Besiktas widen the gap

Ilie double
Timuçin Beyazit opened the scoring for the visitors in a match carried over from Saturday because snowfall delayed fourth-placed Denizlispor's arrival in Istanbul. Romanian striker Ilie equalised just ahead of the half-time interval, before Ahmed Hassan put Besiktas in front in the 50th minute. Ilie then completed the scoring sixteen minutes later.

Points dropped 
Second-placed Fenerbahçe SK were unable to maintain the pressure, dropping futher behind following a 2-2 home draw against Diyarbakirspor. Brazilian striker Marcio Nobre slammed in both goals for the home side.

Great start
Third-placed Trabzonspor, however, were unable to wrestle any advantage as they were held to a goalless draw by Akçaabat Sebatspor. Galatasaray SK, in fifth, and Gençlerbirligi SK fought out another 2-2 stalemate in Ankara. The visitors made the perfect start, going ahead through a Murat Erdogan opener but Ali Tandogan turned matters around with two goals before Florin Bratu's 80th-minute leveller.

Rare win
Gaziantepspor, in sixth, bounced back from their Turkish Cup defeat, sauntering to a 3-0 win against Konyaspor thanks to goals from the lively Yusuf Simsek, plus Sedat Agçay and Ilhan Özbay. Bursaspor, meanwhile, managed to win for the first time in nine weeks, sneaking past MKE Ankaragücü 1-0 after a solitary goal from Sertan Eser just three minutes in.

Altin goal
On Saturday, Elazigspor dispatched fellow relegation strugglers Adanaspor AS 2-1 away, and a Caner Altin strike was enough for Samsunspor to claim a 1-0 victory against Malatyaspor. Rizespor beat Istanbulspor AS 1-0 on Monday in a game postponed a day due to inclement weather.