mikka Multaharju in the 73rd and 75th minutes turned the match around.

Second triumph
Struggling Akçaabat Sebatspor edged a 2-1 away win against Adanaspor AS to collect only their second victory of the season. Ibrahim Parlayan headed the away team into the lead just past the half hour but Necati Ates made it even for Adanaspor in the 85th minute before Orhan Kaynak dealt the decisive blow.

Other games
Elsewhere, Hasan Yigit and Murat Hacioglu both scored in Diyarbakirspor’s 2-0 defeat of Malatyaspor while Elazigspor and Istanbulspor AS had to be satisfied with a point each after a 1-1 draw. Trabzonspor sauntered to a 2-0 triumph against Bursaspor on Friday thanks to second-half goals from Ibrahim Ege and Ibrahima Yattara while mid-table Samsunspor and Konyaspor fought out a stalemate.