Black Eagles Hop On Super League Draw Bandwagon

Certain things can be contagious, especially in football. After the two perennial İstanbul championship contenders, Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe, drew their matches in week two of the Spor Toto Super League -- on Saturday and Sunday, respectively -- the İstanbul contagion continued until Monday. Beşiktaş followed suit, dropping two precious points after a 1-1 home draw with gutsy Çaykur Rizespor at İstanbul's Atatürk Olympic Stadium on Monday.

The result means none of the İstanbul giants was able to earn maximum points in week two. As is known, Galatasaray was held 0-0 at home by the gritty Green Crocs of Bursa on Saturday, and defending champion Fenerbahçe had to make do with a point after obtaining the same result in an away “derby” with Trabzonspor the following day.

“It was a very difficult match, and that is what we experienced,” said Beşiktaş's Croatian coach Slaven Bilic at a post-game news conference. “We wanted to win, but it was not [meant] to be. And because we could not win, we were disheartened. Our opponents defended well and tried to be effective through dead balls and counter-attacks,” he stated.

It is worth noting that Beşiktaş came back from the dead to salvage a point. And it was a goal late in the second half (81st minute) by former Kaiserslautern man Olcay Şahan that saved the Eagles from a humiliating home defeat.

Vienna-born Austria international winger Ümit Korkmaz put visiting Rizespor ahead three minutes into the second half (48th). But Düsseldorf-born Olcay, a natural left-winger, took advantage of poor clearance by the Rize defense to whack the ball into the back of the net following a corner taken by Turkey leftie Gökhan Töre to give his team a much-needed equalizer in front scant fans at Olympic Stadium.

As the name implies, Olympic Stadium is gigantic and has a capacity of 76,000 spectators. But less than 7,000 turned up for Monday's match, leaving empty seats here, there and everywhere.

Football fans are known as the “12th man” and their massive absence could have an adverse impact on the team. Maybe because Olympic Stadium is located on the outskirts of the city, maybe because of fan disinterest in matches against small teams, or maybe because the match took place on a workday, the fact remains that the poor attendance was not worthy of Beşiktaş fans.

Furthermore, the Black Eagles were without three key players for Monday's game. Senegal star striker Demba Ba (renamed by fans as “Dem Baba,” or Papa Dem) was sidelined due to injury. Argentina midfielder Jose Ernesto Sosa, on loan from Atletico Madrid, and Netherlands-born Turkey attacking midfielder Oğuzhan Özyakup were missing due to red card suspensions.

The void created by the absence of these regular starters was really felt by Beşiktaş, a fact with which Bilic himself concurred. “The pitch was coarse and it is extremely difficult [to play] fast-paced football on this kind of surface,” he said, adding: “In situations like this, skill and an incisive footballing brain are required. That's why we really missed Demba Ba and Oğuzhan. Some players were not equal to the task, so the absence of Demba Ba and Oğuzhan was evident."

The trio should be back in the Beşiktaş lineup for the UEFA Europa League Group C game against Greek outfit Asteras Tripolis at Olympic Stadium on Thursday. And their presence is bound to make a difference.

Rizespor coach Mehmet Özdilek, a former Beşiktaş midfielder and captain, praised his players for their fighting spirit. But he nonetheless lamented over how they let Beşiktaş off the hook with only nine minutes to go.

The other Super League match on Monday also ended in a draw, with Akhisar Belediyespor and Sivasspor sharing the spoils after a thrilling 2-2 draw.

Okan Udo Bassey (Cihan/Today's Zaman)