arda turan's deflected free-kick six minutes into added time earned ten-man turkey a dramatic, and potentially crucial, group a victory.
turkey left it late before earning a dramatic win against kazakhstan in istanbul and taking a potentially crucial step towards the uefa euro 2012 play-offs.
arda turan's deflected free-kick in the sixth minute of added time secured three points for guus hiddink's men, who had just lost playmaker selçuk inan to a red card. with their victory, turkey moved a point clear of group a rivals belgium, frustrated by a late equaliser in azerbaijan, and their position in second place looks all the stronger for their game in hand.
if a red card and winning goal in added time were not sufficient drama, turkey also missed a penalty and had a goal disallowed during a match where they took a first-half lead through burak yılmaz before being pegged back by ulan konysbaev's 55th-minute equaliser.
the evening almost brought an early goal when emre belözğlu was foiled by a goalline clearance and turkey went close again with a burak yılmaz header that flew a whisker wide in the 25th minute. within six minutes, however, the breakthrough came. selçuk was the creator, picking out burak's run into the box with a fine pass which his colleague volleyed home.
it could have been 2-0 after 54 minutes but kazim kazim was foiled by mokin when clean through, and selçuk missed on the follow-up. instead, within 60 seconds, miroslav beranek's visitors drew level as ulan konysbaev, ignoring the two defenders in front of him, beat volkan demirel with a lob that went in off the post.
a mukhtar mukhtarov handball gave turkey the chance of a swift reply but burak, while sending mokin the wrong way, saw the ball come off the post. burak then had a goal disallowed, his header ruled out for a foul on mukhtar mukhtarov. there were further twists to come, however, as two minutes into added time selçuk earned a red card for a dangerous challenge on genrikh shmidtgal. turkey were a man down but they had the last laugh, arda's free-kick deflecting off the kazakhstan wall and wrongfooting mokin. they will aim to keep up the momentum in austria on tuesday.
