The Turkish fans gathered in numbers at the City Centre in Dortmund. It was a sea of Read out there. They came to Germany with hope. They triggered a carnival atmosphere with the beautiful Turkish Flag. There was music and the Georgina fans joined them to enjoy a wonderful football festival at the Signal Park Iduna.
And, what a match it turned out to be!
The weather in Dortmund turned wild. A storm showed up. Water was pouring over the roof. In the middle, Turkish and Georgian players played the game similar to the weather - wildly gorgeous, wide open, end to end attack like a basketball match and outrageous goals.
The match burst into life from the word go and within 25 minutes Muldur struck a thunderous volley that went like a rocket into the Georgian net.
And, the excitement of that outrageous strike was not yet over, as Turkey put another one into the net only to be denied by VAR.
3-5-2 transforming into 3-4-3 for Georgia while attacking - got their mojo back quickly. They took advantage of the spaces left by the impulsive Turkey unit.
The flanks were occupied by white shirts as
Yildiz was isolated down the right side of the box then tossing lollipops before dipping outside, crossing and Mikautadze turns with the path of the ball inside the near post - it was Georgia's first ever goal in a major tournament.
Georgia were flying as 3-4-3 turned 3-2-5 now and so nearly scored again a few minutes later. Again, it was Mikautadze.
Otar Kakabadze, burst through, produced a headed lay off and, on the turn Mikautadze’s volley went just wide.
After the break - the match became a high octane movie.
It developed its own momentum where no one was slowing down. No one wants to sit deep and defend their goals. They were hunting for prey like leopards.
Turkey switched from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3 to 4-2-4 and didn't even mind playing 2-2-6!
The wily Calhanoglu controlled the rhythm beautifully.
There was a chance for Yildiz at one end and Giorgi Tsitaishvili at the other. Another dropped for Mikautadze, Turkish bodies thrown before him. Hakan Calhanoglu’s free-kick was pushed away by Mamardashvili.
With an hour of play gone - Georgia got the ball clear but Tsitaishvili overplayed it, caught in possession by Ayhan, the ball broke to Guler, 25 yards out, and the kid curled a stunningly joyous finish that shaved the inside of the far post, seven-eighths of the way up!
What a goal - a moment to relish for every football fan around the globe.
Georgia was still not out of stamina but kept Turkey on the edge till the last minute.
In the stoppage time they came close to share points but a heroic block by Kashia denied them.
In the end, Akturkoglu brought the ball away, and passed into an empty net which was harsh on Georgia who were equally brilliant.
Indeed, when the teams decide to attack and fly with freedom, football becomes spectacular.
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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