By Richard Beale……..

Result: Tatlisu Seracillarsk 2 Yedikonuk Sk 0

Sunday May 21: BTM GROUP 1 : Venue: Tatlisu Rauf Denktaş Stadium.

I must be honest, I failed to see Tatlısu’s winning goals as I was in the nearby Sky Cafe guzzling an Efes bira. Let me explain. I thought the game was abandoned after there was a full scale riot in the 85th minute. Yedikonuk who were down to 9 men after having 2 players sent off (though this was not a dirty match), blatantly started time wasting which started to incense the crowd. Tatlisu had forced a corner, but 2 Yedikonuk players fell to the ground apparently injured.

A group of Tatlisu players went to assist one of the Yedikonuk players and enquire about his health and to help him up. Unfortunately he reacted badly and fists were thrown leading to the rest of the players joining in. Both sets of Coaches, and benches got involved as spectators scaled the fence to add their presence to the melee. Police and more responsible spectators tried to restore peace. After around 10 minutes the Officials left the pitch together with the visiting team. Tatlısu players congregated in the centre circle as sporadic fighting among the spectators continued. I spoke to a few people who told me the match was finished either no points will be awarded, or the match will have to be replayed. On hearing this we left as the call of a beer was more important than just waiting around. After we got to the bar and were replenishing the vital fluids lost we heard that the match had restarted and Tatlısu scored two very late goals in “riot time” to win the match!

I am told the match was restarted after 20 minutes in which the referee sent off Tatlısu’s Serkan Kayu and Halil for their part in the riot and also Yedikonuk’s Kazim and Mustafa for their roles. The match was played out with Tatlısu 9 players and Yedikonuk 7 players. I cannot believe I missed all of this because I wanted a beer!

So I can only report on what I saw before the riot, which thankfully was not a lot.

Tatlısu really had  an off day and were poor, unable to break down Yedikonuk’s stubborn resistance. Tatlısu’s big star players failed to produce the goods and lowly Yedikonuk deserved to at least share the points.

A strong breeze blowing across the pitch didn’t help matters, and together with the high bounce on the artificial surface, a number of niggly fouls, entertainment was at a premium.

The highlight of the first half for Tatlısu came following a corner from the left. The ball was cleared to outside the box where Mustafa lashed in a shot only to see it headed off the line by Ahmet in the 12th minute.

Yedikonuk’s only chance of the match was in the 52nd minute when from a Hasan free kick Mustafa Catalkaya headed just over the bar.

In the 64th minute Yedikonuk’s Ahmet was sent off for a second yellow card offence after he handled the ball.

The match continued to be scrappy and League Leaders Tatlısu were finding it hard to find any sort of rhythm or cohesion.

Yedikonuk lost their Captain, Hasan Aktaş who was having an outstanding match, when he was sent off in the 70th minute after he scythed down Tatlisu’s Ibrahim Çelik.

At last in the 71st minute there was a worthwhile shot from Tatlısu when Ümit shot just over the bar.

Then came the riot, so we went to the pub!

Tatlısu scorers in “riot time “ were Ümit and Ibrahim Çelik.

Tatlısu continue to lead the table by 1 point. With Ibrahim Çelik their leading goal scorer on 5 goals. After 6 matches Tatlisu have yet to concede a goal this season.

Tatlısu were lucky today, but when you are on a high, luck goes with you, unlike Yedikonuk who are struggling, they deserved a point but Lady Luck deserted them after the match restarted.

TATLISU TEAM : Hasan (gk) : Tansu, Barış, Mustafa ©, Özal (Halil 55) : Ümit, Turgay, Kubilay, Koray (Soner 80), Serkan, Ibrahim.

Tatlisu Next Match : Saturday May 27 : KO 5-00pm : HOME at Tatlisu Rauf Denktaş Stadium .

Tatlisu Seracilar SK v Yeni Erenköy-Yesilköy-Sipahi Sk