Stopped at the red

Last night, Turkey was stopped in their tracks during a friendly match between France, when Ibrahim Uzulmez received a red card for a penalty which turned into the game’s single goal. After trailing by one goal and missing a player, Turkey’s National Team struggled to recover.

Even though it was an away game for the Turkish National Team they seemed to have the field advantage with the numerous supporters that turned out for the game. Despite both teams being tired, the game was high energy especially in the 32-38 minutes, as both teams made attempts to secure a score.In the 32nd minute, Anelka headed straight for a goal from the center field then shot the ball out, possibly due to being faced with former teammate goalkeeper Volkan. In the 33rd minute first Arda, followed by Benzema were unsuccessful in open positions. In the 35th minute it was Mevlut who was unable to pull through with a pass from Arda. In the 38th minute, a misunderstanding with Volkan resulted in Ibrahim Uzulmez bringing Anelka down, which granted France a penalty shot and Turkey a red card. Benzema turned the penalty shot into a goal. As the tempo refrained from falling, the tribunes continued to light up. In the 61st minute, Volkan successfully saved a shot from Ribery. In the 75th minute, first an attempt by Gignac was followed by a shot from Semih, in which both goalkeepers miraculously defended their posts.

EXCESSIVE SUPPORT
It was the supporters that put an end to the friendly game which was the kind you never want to stop. First the excessive support, by way of flame throwers and a fan that entered onto the field resulted in the referee stopping the game. In the end the final minutes left in the game did resume and France won by 1-0. The Turkish National Team now gets to go on holiday which will be welcomed after playing last night in an intense storm and rain.