Beşiktaş held in Kocaeli, maintains top spot
In the third week of the Turkish Cup Group C, Beşiktaş drew 1-1 away against Kocaelispor. Both goals in the match played at Kocaeli Stadium came from penalties, and the black-and-whites maintained their position at the top of the table despite dropping points.
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The home team was awarded a penalty in the 18th minute following a VAR review. Serdar Dursun stepped up to the spot and put Kocaelispor in the lead. Beşiktaş searched for an equalizer for a long time.
In the final stages of the match, referee Direnç Tonusluoğlu pointed to the penalty spot. Kocaelispor manager Selçuk İnan, who reacted strongly to the decision, was sent to the stands with a red card.
Orkun Kökçü, who took the penalty for the black-and-whites, set the final score in the 88th minute: 1-1.
REACHED 7 POINTS
Following this result, Beşiktaş reached 7 points after three matches in the group and maintained its lead. Kocaelispor increased its points to 4. Beşiktaş will host Rizespor in its final group match, while the Kocaeli representative will travel to face Beyoğlu Yeni Çarşı.
Beşiktaş manager Sergen Yalçın made significant rotations to the squad for the cup match. The experienced manager made 8 changes compared to the starting 11 that played in the league match against Konyaspor.
The black-and-white team took the field with the following starting 11: Ersin Destanoğlu, Taylan Bulut, Djalo, Uduokhai, Yasin Özcan, Kartal Yılmaz, Ndidi, Rashica, Jota, Devrim Şahin, and El Bilal Toure. Names such as Orkun Kökçü, Cengiz Ünder, Salih Uçan, and Rıdvan Yılmaz were on the bench.
New signing Yasin Özcan started the match in the first 11, while Olaitan came on in the second half to play his first minutes in a Beşiktaş jersey. Asllani, who was suspended due to a red card, and Hyeon-Gyu Oh were not included in the squad.