On the return of İsmail Kartal as coach of the Istanbul side following last week’s brief resignation, Fenerbahçe could not manage more than a goalless draw against Gaziantep FK on matchday five of the Süper Lig. Although the Yellow Canaries dominated the match and created the clearest chances, they were denied by the opposition’s woodwork and failed to turn their dominance into a victory.
The match, played at Gaziantep Stadium in south-eastern Turkey, ended 0–0. The second half saw the majority of the chances of the match. In the 54th minute, Matteo Guendouzi came close to putting Fenerbahçe ahead after breaking into the opposition’s box and finding himself one-on-one with the goalkeeper; after being brought down – without the referee awarding a penalty – the ball was intercepted by Kerem Aktürkoğlu, whose subsequent shot ended up crashing against the post.
The visitors came close to scoring again in the closing stages. In the 88th minute, Mason Greenwood took a free-kick which went straight onto the crossbar, thwarting one of Fenerbahçe’s last chances to take all three points from their trip to south-eastern Anatolia.
A match plagued by yellow cards
The match was also full of interruptions due to constant substitutions – 10 changes in total, all during the second half – and the cards. For Gaziantep FK, Sontje Hansen, Arda Kızıldağ, Myenty Abena and Ulrich Meleke were shown yellow cards, whilst Oğuz Aydın, Vedat Muriqi and İrfan Can Kahveci were also booked for Fenerbahçe. In total, 7 yellow cards were shown by the referee, Mehmet Türkmen, who added three minutes of stoppage time.
This draw takes the home side to 8 points in the table, whilst Fenerbahçe remain on 7. Consequently, the result keeps the Istanbul side in mid-table – in eleventh place – after five matchdays, something almost unheard of for the club in recent years.
Ismail Kartal’s return fails to end the team’s crisis
The match, beyond what was happening on the pitch, was undoubtedly marked by the crisis on the Fenerbahçe bench, after Ismail Kartal announced his resignation on Thursday following the team’s draw with Roma in their Champions League opener: an announcement that took journalists, players and the board completely by surprise, and which also came in the wake of the team’s home defeat in the Istanbul derby against Beşiktaş.
After even the Turkish press had reported the end of the coach’s tenure, the situation took an unexpected turn in less than 24 hours when Fenerbahçe’s chairman, Aziz Yıldırım, publicly defended his position and called on the fans to back the coach, who had been hit on the head by a bottle during the match against Roma. The club subsequently confirmed that the fan responsible for the attack had been identified and sanctioned, and following a face-to-face meeting with Yıldırım, the latter reiterated his support and İsmail Kartal announced that he was withdrawing his resignation.
Match stats
| Gaziantep FK | Fenerbahçe | |
|---|---|---|
| Total shots | 10 | 12 |
| Shots on target | 0 | 3 |
| Possession | 32% | 68% |
| Fouls | 16 | 8 |
| Yellow cards | 4 | 3 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
| Offsides | 0 | 1 |
| Corners | 6 | 6 |
Results of the 5th round of the Super League
Turkish league: standings
| GP | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | PTS | |
| 1.GALATASARAY A.Ş. | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 6 | 7 | 13 |
| 2.BEŞİKTAŞ A.Ş. | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 8 | 12 |
| 3.AMED SPORTİF FAALİYETLER | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| 4.KASIMPAŞA A.Ş. | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 9 |
| 5.ÇAYKUR RİZESPOR A.Ş. | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| 6.KOCAELİSPOR | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 9 |
| 7.GAZİANTEP FUTBOL KULÜBÜ A.Ş. | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
| 8.CORENDON ALANYASPOR | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 8 |
| 9.TRABZONSPOR A.Ş. | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 5 | 4 | 7 |
| 10.ARCA ÇORUM FK | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 7 |
| 11.FENERBAHÇE A.Ş. | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 7 |
| 12.GENÇLERBİRLİĞİ | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | -4 | 7 |
| 13.İSTANBUL BAŞAKŞEHİR FK | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 4 |
| 14.SAMSUNSPOR A.Ş. | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 4 |
| 15.ERZURUMSPOR FK | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 11 | -9 | 4 |
| 16.TÜMOSAN KONYASPOR | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 3 |
| 17.EYÜPSPOR | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 8 | -6 | 3 |
| 18.GÖZTEPE A.Ş. | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 13 | -4 | 2 |
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EDITORIAL TEAM
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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