Football: Galatasaray advance to Turkish Cup semifinals

Hatayspor beat Galatasaray 4-2, but away goal difference saves 'CimBom', eliminating 4-4 on aggregate

By Fatih Erel

ISTANBUL (AA) - Galatasaray advanced to semifinals in Turkish Cup on Wednesday after eliminating Hatayspor 4-4 on aggregate.

Despite losing the second-leg 4-2 in Hatayspor's home, Galatasaray advanced with away goal difference, having beaten their opponent 2-0 in the first leg.

The Lions' Mugdat Celik scored the first goal of the match in the 21st minute and Emre Akbaba increased the lead to 2-0 in the 53rd minute. Both goals were assisted by Emre Tasdemir.

Hatayspor's Gokhan Karadeniz scored two goals from the penalty spot in the 59th and in the 72nd minutes to equalize the score at 2-2.

Hatay's Mirkan Aydin scored Hatayspor's third goal at 79th minute to give his team the lead and an own goal by the Lions' goalkeeper Ismail Cipe at 87th minute increased Hatayspor's lead to 4-2.

On Tuesday, Umraniyespor beat Trabzonspor 3-1 to be the first semifinalist in the Turkish Cup. The sides drew 0-0 in the first-leg football match in Trabzon in Turkey's Black Sea region.

In the semifinals, Umraniyespor will face Akhisarspor - Kasimpasa tie winner.

The teams making the semifinalists in the Turkish Cup football tournament will be named this week.

The second-leg matches will run through Thursday.

In an away match, Evkur Yeni Malatyaspor, which beat Goztepe 1-0 in the first leg, will play against its rival on Wednesday evening.

On Thursday, Akhisar will face Kasimpasa in an away match in Istanbul after beating the latter 3-1 in the first leg.

The first leg of semifinals will be played on April 2-4, and the second-leg matches are set for April 23-25.

The final will be played in the central Sivas province on May 16.

The second-leg quarterfinal matches are as follows:

Tuesday:

Umraniyespor - Trabzonspor: 3-1

Wednesday:

Hatayspor - Galatasaray: 4-2