By Richard Beale….

Esentepe suffered their 3rd consecutive defeat in a match that they should not have lost but a combination of poor defending and refereeing led to this Derby defeat.

Result : DÜZKAYA KOSK 3 ESENTEPE KKSK 1

Sunday February 11, 2024 : AKSA League 1 : Çatalköy Nıhat Bağcıer Stadium

Weather: Mild and sunny.

As expected a big “Derby “ day crowd was in attendance, I would say the majority came from Esentepe.

These supporters spent most of the match getting more irate, frustrated and finally their tempers boiled over after Düzkaya third goal came from a controversial penalty. This resulted in the match being stopped for at least 5-8 minutes as spectators tried to scale the fence, their target being referee Ferhat Tuna. Fortunately, not many spectators succeeded in scaling the fence, Police quickly were on the scene, even the Mayor of Çatalköy -Esentepe, Ceyhun Kırok tried to calm tempers.

Throughout the match Mr. Tuna's decisions enraged the Esentepe supporters, I don’t like criticising referees as they have such a difficult job to do. The referee tried to keep the game flowing in the first half but Esentepe players, especially Emre were on the wrong end of some heavy tackles. The referee decided not to issue yellow cards or even to talk to the players,. Ironically the first yellow card and rightly so was issued to an Esentepe player but he should have issued at least 3 yellow cards to Düzkaya players before that.

The referee was not to blame for Esentepe's defeat they conceded two poorly defended goals and then Düzkaya were awarded a harsh penalty to seal the match.

Esentepe dominated the first half and should have scored more than one goal, in the second half Esentepe again had plenty of possession but very few goal chances. Düzkaya scored with their only attack of the first half and scored another goal with their second chance of the match.

Esentepe should have taken the lead in the 9th minute when Salih on the right sent in a long hopeful bouncing ball into the Düzkaya area, where an unmarked Burak Karabacak should have buried the ball into the net but instead shot wide of the left hand post.

In the 26th minute, Turkish forward EFE ÇOPUR came close after a good Esentepe build-up shooting just over the bar from outside the box.

He wasn’t to be denied as he gave Esentepe the lead in the 31st minute seizing on a pass from Emre he controlled the ball, turned, took aim, and beat goalkeeper Ali with a shot from outside the box with a well-struck shot 0-1

This was a fair reward for Esentepe pressure, it was about now that the Esentepe supporters were becoming more agitated with some of referee Tuna's decisions.

He quite rightly booked midfielder Tuğra Kiliç in the 43rd minute, Esentepe players continued to argue with the referee about the booking, losing concentration, and not picking up attacking players from the resultant free kick. Furkan's free kick went to the far post where two Düzkaya players were unmarked, one of the Eren headed the ball to the far post where an equally unmarked EMRE BAYIRLI scored at the far post.

HALF TIME SCORE: 1-1

Düzkaya started the second half with more intent and were rewarded with a second goal in the 50th minute. Very surprisingly right back Mustafa Soytürk was outpaced on the left by Salih who sent in a wicked cross. Emek appeared to be pushed and was sent tumbling to the ground, no foul was given and the ball went to the far post where UMİT GENÇ headed home. 2-1

Another piece of poor defending when Erdem got in between Salih and Tuğra, where he should have been stopped his shot hit the arm of Nersin on the edge of the box. Düzkaya appealed for a penalty which was controversially given by Mr Tuna, yes the ball hit Nersin’s arm, but his arm was tight against his chest - the arm wasn’t outstretched the ball hit the arm not the arm hitting ball. SERKAN ZEYİN put away the penalty his celebrations further enraged the Esentepe fans and along with the penalty decision some supporter's tempers suddenly burst. The match was held up as the Police tried to restore calm.

76 minutes Esentepe had good appeals for a penalty when Efe appeared to be bundled over in the box but no penalty was awarded.

Esentepe Emre Mutlu who had been on the receiving end of some heavy challenges earlier couldn’t believe it when he was yellow-carded following an innocuous tackle. Emre slumped to his knees, inconsolable he will now miss next Sunday’s match against leaders Miracle Değirmenlik a severe blow to Esentepe.

Efe Çopur Esentepe’s best player continued to look likely to score, receiving the ball, he held the ball up well but shot just wide from just outside the box in the 82nd minute.

Esentepe players were looking disconsolate and for the first time, their heads had started dropping.

FULL-TIME SCORE: 3-1

SUMMING UP: At the start of the year, Esentepe was in second spot with a comfortable cushion of 7 points. Now that has been wiped out and now they are in 3rd place, many injuries and suspensions haven’t helped. We can’t lay the blame entirely on the referee, poor defending was their downfall.

Hopefully, all injured players will return next week ahead of the “battle Royale” next Sunday at home against the “Champions elect Miracle Değirmenlik.

ESENTEPE TEAM: Osman (gk) ; Mustafa (Semih 52), Nersin (c), Oğuz, Emek (Burak Tümkan) ; Tuğra, Emre (Şahin 81), Salih (Mehmet Ada 85), Burak Karabacak, Deniz, EFE ÇOPUR.

 Replacements not used: Ulaş (gk), Okan, İlyas, Dinçer.

DÜZKAYA TEAM: Ali Karal (gk),(c), Uğur, AliTufekçi (Macit 86), Umit, Salih. Emre (Berke 86), Serkan, Bayram, FURKAN (Mehmet 82), Erdem, Önder (Eren 41).

 Yellow cards: Ali Karal, Ali Tufekçi, Serkan, (Düzkaya ) Emre, Tuğra. Mehmet Ada (Esentepe)

Referee: Ferhat Tuna - a bad day at the office.

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https://cyprusscene.com/2024/02/12/derby-defeat-for-esentepe/