Northern Cyprus Football
Lucky Ground Comes Up Trumps Again for Esentepe
News report from Rich’s Sport………
By Graham Brown and Richard Beale…….
Result : BAF ÜLKÜ YURDU 0 ESENTEPE KKSK 1
Saturday December 12th 2015: K.PET League 1, Played at Güzelyurt Zafer Stadium.
For the second week running Esentepe came away from the Zafer Stadium with all the points.
Following last week’s success over Yalova, Esentepe won the match thanks to a 50th minute goal from striker Eser Kan. Baf Ülkü Yurdu (BÜY), had the majority of the possession and they missed some golden chances as Esentepe rode their luck at times. Luck has been against Esentepe for most of the season, so it’s nice to have Lady Luck smiling on you for a change.
Weather : Early rain, cloudy/sunny with a cold breeze.
Baf Ülkü Yurdu colours : All white : Esentepe colours : Red shirts fading to pink, black shorts/socks
Attendance : Approx 80. (4 Ex-Pats, 15 locals from Esentepe), 18 Police!
Esentepe were forced to one change from last week with midfielder İlyas being suspended, so striker Eser replaced him, with Kaan dropping back into midfield.
FIRST HALF :
This was dreadful, and a 45 minutes that need to be forgotten, which I have already 0-0.
SECOND HALF :
Esentepe took the lead in the 50th minute with a superb goal from ESER. A misplaced pass to his fellow defender by goalkeeper Emre, this led to Esentepe gaining possession on the left, where Emek whipped in a cross that was missed by everyone, the ball fell to Umar out on the right and his perfect cross was met first time on the edge of the penalty area by ESER who volleyed the ball in. 0-1.
BÜY hit back, when following a free kick on the left 
taken by Ertuğ, he found the outstretched foot of the lanky Bilal whose shot went over the bar.
BÜY came closer to scoring in the 64th minute when Ertuğ and Hasan combined well together to give the latter a scoring opportunity, but Serkan in the Esentepe goal came out quickly and the striker could only prod the ball wide.
BÜY had a penalty appeal turned down following a corner, which led to a number of shots being charged down, but Referee Timur Ercan Bodi (who had a good game) rightly decided that the ball had hit Esentepe’s defender Bariş on the hip.
Then substitute Çenkay flashed a powerful volley wide of Serkan’s left hand post as Esentepe were coming under increasing pressure.
Çenkay on the right produced a good run taking him past 3 defenders, before passing to fellow substitute Berk whose shot was blocked by Serkan, who reacted very quickly coming out of his goal.
75 minutes the tricky Iltaç who had looked dangerous all match, put over a cross which was met at the near post by Yasin but he fired his shot high over the bar.
Esentepe were defending stoutly, with their forwards and midfielders all helping keep BÜY at bay.
Esentepe’s good fortune continued in the 85th minute, when Iliac again produced a good run and cross before picking out Hasan who prodded wide of goal as he was put under pressure by Serkan who again raced out of his goal. FULL TIME : 0-1.
SUMMING UP :
Can we play at the Zafer Stadium every week, it certainly has turned out to be a lucky ground. 2 matches 6 points against in form teams, Saturday’s match may have been an “ugly” win again, but who cares when you are scrapping against relegation. Three wins on the trot has eased our relegation worries, and taken some pressure off Coach Gokan Kim. Losing 3 of the teams “stars” transferred in the summer, besieged by injuries and suspensions, the Coach has worked miracles with such a small squad. Take a bow Coach you deserve the plaudits, and well done the team, for showing guts and determination when lots of people thought relegation was a certainty.
Saturday’s match was a back to the wall effort with once again central defenders Berkan and Nersin outstanding. It’s good to see the Captain Berkan back to his old form. A word of mention to keeper Serkan who again put in a steady and reliable performance. He may not be a shot saver in the mould of our previous keeper Ali, but I like the way he reacts quickly to situations, by closing the angle down. The midfield work hard as a unit and striker Eser led the line well and put in a a lot of effort.
ESENTEPE TEAM (4-4-1-1, sub appearances in brackets, marks out of 10).
Serkan 7: Bariş 6, Nersin 8, BERKAN 8.5, Emek 7 : Umar 6 (Salih 66 mins), Mahmut 6, Burak 7, Kaan 7 (Emrah 89) : Başak 6 (Muhammed 79) : Eser 7 :
Esentepe replacements not used :
Kürşat (gk), Aziz, Mehmet, Tugay.
ESENTEPE LEAGUE SEASON 2015-16 :
26-09-15 : Gençlk Gücü A 2-2 Başak, Emek (pen)
03-10-15 : DENIZLI H 0-0
10-10-15 : Hamitköy A 2-2 Kaan, Eser
17-10-15 : KARŞIYAKA H 0-3
25-10-15 : Düzkaya A 1-2 Kaan
31-10-15 : GIRNE HALK EVI H 0-0
07-11-15 : Göçmenköy A 1-2 Eser
14-11-15 : GÖRNEÇ H 3-2 Firat og, Eser, Emrah
21-11-15 Gönyeli A 1-2 Emek (p)
28-11-15 : LAPTA H 2-1 Umar, Kaan
06-12-15 : Yalova A 3-1 Başak. Burak. Kaan
12-12-15 : Baf Ülkü Yurdu A1-0 Eser
LEAGUE APPEARANCES (Sub apps in brackets) Max 12:
12 : Mahmut, Emek : 11: Nersin, Burak Kaan: 10 : İlyas (1) : 9 : Serkan (2), Umar (2), Berkan (2) : 8: Vurkan : 7: Başak(1), Eser(5) : 6 : Salih (2) : 4: Bariş(2) : 3: Tuğrul : 2 : Emrah (7) : 1 : Mehmet (5) : 0 : Muhammed (5), Aziz (2), Tugay (1), Aras (1) :
GOALS :
4 : Kaan, Eser : 2 : Emek (2 pen), Başak : 1 : Umar, Burak, Emrah, one own goal. = 16.
Result : UNDER 19 team : BAF ÜLKÜ YURDU 3 ESENTEPE KKSK 0.
ESENTEPE NEXT MATCH :
The last Home League match before the winter break (Pepsi Kola Cup match draw not yet made), sees the visit of second place and much inform DUMLUPINAR, who on Saturday thrashed Lapta 7-1.
Details : Sunday December 20th: kick off 2-00pm @ Esentepe Erda
To read more from Esentepe Community and see the latest match video, please click here
