‘Super’ start for MTG
MAĞUSA Türk Gücü (MTG) added another trophy to their burgeoning collection last Friday night, beating Doğan Türk Birliği (DTB) 2-0 to win the Osman Uçaner Super Cup in the 2022/23 season’s curtain-raiser game at the Lefkoşa Atatürk Stadium.
The victory means that every major trophy in the country remains in possession of MTG, who have won every trophy available to them since August 2020.
The game itself was a rather scrappy, turgid affair, with chances few and far between, particularly in the opening stages.
In addition to this, the game was littered with stoppages as a few of the players were staying down on the turf for a little too long after being tackled.
As the first half wore on chances were created with a greater frequency, but at both ends the goalkeepers were equal to them.
Ozan Moroğlu in particular, making his competitive debut for DTB after signing in the summer from 1st League champions Çetinkaya, made a number of superb saves to keep the scores level at the break.
The second half began in much the same manner as the first, with the game broken up by a plethora of stoppages and neither team able to really establish themselves.
However, the reason that MTG win big trophies so consistently is not because they dominate every single game they play, but because they, like no other team in this country, are able to produce moments of absolute brilliance in order to turn games in their favour almost every single time they set foot on a football pitch.
This was the case once more on the hour mark when they attacked with pace down the right-hand side and winger Arif Uysal cut the ball back to Mickael Pote, who was waiting on the edge of the box.
Pote lashed the ball first time into the roof of the net to give his side the lead.
DTB’s misery was compounded by another moment of brilliance just five minutes later, this time from Şenol Şöför.
Chasing a long, hopeful punt up the park, and effectively running down a blind alley on the left side of the pitch, with one touch of the outside of his right boot he managed to get the ball under control, take the defender out of the game, and set up a shot at goal.
That shot was taken by Arif Uysal, who curled the ball beyond Moroğlu and just inside the righthand post to double his side’s advantage.
From that moment onwards, MTG were firmly in control of the tie. DTB did try to force their way back into the game and created one or two chances, but were thwarted by a compact and organised MTG defence on almost all occasions, and goalkeeper Ufuk Şimşek on the rare occasions where DTB could manage a shot on
goal.
In truth, MTG never looked like conceding a goal or relinquishing their lead in the match. Once they got themselves a goal in front, there was something of an inevitability to the result. They were presented with their medals and what is very much their trophy by Prime Minister Ünal Üstel after the match, with all the fanfare that one would expect from the season’s curtain raiser.