Turkey have grabbed probably the most important three points of the qualifying round after beating Austria 2-0 at the Sukru Saracoglu stadium. Goals from Turan and Gonul put Guus Hiddink’s side third in the group A of the Euro 2012 qualifying round. Thus, the loss dragged Austria fourth in the standings after they also lost 0-2 to Belgium last week. Bayern Munich’s Altintop was the first to put danger on Macho’s net, the midfielder striking a dangerous shot to which the Austrian keeper was even.
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Altintop was also the one to bring Austrians’ first yellow after Pogatetz blocked him through a rough and late tackle. Turan got his first chance in the 22nd minute. Turkey won a corner on the right which the striker headed it just wide in what should have been a harder test for the keeper Macho. Austria’s first opportunity came one minute later through Alaba whose late touch went skywards. Turkey opened the score in the 28th minute. A smart individual action from Turan found three defenders beaten and the striker putting it beyond Macho.
The scoreboard remained unchanged until the break, while the second part found both sides, especially the visitors, playing more aggressive, both literally and figuratively. Didi Constantini conceded two yellow cards. As for the Turkish side, their combinative play brought them even a second one. After Burek Yilmaz missed one of the biggest opportunities of the bight, defender Gonul beat Macho following a superb finish that mirrored the reality from the pitch.
Throughout the 90 minutes, Guus Hiddink introduced Topal, Topuz and Senturk for Turan, Ekici and Yilmaz, while Didi COnstantini replaced Harnik, Baumgartlinger and Pehlivan with Korkmaz, Arnautovic and Hoffer respectively.
Finally, with five minutes left, Austria earned a penalty. Balta took down Hoffer, but Maierhofer missed visitors’ biggest chance of the night. It went 2-0 as Turkey climbed third with nine points in five games, sitting just one point behind second Belgium unlike whom they have one game in hand. Austria drop fourth with seven points won in five games, while Azerbaijan, who lost 1-4 to Belgium, are fifth with three points. Kazakhstan remain foot of the table having lost all five meetings.
On June 3, Austria host Germany, Turkey visit Belgium in what will be the derby of the group while Kazakhstan face Azerbaijan at home. Turkey beat Belgium 3-2 in the first leg, but are expected to face a much more determined side two months from now. As for Austria and Germany, they will meet for the first time in this qualifiers round.
Turkey – V. Demirel; G. Gonul, S. Cetin, H. balta, S. Kesimal, S. Inan, H. Altintop, A Turan, N. Sahin, M. Ekici, B. Yilmaz. Reserves: M. Topuz, S. Senturk, G. Zan, C. Tosun, I. Koybasi, S. Bolat.
Austria – J. Macho; E. Dag, A. Dragovic, E. Pogatetz, C. Fuchs, P. Scharner, Y. Pehlivan, M. harnik, D. Alaba, S. Maierhofer, J. Baumgartlinger. Reserves: F. Klein, Korkmaz, M. Arnautovic, P. Grunwald, M. Ortlechner, R. Linz, E. Hoffer.
