Fenerbahçe pegged back

Defending champions Fenerbahçe SK were denied victory on the opening day of the new Turkish Superleague season as Rizespor came from two goals down to rescue a point.

Contrasting halves
Dutch striker Pierre van Hooijdonk scored twice in the first half as Fenerbahçe took control of the match in the opening 45 minutes, only for strikes from Okan Öztürk and Serkan Özdemir in the second period to peg back the visitors.

Late equaliser
Malatyaspor took the lead at home to Besiktas JK midway through the first half, Yunus Altun opening the scoring in the 20th minute. Daniel Pancu and John Carew both struck efforts against the crossbar as it seemed the home side would hang on for all three points, only for Ali Günes' to equalise in stoppage time.

Trabzonspor triumph
UEFA Champions League hopefuls Trabzonspor cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory against top-flight newcomers Kayserispor, with Guinean Ibrahima Yattara scoring twice and captain Fatih Tekke getting the other goal.

Early advantages
One goal proved enough for Gençlerbirligi SK at home to Sakaryaspor AS, Souleymane Youla scoring the winner as early as the ninth minute. Denizlispor also scored early at home to Gaziantepspor, Roman Kratochvil making no mistake from the spot in the eight minute after Serhat Gülpinar had been fouled by Ilhan Özbay, who was sent off. Ömer Rize doubled the lead in the 57th minute for Denizlispor, who held on despite Ziad Jaziri's goal for Gaziantepspor.

Sükür strikes
Veteran striker Hakan Sükür scored all three goals as Galatasaray SK made a happy return to Ali Sami Yen stadium with a 3-1 win against Konyaspor, whose consolation came from Altan Aksoy.

Draws salvaged
Meanwhile, Samsunspor salvaged a point at home to MKE Ankaragücü thanks to Cenk Isler's goal, whose strike cancelled out Faruk Namdar's effort in first-half added time. Istanbulspor also needed a late equaliser, Yalçin Ayhan levelling six minutes from time through Yalçin Ayhan after visitors Diyarbakirspor had taken the lead through Sertan Eser six minutes earlier.

Solid start
Finally, Superleague newcomers BB Ankaraspor made a promising start to their top flight campaign after defeating Akçaabat Sebatspor thanks mainly to a hat-trick from Brazilian striker Silvino de Carvalho.