Göztepe host Gaziantep in the Süper Lig on Sunday, and the visitors leave with a 4-2 victory at Gürsel Aksel Stadium. The result moves Gaziantep up to 11th place with four points from three games, while Göztepe remain rooted in 17th with just one point. It was a match decided by moments rather than possession, and the scoreboard tells only part of the story.
Halil Dervisoglu opened the scoring for the hosts in the fifth minute, but Myenty Abena levelled ten minutes later. And here's the thing — the game turned at the 28th minute when Rhaldney Norberto Simiao Gomez was awarded a penalty, though Novatus Miroshi missed the spot-kick himself. Kacper Kozłowski didn't need reminding twice, scoring in the 34th minute and again at 45+1 to put Gaziantep in control before half-time.
Juan Santos added a second in the 51st minute, and by then the visitors were finding their rhythm. The red card for Ogun Bayrak in the 72nd minute closed the game out for Gaziantep, who saw Santos convert a penalty at 90+3 to seal the result. Three yellow cards for Göztepe and one for Gaziantep were the only other disciplinary notes of note.
The statistics tell a curious tale. Göztepe enjoyed 48 per cent possession and created 3.01 expected goals with 15 shots inside the area, yet managed only four on target from 11 attempts. Gaziantep, with 52 per cent possession, registered 1.23 expected goals but hit 6 of their 10 shots on target. And here's the thing — efficiency mattered more than volume.
Substitutions came thick and fast in the second half, with both managers turning to their bench. Göztepe brought on Alexandru Maxim, Halil Dervisoglu himself, Novatus Miroshi, Kerim Calhanoglu, Deian Sorescu, Richard Akonnor and Victor Gidado. Gaziantep replaced Ege Yildirim, Luka Gugeshashvili and André Henrique in the 45th minute, then made three changes at the hour mark.
Göztepe's recent form hasn't helped — they lost 2-3 to Galatasaray, 0-1 to Gençlerbirliği, drew 3-3 with Samsunspor and 1-1 with Budapest. Gaziantep, meanwhile, have won once, drawn twice and lost once from three matches, including a 1-0 victory over Eyüpspor. The table goes out of the window in these games, but the gap between four and one point will only widen with time.
