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UEFA Cup: Turks reach first final after 2-2 tie |
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April
22, 2000 LEEDS,
England, APR 21 (AP) - Gheorghe Hagi and Hakan Sukur fired Galatasaray
into the UEFA Cup final with first half strikes in a 2-2 tie at Leeds
United as their team became the first Turkish club to reach a European
soccer final. The
goals by the aging Romanian and the talented Turkish international
striker gave Galatasaray a 4-2 overall triumph and a date with another
English club, Arsenal, in the May 17 final in Copenhagen. The
second leg of the semifinal was played in an emotional atmosphere
following the fatal stabbings of two Leeds fans before the first leg in
Istanbul two weeks ago. There
was trouble before the game even though Galatasaray fans had
been banned from going to the game. A bus taking the club officials to the
stadium was stoned and Leeds fans clashed with police and knocked over
some TV camera teams. Leeds,
trying to end a run of six losses in a row and four without
a goal, fell behind after only five minutes to go three down on aggregate. Defender
Jonathan Woodgate brought down Hakan Sukur and although goalkeeper
Nigel Martyn dived the right way, he was beaten by Hagi's superbly struck
spot kick. The
Galatasaray lead on the night lasted just 11 minutes before Norwegian
midfielder Eirik Bakke climbed above Galatasaray captain Bulent Korkmaz to
head in a corner in the 16th minute. Veteran
Brazilian goalkeeper Taffarel made a stunning low save to keep
out a header from Ian Harte and a minute later dived to block Bakke's shot
with his knee. After
that spell of Leeds pressure, Galatasaray scored another third
to go 4-1 ahead overall. It
came in a break from defense, Hagi flicking the ball with the outside
of his boot to send Hakan Sukur away. The striker turned inside past two
Leeds defenders before firing inside the post with his right foot. A
minute later, 31-year-old referee Lubos Michel from Slovakia ejected
one player from each team to even further inflame the red hot atmosphere. Australian
striker Harry Kewell was sent off for elbowing Galatasaray
defender Gheorghe Popescu and he was followed within seconds by teenage
midfielder Emre Belozoglu for an ugly tackle on Lee Bowyer. Bulent
was close to turning the ball into his own net with a clearance
in the 68th minute but was rescued by goalkeeper Taffarel at the expense
of a corner. From
Jason Wilcox's flag kick however, Bakke climbed above the defenders
to power a header home to make it 2-2 and give Leeds a glimmer of hope. The
game took place against a background of high tension off the field
following the fatal stabbing of Leeds fans Christopher Loftus and Kevin
Speight in Istanbul before the first leg two weeks ago. Soccer's
European governing body, UEFA, banned Galatasaray fans from
the return game to avoid a repeat of the violence but a bus carrying the
team's officials to Elland Road had a window smashed before it got to the
ground. Scuffles
also broke out between Leeds fans and some of the 350 police
at the game and some police and TV camera teams, including some from
Turkish TV, were knocked over in the melee. Before the kickoff the players stood for a minute's silence as a mark of respect to the two dead fans and both teams wore black armbands during the game. |