While Galatasaray tied 2-2 with Karpaty at home, both Fenerbahçe and Trabzonspor lost 1-0 to POAK and Liverpool respectively, in away games.
At the end of the first round of games for the UEFA Europa league play-offs, it appears Beşiktaş with their 2-0 win against HJK Helsinki, has the strongest advantage going in to the second round of games, with goals scored by Quaresma and Hilbert. I
n the first of last night's triple face-offs, Galatasaray, matched up against Ukraine's Karpaty, fell behind by 2-0 at home. Known for being Turkey's most experienced and successful team in European cups, Galatasaray recovered with two goals scored by Milan Baros, bringing the score to a 2-2 draw.
The second match of the day had Fenerbahçe facing off against Greece's POAK, known for having the most fired up fans in the nation. Despite the hosts' loss of a player in the 57th minute, Fenerbahçe was unable to recover from a goal scored in the first half of the game, making it a 1-0 win for PAOK.
The final game of the day and certainly the most anticipated was Trabzonspor against Liverpool. With 34 years of longing for a win against the Liverpudlians, Trabzonspor held their own last night against their British hosts, however still walked away 1-0 down due to a goal scored by Liverpool one minute prior to the close of the first half.
The goal that brought down our Black Sea representatives was scored by Babel. In the 54th minute, fans feared there may come a second, when Liverpool was granted a penalty shot. Joe Cole struck and Trabzonspor goalkeeper Onur saved what could have been another score, the defense finalized the position and distanced the ball from the goalpost. Nevertheless, Liverpool walked away with a 1-0 win, making the fate of Turkey's representatives in the UEFA Europa league play-offs dependent on the return match games to be played on Thursday, August 26th.
