Turkey round-up: Galatasaray keep their cool

Galatasaray SK hit back after last week’s defeat to Gençlerbirligi by re-asserting their command in the Turkish Super League with a 2-1 defeat of MKE Ankaragücü.

Ümit reply
Augustine Ahinful’s early goal did nothing to help the Istanbul side’s flagging confidence– but the visitors went into the break with their tails up thanks to Ümit Karan’s 45th-minute strike.

Gloss finish
Ümit, back in the starting eleven absence through injury, collected Bülent Korkmaz’s lobbed ball over the top and produced a delightful chip to beat the opposition goalkeeper.

Precise header
With just nine minutes left, Hasan Sas found an unmarked Berkant Göktan in the area and the attacking midfield player buried his header. Ankaragücü’s Yilmaz Özlem was sent-off in the dying stages for a reckless tackle on Cihan Haspolatli.

Simsek strike
Fenerbahçe SK beat Istanbulspor AS 2-0 win to stay just behind the leaders but waited until the 71st minute to open the scoring through Tuncay Sanli, substitute Yusuf Simsek adding the final word.

Status quo
Draws between Gençlerbirligi and Besiktas (1-1) and
Gaziantepspor and Trabzonspor (0-0) did nothing to unsettle the status quo at the business end of the league.

Damage done
Altay GK beat Bursaspor 2-1 on Saturday in Izmir, goals from Inanç Gültekin and Oktay Kuday’s doing the damage. Struggling Kocaelispor, meanwhile, grabbed an important three points in a 1-0 away defeat of Elazigspor, Ugur Yasan’s second-half goal proving the difference.

Two draws
Elsewhere, Diyarbakirspor edged out Malatyaspor 1-0, Murat Hacioglu striking on 51 minutes while Adanaspor and Samsunspor drew 1-1 and Denizlispor and Göztepe battled out a goalless stalemate.