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FOURMIDABLE | FENER 4 DENIZLI 1

Written by Jem Djemal

Saturday, 19 April 2008

Fenerbahce sent a defiant message to title rivals Galatasaray and Sivasspor by brushing Denizlispor aside with a formidable display.

Arthur Zico gave Mateja Kezman the nod ahead of Semih Senturk as a show of confidence in his much criticised striker. The Serbian forward had a week he would rather forget and for the first 20 minutes of this match his misery continued.

The 28 year old was heavily involved in the thick of the action but unfortunately for all the wrong reasons. Nothing seemed to go his way and in the 19th minute groans were already beginning to circulate around the terraces as he missed an open goal.

Denizlispor broke 3 on 3 but Yusuf dwelled on the ball a little too long and was dispossessed. Within a blink of an eye the ball was played forward to Kezman who found himself one-on-one with Suleyman but the goalkeeper was favourite to reach the ball first. In his eagerness to hack clear, the goalkeeper kicked fresh air and Kezman was left with the ball and an empty goal to aim at 20 yards out. Surprisingly the Fenerbahce goal ace missed the target altogether and the chance was gone.

Fortunately he was able to redeem himself 2 minutes later. Gokhan Gonul and Colin Kazim-Richards exchanged passes on the right with Kazim coming away with the ball. The 22 year old cut inside and found an unmarked Kezman who unleashed all his anger and frustration on to the ball finding the top corner with a rasping shot. The relief inside Sukru Saracoglu stadium could be felt throughout Istanbul.

There was a plenty of end-to-end action which followed but neither side managed to score for the reaminder of the half although Deivid de Souza did find the net but his effort was rightfully ruled offside.

Fenerbahce started the second half looking to double their lead and within 5 minutes of the restart Kezman thought he had scored it. A smart exchange of passes on the edge of the penalty area released Ugur Boral who was one-on-one with the keeper. The Turkey international unselfishly played the ball square for Kezman to tap into an empty net, only for the assistant referee to raise his flag for offside. Replays of the incident seemed to indicate the Serbian was hard done by as he was behind the ball when it was passed to him.

Thankfully the home fans did not have to wait long for a second goal that did count however. The impressive Ugur Boral made a surging run from the left reaching the byline and cutting a pass back to Deivid. The Brazilian had time to control the ball, steady himself and find the bottom corner on 59 minutes.

The last half hour saw the away team sending more men forward so Zico brought on Semih in place of Kazim reverting to a 4-3-1-2 formation in the process. The Turkey striker was immediately involved in the action missing a good opportunity and then pressuring Murat Karakoc to divert the ball into his own net for 3-0 after neat footwork by Mehmet Aurelio.

In the final minute of normal time Guray scored a consolation for the visitors after Musa Kus’s crossed found him unmarked from 3 yards out. However, there was still time for The Transformer to carry out his routine goal coming off the bench.

In the third minute of injury time Edu caught Guray in possession, rode 3 challenges and passed the ball onto Deivid. The Brazilian played a first time ball to Semih running in form the right and he made no mistake in scoring his 16th league goal of the season.

Next week is the big one and provided Galatasaray do not win by a 5 goal deficit against Istanbul Buyuksehir Belediyesispor tomorrow, Fenerbahce will enter Ali Sami Yen as leaders and that is a major psychological boost for a game of such magnitude.

anglofeb Man-of-the-Match | Ugur Boral

Controlled the whole of the left flank and was a constant threat whenever he surged forward.

FENERBAHÇE: Volkan Demirel, Gökhan (Can 85), Lugano, Edu, Uğur Boral, Colin Kazım (Semih 66), Selçuk, Aurelio, Deivid, Alex (Ali Bilgin 79), Kezman

DENİZLİSPOR: Süleyman, Hasan, Fatih Yiğen, Selahattin (Çağlar 33), Carlos Alberto (Murat Karakoç 50), Tomas, Moreira, Serhat, Güray, Yusuf, Fatih Egedik (Musa 56)

GOALS:

Fenerbahce | Kezman (21), Deivid (59), Murat Karakoç (OG 76), Semih (90+3)

Denizlispor | Güray (89)

(Watch the goals on anglofebTV)

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