during the week i was asked by the alkaralar lot whether i was going to join them for a bus trip for genclerbirligi's away match to manisa. i was tempted to rearrange my work commitments but in the end i couldn't be bothered.
lucky really as it is bucketing snow here, roads across the country are cut and i wouldn't be surprised if those alkaralar won't be getting back from manisa for quite a long while, that's if they actually survive the match as the away section in manisa is open to the elements.
meanwhile its just me in front of my computer listening to trt over the internet.
ah, seems like there is no snow in manisa but that it is very windy, but still cold.
now this is one we have to win. it is a real relegation battle with manisa in 17th place and us in 15th. a loss will see us back in the bottom three... scary stuff.
trt are going around the grounds which is probably a good thing as the manisa-gencler match sounds very very boring.
it's all manisa in the first 20 minutes and they probably should be ahead. our new keeper recep is being kept busy and has managed to save at least one-on-one.
what is wrong with this radio announcer. is my turkish really so bad that i can't understand when a goal is scored?
but why get upset because it seems as if genclerbirligi have gone ahead. i'm not all that sure how correct this description is but it is possible that okan ozturk went in on his own against the keeper, the shot was saved and then burhan hit the ball into an empty net. 25th minute: manisa 0 - 1 gencler.
rest of the half all manisa. hold on gencler!
half-time and the trt don't bother with any analysis of any of the games but instead give us some folk music. hopeless.
damn it. manisa have scored. 50th minute: manisa 1 - 1 gencler.
i'm being pulled away from the computer. mrs. oz kanka has only gone and invited a bunch of her girlfriends over today. doesn't she know the footy is on! so afraid i don't really know what is happening (nothing new then).
isaac promise has scored!!!! amazing. no idea what happened though, the house is now full of women and kids. i should have gone to the match. ?? minute: manisa 1 - 2 gencler.
isaac promise in a position that the announcer describes as "a 99 per cent chance", and he fluffs it. back to normal.
i notice the ankaragucu - trabzon match has just started (3pm). i wonder if our fellow kankas, maniac, sir eski, rip-off and possibly others, will survive the freezing cold.
the announcer says that we have now had three very good chances to score again. get on with it gencler! 88th minute.
four minutes of extra time.... eeek... i hate these last minutes.
phew. match over. pretty pathetic report i admit but hey, who cares, we have won.
manisa 1 - 2 genclerbirligi
i wonder if the alkaralar bus will make it back to ankara tonight.
just saw an anatolian news story with the headline "lots of cars stranded on izmir-ankara highway". manisa is of course, just outside izmir.
edit: just read that the bus didn't even make to the match.
) 
