Antalyaspor holds Fenerbahçe even

By: j | May 18th, 2009

Fenerbahçe’s disappointing season continued with a 1-1 draw to relegation concerned Antalyaspor. The result leaves the Yellow Canaries a point above Bursaspor in sixth place and trailing Galatasaray by three points with two remaining match-days.

The match could be referred to as a “strategic affair” if I was inclined to be generous but I am not. In truth it was a dreary evening in which Luis Aragonés’ side played well below their pedigree. With the lush days of summer ahead it remains to be seen if many have already accepted their fate and merely “running out”. Fenerbahçe’s undisciplined play was perfectly evident on Sunday as Antalyaspor, a side with a dreadfully anemic attack, were able to launch forward uncontested on numerous occasions. In a match that should have been played with tactical precision, Antalyaspor was given far too much space and the Yellow Canaries finishing was simply dreadful. Beyond missed opportunities Antalyaspor was highly unfortunate to have a penalty denied when Ali Bilgin pinned Tita in the area. After a scoreless half Mehmet Özdilek’s side grabbed the lead with sixteen minutes remaining as Hakan Özmert, a product of France’s Nantes academy, accepted the ball to the right side of the box and after creating some spaced fired to the bottom near post from roughly thirteen metres. Two minutes later Fenerbahçe squared the match as Robert Carlos, who otherwise was absent with an terribly low work-rate, in-swinging corner from the right was volleyed in by Diego Lugano. The home side poured forward and if it hadn’t been for the work of ‘keeper Volkan Demirel, Fenerbahçe would have left the coastal community with a loss. However the match concluded without further incident, ending 1-1.

Fenerbahçe returns to play next Sunday as they welcome Konyaspor to Şükrü Saracoğlu.