Beşiktaş battles its way to beat Gençlerbirliği
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Portuguese star Ricardo Quaresma opened the scoring for Beşiktaş before his compatriots Manuel Fernandes and Hugo Almeida clinched the league win. AA photo
Three goals from Portuguese stars helped Beşiktaş outclass Gençlerbirliği in the Spor Toto Super League on Feb. 19.Coming to the game with three defeats and one draw in its last four games, Beşiktaş managed to snap its poor record thanks to a dramatic comeback. Beşiktaş remained third with 49 points, following leader Galatasaray (60 points) and second Fenerbahçe (54 points) from a distance.
Gençlerbirliği, one of the overachievers this season, is fifth with 43 points, three points below the championship playoff spots.
Galatasaray beat Mersin İdman Yurdu 3-1 on Feb. 17, while defending champion Fenerbahçe defeated Sivasspor 4-2 on Feb. 18. Trabzonspor, fourth with 46 points, was drawn 3-3 with Kayserispor.
Beşiktaş got its victory the hard way, since it had to battle against a solid Gençlerbirliği side.
Visitors opened the scoring thanks to their prolific striker Herve Tum. The Cameroonian veteran scored his 12th league goal to give the Ankara side the lead.
Portuguese superstar Ricardo Quaresma, who has been struggling to find his best form after a two-month layoff due to injury, equalized early in the second half.
His compatriot Hugo Almeida gave Beşiktaş the lead in the 58th minute, but Gençlerbirliği equalized with Costa Rican midfielder Randall Azofeifa in the 70th minute.
However, Beşiktaş’s combative midfielder Manuel Fernandes responded three minutes later to cap an all-Portuguese scoreline.
Despite scoring the winning goal, Fernandes was criticized for picking up a yellow card that will make him unavailable for the weekend’s big derby against Galatasaray.
