Galatasaray’s Sneijder shoots down Fenerbahçe in derby after late goal flurry
ANKARA – Anadolu Agency
Galatasaray's Wesley Sneijder celebrates during their derby match with Fenerbahçe at the TT Arena stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014. AA Photo
Galatasaray defeated its archrival Fenerbahçe 2-1 in an exciting Spor Toto Super League match at the Lions’ home ground the Türk Telekom Arena on the night of Oct. 18.All eyes in Turkey were glued to the “Intercontinental Derby” match between the two leading Turkish teams, the first derby of the year.
The game started with a quick tempo. In the 17th minute of the game, the long range drive of Fenerbahçe’s Portuguese central midfielder Raul Meireles was denied by Fernando Muslera.
Fenerbahçe veteran Emre Belozoğlu, was subbed-out injured in the 34th minute, replaced by fellow old-timer Selçuk Şahin.
But the visitors managed to keep up the pressure, and in the 42nd minute Fenerbahçe’s Nigerian forward Emmanuel Emenike received a through ball from Meireles, but missed a one-on-one chance.
The two sides headed to their dressing rooms at half-time tied at 0-0.
In the very early minutes of the second half, Galatasaray missed a chance with Dutch star Wesley Sneijder, whose shot was saved by Fenerbahçe goalkeeper Volkan Demirel.
The balance in the match was then completely altered when Fenerbahçe’s Portuguese center-back Bruno Alves was directly sent off by the referee after kicking out at Galatasaray midfielder Blerim Dzemaili in the 53rd minute, leaving the visitors with just 10 men.
Four minutes later, Galatasaray kept the pressure up with a shot by winger Olcan Adın rattling the crossbar.
In the 63rd minute, Fenerbahçe defender Michal Kadlec’s close range header narrowly missed the target.
Nine minutes later, Sneijder’s shot from outside the box shaved the woodwork, and Fenerbahce goalkeeper Volkan Demirel suffered an injury to his waist as he tried to save the shot, but he still continued to play on.
Galatasaray forward Umut Bulut also missed a chance in the 85th minute as he headed the ball in the box, and the match appeared to be heading for a goalless draw until a late goal flurry sealed the points for Galatasaray.
The home team finally broke the deadlock with a classy long shot from Sneijder in the 88th minute. He then appeared to seal the deal in the 90th minute when he found the net again after lobbing the ball from outside the box to beat Volkan Demirel, bringing the score to 2-0.
In the last minute of the extra time, Fenerbahce midfielder Alper Potuk scored to bring the score to 2-1, but it could be nothing but a consolation goal for the defeated visitors.
