Fenerbahçe triumph at Trabzonspor

By Türker Tozar

Fenerbahçe SK stretched their lead at the top of the Super Ligi to five points with a hard-fought 2-0 win against fellow championship hopefuls Trabzonspor.

Nobre dismissal
In an eventful game at the Hüseyin Avni Aker stadium, Fenerbahçe took the lead after 18 minutes after Márcio Nobre was brought down in the area by goalkeeper Michael Petkovic. His compatriot Alex stepped up and slotted the ball past Petkovic, though the home side's joy was short-lived as they were reduced to ten men when Nobre was sent off eight minutes before the interval. But despite concerted Trabzonspor pressure in the second half, the visitors held on before doubling their lead when Tuncay Sanli headed in Alex's free-kick on 76 minutes to guarantee victory.

Galatasaray held
The result gives Fenerbahçe a healthy five-point cushion at the top of the table, while Trabzonspor drop to third after Galatasaray SK leapfrogged them into second, though they failed to fully capitalise as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Malatyaspor. It could have been worse for the home side after Yunus Altun put the visitors ahead on 35 minutes but Volkan Arslan gained a share of the spoils with a powerful shot ten minutes after the restart.

Denizlispor win
Besiktas JK also had to settle for a point, although they twice came from behind against Rizespor. Okan Öztürk scored two for the home side but Besiktas equalised, first through Ahmed Hassan's penalty and then Ibrahim Akin with eleven minutes remaining. The result leaves Besiktas tenth, while Rizespor are fifth, three points behind Denizlispor who cemented their fourth place with a 2-1 home win against Kayserispor. Ümit Aydin's fantastic 25-metre strike sealed the victory for Denizlispor on 83 minutes after Gökhan Ünal had cancelled out Roman Kratochvil's earlier penalty.

Rare victory
The defeat left Kayserispor third from bottom, a point ahead of Sakaryaspor AS, who lifted themselves of the foot of the table after recording their second win of the season against Samsunspor. Ali Cansun Begeçarslan and Burak Akdis scored two apiece in a 4-2 victory, while Kaies Ghodhbane replied with two penalties. Akçaabat Sebatspor are now bottom, and still seeking their first win, after a 1-1 draw against Gençlerbirligi SK.  

Konyaspor resurgence
Konyaspor's resurgence under coach Safet Susic continued as they beat BB Ankaraspor 3-1 with two goals from Zafer Biryol while Istanbulspor and MKE Ankaragücü both secured 1-0 victories against Gaziantepspor and Diyarbakirspor respectively.