League Play-Off

Nevsehir Stadium
Spectators: 32 (Terracing: 25, Seating: 7, VIP seats: 0) The mood of the audience was pleasant when Yaşar Yertan made the kick off which started today's match. Ali Cengiz Eymen blasted a shot towards the goal in the 11th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Arif Gaffar Urluk having to make a save. After having played for 14 minutes, Ali Cengiz Eymen managed to get in a good position for a shot on goal. Zenit St. Petersburg's supporters crossed their fingers, but Ali Cengiz Eymen was, after a quick turn that froze the defenders, out of balance and shot the ball just to the right of the goal. Necmettin Fazilet blasted a shot towards the goal in the 16th minute, but the shot hit the top of the crossbar and went out without Arif Gaffar Urluk having to make a save. Thanks to some nice foot action and superb ball handling Ali Cengiz Eymen in the 20th minute a chance for a shot on goal. With an extended leg and a bit of luck Arif Gaffar Urluk prevented the ball from getting in the gole. After a rather tough play, Nevsehir's Mehdi Başöz got a free kick in the 20th minute. Zenit St. Petersburg's Bora Han Tanak played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Yaşar Yertan in the 24th minute of play. The referee was alert and spotted a serious foul by Ensar Selmi during the 28th minute. The player immediately received a yellow card. In a very dangerous position, a player in Nevsehir fell when an opponent tried to get the ball from him in the 28th minute. Penalty! Arif Gaffar Urluk showed his good apprehension of the play when he made a fantastic save on a shot from Ali Cengiz Eymen, who was totally free with the ball in the 34th minute. In the 36th minute Ali Cengiz Eymen shot on, it seemed, an open goal, but Arif Gaffar Urluk saw the ball coming and threw himself on it before it passed the goal line. A collision led to Nevsehir getting a freekick after 37 minutes play. Göktan Arabacıoğlu hit a great ball. 44 minutes into the match, Zenit St. Petersburg's goalkeeper Bora Han Tanak had to clear away a ball on his right side after a cunning shot by Göktan Arabacıoğlu. Bora Han Tanak showed brilliant goalkeeper skills when he caught the ball after a hard shot from Mehdi Başöz in the 45th minute of the match. With a couple of smart ball manuevers Ali Cengiz Eymen in the 46th managed to get into a good position. With a left leg Arif Gaffar Urluk saved Nevsehir from getting behind. After the first half Zenit St. Petersburg were leading 0-2. They had played with great self confidence throughout the first half and fully deserved their lead.

Arif Gaffar Urluk stood for a superb save when he managed to get hold of Ali Cengiz Eymen's shot from short distance in the 52nd minute. In the 54th minute the ball was on its way in behind Nevsehir's goalkeeper Arif Gaffar Urluk, but with the help of a sacrificing defense, he could catch the ball at the crossbar. After some fancy dribbling in the 58th minute, Tugay Başol managed to get in a good position for a shot. Zenit St. Petersburg's supporters rose to their feet, but Tugay Başol was a bit off balance and shot the ball just wide of the left post. Arif Gaffar Urluk breathed a sigh of relief and went to take the goal kick. In the 60th match minute, Nevsehir was awarded a freekick, the ball was picked up by Yaşar Yertan to maneuver through the defense. Zenit St. Petersburg's Ercüment İnanöz quite brazenly broke a throw-in by Sait Teoman, made in the 62nd minute of the game. An unexpectedly hard shot by Lefter Asır in the 65th minute of play forced Nevsehir's goalkeeper Arif Gaffar Urluk to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Mehdi Başöz fired away a screaming shot towards the goal in the 69th minute, but the shot went just over the crossbar without Bora Han Tanak having to interfere. Ali Cengiz Eymen sent away a hard shot on goal in the 78th minute, but the ball went just over the crossbar and out. A very good chance. Ensar Selmi was shown his second yellow card after 79 minutes, following a rather ugly tackle on opponent. That was the end of his participation in the match. After 79 played minutes Nevsehir got a freekick which was hit by Ensar Selmi. Nevsehir's Arif Gaffar Urluk played magnificently when he managed to stop the ball from hitting the goal, after a sharp shot by Ali Cengiz Eymen in the 81st minute of play. Ali Cengiz Eymen took the ball and in the 81 minute, shot a rapid shot to the right of a surprised Arif Gaffar Urluk. Arif Gaffar Urluk dived to the right, and did manage to get a hand on the shot, but it still went into the right corner making it 0-3. When Ali Cengiz Eymen came up free with the goalie in the 85th minute, the Zenit St. Petersburg fans jumped to their feet. But the shot missed the goal by a fraction of an inch, and the fans sat back down disappointed that Ali Cengiz Eymen couldn't finish the play. In the 86th minute, Mehdi Başöz hit a crossing free kick to the open man running down the field. An unexpectedly hard shot by Ali Cengiz Eymen in the 90th minute of play forced Nevsehir's goalkeeper Arif Gaffar Urluk to throw himself to the left, to be able to save the ball. Göktan Arabacıoğlu hit a great freekick 91 minutes into the match. An unexpected shot in the 94th minute by Tugay Başol got the crowd on their feet, but to their dismay it went out on the left side. Zenit St. Petersburg played a much better game than Nevsehir and deserved their victory. The Nevsehir players were clearly disappointed as they left the ground.