Samsunspor secured an important victory after defeating Beşiktaş 2-1 at home on Sunday in the 30th round of the Turkish Süper Lig, in a match played at the May 19 Stadium in Samsun — on Turkey’s Black Sea coast — that was decided in a matter of minutes during the second half, and which began with a tribute to the victims of the shootings at two schools in Turkey.
The match began with the visiting team slightly dominating, controlling possession and trying to set the pace in the opening minutes. However, despite taking the initiative, Beşiktaş failed to translate that control into a clear lead before halftime, and the first half ended goalless.
The match changed radically after halftime. In the 50th minute, Carlo Holse put Samsunspor ahead with a picture-perfect shot from the edge of the box: the Dane, calling for the ball, struck it with his left foot, and his curling shot flew into the top corner, catching the Black Eagles’ goalkeeper off guard. A really beautiful goal.
The home team gained momentum after the goal, and just four minutes later, players and fans called for a penalty after an alleged foul on Tanguy Coulibaly in the box, which the referee let go. It didn’t matter: a minute later, following a play that started in midfield, it was Coulibaly himself who, with a play identical to the first goal — from almost the same position, with his left foot, and aiming for the same spot on the opponent’s goal — beat Destanoğlu again, who didn’t even see it coming, making it 2-0 on the scoreboard. The French striker capped off the performance by celebrating his goal with a double somersault on the field.
Samsunspor, going all out
From that moment on, the Black Sea side clearly took control of the match, despite attempts by the team led by Sergen Yalçın to assert their dominance and close the gap. Just 7 minutes later, Holse again got on the end of a cross in the box to send a header that Destanoğlu barely tipped away for a corner.
These were moments of clear control by Samsunspor, who, far from settling for the result, constantly pressed the goal of a Beşiktaş side that seemed powerless to stop their opponent’s attacks. Even so, in the final minutes and seeing time running out, the Istanbul team seemed to find strength in their weakness, and in the 78th minute Rashica had a good chance, which the goalkeeper managed to save.
The consolation goal for Beşiktaş
The consolation goal came for the Istanbul side in the dying moments, when the referee awarded a penalty in the 89th minute for a handball by Icelandic defender Logi Tómasson.
The penalty was converted without trouble in the 91st minute by Kristjan Asllani, who ran straight back to retrieve the ball without pausing to celebrate, in an attempt at a comeback that was nothing more than a pipe dream with just 4 minutes of stoppage time remaining.
The result of the match in Samsun, in fact, masks the reality: dominance and scoring chances belonged, for much of the game, to a home team that did not shy away from a Beşiktaş side that failed to measure up and struggled mightily to prevent further goals. The statistics speak for themselves: Ersin Destanoğlu had to make twice as many saves as his counterpart in the Samsunspor goal, Okan Kocuk, and was therefore undoubtedly his team’s standout player.
Beşiktaş thus suffers a serious setback in its goal of staying in the upper echelons of the Turkish Süper Lig and securing a spot in the Europa League with four matchdays remaining in the season. In the other matches, Galatasaray cemented its lead with a victory in Ankara, while Fenerbahçe had to settle for a home draw against Rizespor and now trails the leader by 4 points.
Match stats
| SAMSUNSPOR | BEŞİKTAŞ | |
|---|---|---|
| Total shots | 11 | 13 |
| Shots on target | 5 | 3 |
| Possession | 47% | 53% |
| Fouls | 14 | 4 |
| Yellow cards | 5 | 2 |
| Red cards | 0 | 0 |
| Offsides | 4 | 0 |
| Corners | 1 | 7 |
Results of the 30th round of the Super League
Turkish league: standings
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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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