Turkish club Besiktas miraculously emerged victorious in Bursaspor tonight, in spite of losing Ricardo Quaresma to a red card.

Carlos Carvalhal’s men entered the game in fine form on the back of a 5-1 win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Europa League and a 3-1 victory over Ankaragucu in the Turkish Super Lig on Monday. Portuguese trio Manuel Fernandes, Simao and Quaresma started for the Turkish club, which sorely missed injured striker Hugo Almeida.

Full of spirit, Besiktas went straight on the attack and Quaresma produced a fine save from Bursaspor keeper Yavuz Ozkan in only the first minute after having been put through on goal by Simao.

That early chance aside, Besiktas fell behind in the sixth minute when Ibrahim Bangaura headed home from 7 yards out. Keeper Rustu Recber had done well to parry the initial shot on goal, but the defence reacted far too slowly to the rebound.

The error was nearly repeated a quarter of an hour later as Turqay Bahadir’s header was not immediately cleared following a corner and was narrowly pushed wide of goal. Indeed, defensive miscues have cost Besiktas in the past and once again looked set to undo them within the first half hour of play.


In spite of their mistakes, Besiktas’ fortunes seemed to have changed in the 25th minute when Bangaura was inexplicably sent off for a seemingly innocuous challenge on Egemen Korkmaz. Bursaspor’s protestations fell on deaf ears, and Besiktas immediately went on the attack.

Around five minutes before the break, Besiktas nearly capitalized on a failed clearance themselves as Fernandes’ free kick bounced dangerously in the penalty area. It was to be the last meaningful chance of the half however, and Besiktas went into the half in need of further inspiration.
 

The second half started slowly for Besiktas, but gradually they began to create some chances. Quaresma came within inches of equalising from a fantastic strike from all of 25 yards. The frustration was obvious for Carvalhal as he paced the sidelines. Fernandes and then Simao were withdrawn as Besiktas desperately searched for a goal.

The situation continued to deteriorate when Ricardo Quaresma lost his temper and unnecessarily brought down his marker, earning him a second yellow card on the night.

Besiktas toiled away and finally scored an equaliser when Tomas Sivok headed in a fine goal from an Ismael Koybasi free kick. Only minutes later, Besiktas completed their highly improbable comeback when Holosko finished off a wonderful cross-field pass from Koybasi, sparking euphoria along the Besiktas bench and a Mourinho-esque touchline run from Carvalhal. 

Besiktas currently sit on six points from three matches played in the Turkish Super Lig.

by Nathan Motz