Haji Wright came to the rescue again for Antalyaspor as his goal helped them to a share of the points against league leaders Trabzonspor.
Trabzonspor 2-2 Antalyaspor
Haji Wright’s 80th-minute strike ensured Antalyaspor a point as they put up a strong fight against Trabzonspor at the Medical Park Stadium.
Wright went the distance as he continued his goal-scoring run for the team while also completing 80 percent of his passes and winning six duels.
The league leaders jumped out to an early lead after three minutes when Andreas Cornelius was left wide open to tap in a pass from Abdulkadir Omur.
Antalyaspor thought they had leveled the score just before the half-hour mark when Wright put a stumbling strike into the goal, but it was ruled out due to an offside call. He then went on to set up his teammate Alassane Ndao for a chance at point-blank range which was blocked by Trabzonspor goalkeeper Ugurcan Cakir.
The American forward had another chance for the equalizer in first-half stoppage time, but Cakir would deny him in the end.
The second half would see the hosts go on the attack, but Antalyaspor finally found the equalizer in the 51st minute when Ndao was left all alone to tap in Houssam Ghacha’s cross.
The visitors had a chance to take the lead a few minutes later when the referee pointed to the spot for a penalty. Fredy stepped up to take the sot, but Cakir guessed right to keep the ball out.
Trabzonspor retook the lead in the 62nd minute when Omur lobbed his pass to Dorukhan Tokoz, who then put his shot between the legs of Antalyaspor goalkeeper Ruud Boffin.
The cheers from the home supporters were silenced in the 80th minute when Wright struck for the seventh consecutive game. Guray Vural’s strike from distance went through a sea of legs before it was stopped by the striker and he put it in the goal from close range.
The draw was enough for Trabzonspor to win the league title, but any hopes of Antalyaspor challenging for a European place were dashed after this game.
Antalyaspor drops to ninth place in the standings with 52 points.
Notes
Tyler Boyd came on to play the final 27 minutes in Rizespor’s massive 7-1 win over Goztepe.
Down in the 1. Lig, Gboly Ariyibi came off the bench in the first half for Ankaragucu as they shared the points with Samsunspor following a 0-0 draw.
