By Richard Beale………………..
It may be a little premature but Esentepe’s destiny is in their own hands. Another win and Davut Kansu, Esentepe made it 15 matches unbeaten and further secured their top spot position. Esentepe have a 10 point advantage over their 3rd place rivals.
Result : GÖRNEÇ GSK 0 ESENTEPE KKSK 3
Saturday 10th March 2018 : K-Pet League 1 : Görneç Uc Sehitler Stadi
On a beautiful sunny afternoon, Görneç’s mountainside Stadium was looking magnificent. Its location offers superb views of the mountains and plains below them. Esentepe brought with them a large contingent and they were made most welcome by our genial neighbours.
Esentepe due to injuries and suspensions were literally down to their “bare bones”. So much that they were unable to pick their full quota of 6 substitutes. On the bench were 3 untried youngsters, 1 player who has been called up by the Army and is unable to train with the team, and finally another one who is carrying a hamstring injury and can only play a maximum of 30 minutes. Luckily for Esentepe they have no XXXXXXXL size kit as yours truly would have been offered a place on the bench!
Action pictures from the match, Esentepe are in white
Görneç in the first half settled well and were soon spraying the ball around with Ex Esentepe defender Firat Kulle playing in a midfield role. Most of the Görneç attacks floundered on Esentepe’s impregnable defence or their efforts went high and wide, with Mustafa Arnavut their star player being the main culprit.
Esentepe took a fortuitous lead in the 36th minute when a long ball from Hasan tried to find the raiding Muhammed on the right. Görneç’s defender ERTAN got to the ball first and back passed firmly to his Goalkeeper Hasan, unfortunately for Ertan his keeper had come racing out to the area too soon, missed the ball which trickled agonisingly into an unguarded net. HALF TIME SCORE : 0-1.
Esentepe Coach Davut must have been unhappy with his team’s first half performance as he replaced Muhammed who was playing out of position on the right wing with Hüseyin. Görneç now were pushing men forward seeking the equaliser, but began to leave gaps at the back and midfield which were to be fully exploited by Esentepe.
Esentepe increased their lead in the 55th minute with a well taken goal from ESER KAN. Chasing a long high ball from Başak, accompanied by Görneç defender Rifat the Esentepe striker got to the ball first and sent a perfect high lob over the advancing Hasan, the ball coming down and into the net just below the crossbar. 0-2.
Görneç were becoming frequently frustrated, arguing with themselves which is never a good sign.
More action pictures with Esentepe 2 goal scorer ESEN KAN (right)
Esentepe made the game safe with a superb move in the 67th minute. A great through ball from Başak found Mahmut running into the area, he looked certain to score himself but unselfishly squared the ball across to the far post where ESER KAN simply side footed the ball in for his second goal. 0-3
After that Görneç’s heads dropped and both sides saw out the remaining minutes of the game without further scares. Esentepe even gave one of their untried youngsters Mustafa Günlüa a 10 minute run out and he showed some fine touches. FULL TIME SCORE : 0-3
SUMMING UP : A very competent performance from the League leaders. After Görneç’s opening burst, Esentepe drew the sting out of their attacks and were very comfortable in the second half. Once again the “stars of the show” for Esentepe were their defence and Goalkeeper Kemal. Another blank sheet only 18 goals conceded from 21 games played, this is Esentepe’s rock and strength. Considering what the Coach had to choose from when selecting his team, it’s a testament to the fantastic team spirit and camaraderie that has been installed into the team. There are 8 matches left in the season, if Esentepe are to be promoted their future now rests within the next 3 matches which are against teams in the “top 6”’ Dumlupinar (h), Maraş (a) and Hamitköy (h)
Next Esentepe match : Saturday March 17th : ko 3-00pm at Esentepe Erdal Barut Stadium,
ESENTEPE v DUMLUPINAR.
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Video highlights of the Görneç GSK v Esentepe KKSK football match on 10th March 2018
by Graham Procter- Brown
