Unbeaten Besiktas keep control

Besiktas JK retained their six-point advantage at the top of the Turkish Superleague at the weekend thanks to a 2-1 defeat of Adanaspor AS.

Tight match
The fact that the first goal only arrived in the 75th minute, when Besiktas midfield player Okan Koç opened the scoring with a close-range header, bears eloquent testimony to the competitive nature of the encounter. Ergin Yücetas levelled soon after with just six minutes left on the clock before Sergen Yalçin ensured his side collected maximum points. The Istanbul team can top UEFA Champions League Group G with a win against English Premiership leaders Chelsea FC on Tuesday.

Easy win
Trabzonspor’s 3-0 defeat of Gaziantepspor ensured they did not lose ground on the leaders in their first match under the guidance of new coach Turgay Semercioglu. Gökdeniz Karadeniz’s free-kick went in as early as the third minute before Ibrahim Ege and Mehmet Yilmaz made the game safe in the second half.

Denizlispor charge
Third-placed Denizlispor’s charge up the table gathered pace following a 3-2 home win against Konyaspor. Serhat Gülpinar gave the home team the lead in the 12th minute before Cenk Isler equalised. Ersen Martin’s header re-established the advantage and Timuçin Bayazit scored the third. Tayfun Türkmen’s goal three minutes from time was not enough for the visitors to salvage a point.

Van Hooijdonk double
Pierre van Hooijdonk lifted Fenerbahçe SK, now fourth, from several weeks of inconsistency by scoring twice in a 4-1 away win against MKE Ankaragücü. The Dutchman, who now has eleven league goals to his name, got the scoring under way with a 42nd-minute header, then slammed in a free-kick from distance after Ramadan Ragap’s deflected shot had made matters even. Ümit Özat and Selçuk Sahin completed a more than satisfactory afternoon’s work.

Minds off
Galatasaray SK clearly had their minds on Wednesday’s crucial encounter in Europe against Real Sociedad de Fútbol when they suffered a 3-1 reverse at the hands of Istanbulspor AS, going down to goals from Pini Balili, who scored twice, and Alban Bushi. Hakan Sükür was the player on target for the visitors.

Other games
A last-minute goal from Raphael Chukwu allowed Rizespor to collect a narrow 1-0 triumph against Bursaspor while the Gençlerbirligi SK-Malatyaspor and Samsunspor-Akçaabat Sebatspor encounters both finished in 1-1 draws.