ANKARA
Galatasaray barely snatched the 2-2 draw against Bursaspor at Turk Telekom Arena in a matchday 18 game played on Sunday night.
In the 19th minute Galatasaray scored the opening goal of the game. Turkish target man Umut Bulut smashed the header in the area after winger Olcan Adin whipped the cross from left: 1-0.
Towards the end of the first half, visitors Bursaspor's Turkish winger Volkan Sen scored the equalizer in the box on one-on-one; Argentine midfielder Fernando Belluschi made the assist: 1-1.
In the 53rd minute, Bursaspor came back when their Brazilian striker Fernandao scored from a corner kick: 2-1.
With ten minutes to go, Galatasaray were awarded a penalty kick. Volkan Sen handballing in the box was shown a red card. Galatasaray midfielder Emre Colak converted it succesfully: 2-2.
In remaining time neither side could change the score, and the match ended 2-2.
'Lions' are now staying in third place in the league table whilst archrivals Fenerbahce and Besiktas each increased the gap at the top.
In the meantime Besiktas won against Mersin Idmanyurdu 2-1 in Ankara. Besiktas midfielder Olcay Sahan scored the leading goal for his team in the 30th minute. Mersin Idmanyurdu replied back with their Turkish striker Sinan Kaloglu in the 61st minute.
Four minutes later Besiktas' star forward Demba Ba scored the winning goal for the "Black Eagles;" allowing them to keep following the league leaders Fenerbahce.
League leaders Fenerbahce toppled Kardemir Karabukspor 2-1 in an away match on Saturday. Scorers for the victorious side were Turkish midfielder Selcuk Sahin and Nigerian striker Emmanuel Emenike. Kardemir Karabukspor's single goal was scored by Burkinese Abdou Traore. The "Yellow Canaries" raised their points to 42.
- Results of the week are as follows:
Akhisar Belediyespor 2-2 Balikesirspor
Trabzonspor 2-1 SAI Kayseri Erciyesspor
Kasimpasa 0-1 Istanbul Basaksehir
Gaziantepspor 1-3 Medicana Sivasspor
Kardemir Karabukspor 1-2 Fenerbahce
Torku Konyaspor 1-0 Eskisehirspor
Genclerbirligi 0-2 Caykur Rizespor
Besiktas 2-1 Mersin Idmanyurdu
Galatasaray 2-2 Bursaspor
- Standings are as follows:
|
Rank
|
Team
|
P
|
W
|
D
|
L
|
GF
|
GA
|
+/-
|
Pts
|
|---|
|
1
|
Fenerbahce
|
18
|
13
|
3
|
2
|
30
|
14
|
16
|
42
|
|
2
|
Besiktas
|
18
|
13
|
2
|
3
|
29
|
16
|
13
|
41
|
|
3
|
Galatasaray
|
18
|
12
|
3
|
3
|
30
|
20
|
10
|
39
|
|
4
|
Istanbul Basaksehir
|
18
|
8
|
7
|
3
|
23
|
10
|
13
|
31
|
|
5
|
Bursaspor
|
18
|
8
|
6
|
4
|
36
|
23
|
13
|
30
|
|
6
|
Trabzonspor
|
18
|
7
|
8
|
3
|
34
|
30
|
4
|
29
|
|
7
|
Gaziantepspor
|
18
|
7
|
3
|
8
|
20
|
24
|
-4
|
24
|
|
8
|
Mersin Idmanyurdu
|
18
|
6
|
5
|
7
|
25
|
24
|
1
|
23
|
|
9
|
Kasimpasa
|
18
|
6
|
5
|
7
|
28
|
32
|
-4
|
23
|
|
10
|
Genclerbirligi
|
18
|
5
|
7
|
6
|
24
|
22
|
2
|
22
|
|
11
|
Torku Konyaspor
|
18
|
5
|
5
|
8
|
17
|
26
|
-9
|
20
|
|
12
|
Akhisar Belediyespor
|
18
|
4
|
7
|
7
|
21
|
30
|
-9
|
19
|
|
13
|
SAI Kayseri Erciyesspor
|
18
|
3
|
8
|
7
|
23
|
27
|
-4
|
17
|
|
14
|
Eskisehirspor
|
18
|
3
|
8
|
7
|
23
|
28
|
-5
|
17
|
|
15
|
Caykur Rizespor
|
18
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
19
|
26
|
-7
|
17
|
|
16
|
Medicana Sivasspor
|
18
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
19
|
28
|
-9
|
17
|
|
17
|
Kardemir Karabukspor
|
18
|
4
|
3
|
11
|
21
|
26
|
-5
|
15
|
|
18
|
Balikesirspor
|
18
|
3
|
4
|
11
|
20
|
36
|
-16
|
13
|
Top scorers:
Fernandao (Bursaspor) and Oscar Cardozo (Trabzonspor) 12 goals
Theofanis Gekas (Akhisar Belediyespor) and Burak Yilmaz (Galatasaray) 11 goals
Demba Ba (Besiktas) 10 goals
Next matchday's fixtures are as follows:
Friday
Istanbul Basaksehir vs Kardemir Karabukspor
Saturday
Medicana Sivasspor vs Akhisar Belediyespor
SAI Kayseri Erciyesspor vs Gaziantepspor
Fenerbahce vs Trabzonspor
Sunday
Balikesirspor vs Torku Konyaspor
Mersin Idmanyurdu vs Kasimpasa
Bursaspor vs Genclerbirligi
Caykur Rizespor vs Besiktas
Monday
Eskisehirspor vs Galatasaray
www.aa.com.tr/en
