Beşiktaş wins to ease its woes

Defending Turkcell Super League champion Beşiktaş got closer to the top of the standings on Saturday night after clinching its sixth league win in a row against troubled Trabzonspor.

German midfielder Fabian Ernst put Beşiktaş ahead after 49 minutes at Trabzon's Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium and substitute Bobo added one more in the dying minutes of the game to finish it 2-0.

Beşiktaş is now in third place, trailing leader Fenerbahçe by seven points, while Trabzonspor is 13 points behind the leader, having garnered only 18 points in the past 12 weeks.

In Sunday’s matches, Ankaragücü was held to a 2-2 draw at home by Kasımpaşaspor, Eskişehirspor won 2-0 at home over cellar-dweller Denizlispor and visiting Gaziantepspor trashed Manisaspor with three goals to nothing.

Diyarbakırspor-Galatasaray game was still in progress as the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review went to press Sunday.

Fenerbahçe spent the weekend enjoying an unearned three points, as its scheduled match was against Ankaraspor, which was relegated from the Super League by a Turkish Football Federation, or TFF, ruling.

Beşiktaş’s victory might help the team to make peace with its fans, following the extreme protests that erupted last Tuesday after a 3-0 loss to Germany’s Wolfsburg in the Champions League. The win was a big blow to Trabzonspor and its coach Hugo Broos, whose job hangs in the balance.

“The result is absolutely unfair,” Broos told a post-match press conference. “We controlled the ball and were the superior side throughout the game. We had several chances to score, but couldn’t take advantage, and we paid the price for that.”

According to Broos, Beşiktaş goalkeeper Hakan Arıkan was the man of the match. “Beşiktaş played with five defenders and Hakan played extremely well,” he said. “As they won, it seems like their tactics have worked.”

When asked whether he was considering resignation, Broos’ answer was a firm “no.”

Beşiktaş coach Mustafa Denizli said the team needed a victory to boost players’ morale. “We played against one of the strongest teams on its home turf,” Denizli told reporters after the game. “Everyone will recognize the importance of the three points we got tonight when other teams visit Trabzon.”

Denizli said the protests after the Wolfsburg game created pressure on the players. “If we had lost here, the situation would have gotten a lot worse. We managed to win even though we were having trouble,” he said.

The Turkish coach recalled that Beşiktaş finished the first half of last year’s season with 28 points and has already collected 24 points this year – with five more weeks to go. “The criticism is not fair,” he said. “The problem is my players have not been playing at ease in the last few weeks. They lack their biggest source of support: the fans. It is the worst environment a footballer can be in.”

In Saturday’s other game, Istanbul Municipality striker Herve Tum scored in just the fourth minute against visiting Antalyaspor to clinch a victory for his side. Antalyaspor midfielder Kerim Zengin was sent off in the last minute of the game.

In the opening game of Week 12 on Friday night, Gençlerbirliği came from behind to earn a crucial victory at Bursaspor. Ivan Ergic put the home side in the lead in the 25th minute, but Hurşit Meriç of Gençlerbirliği leveled the game four minutes before halftime.

Young talent Mustafa Pektemek, who came as a substitute in the 75th minute, scored his fifth league goal of the season in the 80th, giving the Ankara side its fifth victory.