Goztepe (Izmir), led by Bulgarian specialist Stanimir Stoilov, finished only 1-1 away to Kocaelispor in the 30th round of the Turkish Super League, BTA reported.
Stoilov's players took the lead in the 3rd minute through Janderson, but allowed a dramatic equalizer in the 8th minute of added time. Veteran Serdar Dursun scored from the penalty spot for the hosts, who were already down to 10 men on the field after their Angolan defensive midfielder Shaw was sent off in the 77th minute with a second yellow card.
Bulgarian international and captain of the “Lions“ in the last two matches Filip Krastev did not take part for the guests from Izmir and watched the match from the bench.
The referee Ali Yilmaz showed a rather strange criterion and in addition to the red card, he also showed 12 yellow cards, eight of which were for the guests from Göztepe. Many of the fouls in both directions were really controversial, causing protests from both coaching benches.
Göztepe opened with its first attack and the pass of Efkan Bekiroglu, from which Zandersson opened. By the end of the first half, both teams made two good attacks, but no more goals were scored.
In the 87th and 90th minutes, Göztepe could have scored a second goal, which would have practically decided the match, but the home goalkeeper Serhat Öztaşdelen saved the shots of Alexis Antunes and Jefferson. In the 7th minute of added time the hosts were awarded a penalty, also thanks to the help of the video assistant referees (VAR), which veteran Dursun scored to make it 1:1.
Göztepe moved from 6th to 5th place with 48 points, one more than next-placed Basaksehir and main contenders for a place in the Conference League, who play Trabzonspor away tomorrow. Kocaelispor are in 10th place with 36 points, while Galatasaray are in the lead with 68.