Derby delight for Galatasaray
Saturday, September 29, 2007
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Playing behind closed doors proved no hindrance to Galatasaray SK as the leaders defeated Beşiktaş JK 2-1 to open up a five-point gap at the top of the Süper Lig.
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Playing behind closed doors at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium was no hindrance to Galatasaray SK as the Süper Lig leaders defeated Beşiktaş JK 2-1 on Saturday to open up a five-point gap at the top of the table.
Weak punch
Punished because of crowd problems last season, Galatasaray took the game to their Istanbul rivals from the off and deservedly took the lead in the 22nd minute as Hakan Balta capitalised on a weak punch by visiting goalkeeper Hakan Arıkan. Rodrigo Tello drew Beşiktaş level in the 44th minute with a wonderful left-footed effort – the 100th goal scored by his team against Galatasaray since 1959.
Porto next
The decisive goal eventually came from the spot in the 77th minute as defender İbrahim Toraman felled Arda Turan in the area and Shabani Nonda stroked in the penalty. The defeat ended Beşiktaş’s unbeaten start, and left coach Ertuğrul Sağlam to say: "Our opponents deserved to win – they wanted it more than us. We now have an important game against FC Porto on Wednesday. We now have to think about that game, take stock and think twice about our mistakes."