Trabzonspor looks to bounce back from bitter loss in Cup

TRABZON

Trabzonspor forward Halil Altıntop (L) tries to dribble past Eskişehirspor captain Servet Çetin during his team’s bitter 3-0 defeat in the Spor Toto Super League. The Black Sea outfit hopes to get a win over Şanlıurfaspor in a round of 32 match in the Ziraat Turkish Cup tonight, to boost its wounded morale. AA photo

Trabzonspor hopes to end its poor streak when it visits League One side Şanlıurfaspor tonight, but the Ziraat Turkish Cup tie is likely to be a tricky match for the Black Sea outfit.

Trabzonspor will host Şanlıurfaspor, who plays in the second-tier PTT League One, tonight in a round of 32 game in the Ziraat Turkish Cup.

The Black Sea Storm will be looking to bounce back from a bitter 3-0 defeat at the hands of Eskişehirspor on Nov. 26.

However, even when playing against a lower-league club, Trabzonspor is not likely to have a soft opponent ahead, as Şanlıurfaspor has beef with the club.

Şanlıurfaspor had an eventful PTT League One match against 1461 Trabzon, the feeder club of Trabzonspor, on Oct. 14. The game was interrupted by Şanlıurfaspor fans invading the pitch while 1461 was leading 2-1. After the game was halted, the Turkish Football Federation decided to call the game a 2-1 win for the visitors and handed a two-match penalty of playing behind closed doors to Şanlıurfaspor.

Şanlıurfaspor seeks Trabzon revenge

The Şanlıurfaspor board and fans were left lamenting that the events were “provoked” by the referee, who issued a red card to the host’s goalkeeper and awarded a penalty to the visitors early in the game.

It is likely that Şanlıurfaspor will try to avenge the loss against 1461 Trabzon’s parent club.
The team will also try to continue its stunning away form. Şanlıurfaspor is the only team in the top two Turkish football divisions that is yet to suffer a defeat.

The Trabzonspor vs. Şanlıurfaspor match at Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium starts at 8:30 p.m. Elsewhere, Eskişehirspor will try to advance to the round of 16 when it visits Polatlı Bugsaşspor, a minnow from Ankara playing in the third-tier Spor Toto League Two. The game at Polatlı Stadium starts at 1 p.m.
Another Ankara team, Gençlerbirliği, hosts League Two team Bandırmaspor at the 19 Mayıs Stadium at 3:30 p.m.

Sivasspor takes on Manisaspor in another match today at 6 p.m.

The round of 32 will be wrapped up with four matches to be played next week.

On Nov. 27, Galatasaray, Mersin İdman Yurdu and Altay became the first teams to advance to the next round in the competition.

Galatasaray crushed lowly Balıkesirspor 4-1, thanks to goals by Johan Elmander, Sercan Yıldırım, Aydın Yılmaz and Ceyhun Gülselam. The Lions, who are searching for their first cup triumph since 2005, played with a largely rotated squad. Mustafa Şen scored the only goal for the League Two side.
Altay needed an extra-time goal to eliminate Kayseri Erciyesspor 1-0, while Mersin İdman Yurdu downed Tokatspor by one goal as well.