Galatasaray suffered an upset loss against Sivasspor, while Beşiktaş started with a win over Bucaspor on the opening day of the Spor Toto Super League Saturday.
Sivasspor rallied from a 1-0 deficit to claim a 2-1 win against Galatasaray. Mustafa Sarp capped nice teamwork in the seventh minute to score the first goal of the new football season, but later defensive problems got the better of the Lions.
In the 44th minute, veteran midfielder Ceyhun Eriş crossed the ball on a free kick and Bruno Zita headed the ball in to equalize the score. Galatasaray goalkeeper Aykut Erçetin, who has been criticized for his recent performances, was again the one to blame as he hesitated to pursue the high ball. Aykut made a similar mistake in the Europa League preliminary match against OFK Beograd two weeks ago, when Galatasaray slumped to a 2-2 draw following a two-goal lead.
The Lions went on to win the tie with a 5-1 triumph in the return match, but on Saturday the team looked too poor to come back for a win. Fifteen minutes into the second half, Ceyhun Eriş was again the architect, as he passed forward through two Galatasaray players and gave the ball to Cihan Yılmaz to score.
Even after the second goal, it was again Sivasspor creating chances, with Galatasaray looking too ineffectual in the final third of the pitch. Coach Frank Rijkaard bringing in strikers Milan Baros and Mehmet Batdal did not help the Istanbul side find half a chance and Sivasspor came close to goal twice, one with Mehmet Yılmaz and one again with Ceyhun.
With the final whistle looming, Rijkaard seemed tense and butted heads with Sivasspor coach Hayati Soydaş.
During the press conference, the Dutchman admitted that he was nervous.
“I was nervous because I wanted to win,” he said. “There was a certain stress caused by starting well but then going on to lose. It was normal during the course of the game.”
The Galatasaray coach and players also heavily criticized the referee, Mustafa Kamil Abitoğlu, for calling the foul that led to the first Sivasspor goal in the 44th minute. Rijkaard and his players argued with linesman Mustafa Emre Eyisoy, and substitute defender Gökhan Zan was cautioned.
“On that occasion, the opposition forward fouled our player but the referee called for a foul against us,” Rijkaard explained. “That’s why the atmosphere got tense.”
That was the first victory for Mesut Bakkal as Sivasspor coach, who had seven consecutive draws after he was assigned to the post in the later stages of last season.
“We are a good team and we will be even better,” said Bakkal. “That was only the start of the season. You win nothing just with a victory over Galatasaray.”
Unlike Galatasaray, another title contender started with a win, even without a solid performance, as Beşiktaş claimed a victory over Bucaspor with one goal.
Brazilian striker Bobo scored the only goal of the match fifteen seconds into the second half, with a pass he received from Guti. The Spanish sensation was actually Beşiktaş’s best player on the pitch, showing glimpses of his genius passing. Another key player for Beşiktaş was youngster Necip Uysal, who showed no signs of inexperience while he was playing next to stars such as Guti and Fabian Ernst in the midfield.
“We wanted to dominate the game on their half of the pitch and that was what we did,” said coach Bernd Schuster. “It would have been easier if we had found a second goal, but we managed to win and I am happy with the result.”
In the other matches on Saturday night there were no goals, with the Gaziantepspor-Kasımpaşa and Eskişehirspor-Gençlerbirliği games both ending in 0-0.
