Turkish Cup: Osimhen double sends Galatasaray to semifinal; Banza stars for Trabzonspor

Photo Credit: Galatasaray

Two Turkish Cup quarterfinal matches on Wednesday saw Africans abroad star in both clashes as Nigeria national team star Victor Osimhen and DR Congo's Simon Banza thrived in victories for their teams.

Osimhen continued his dominance of Turkish football, scoring two goals inside the opening half hour as Galatasaray defeated Istanbul rivals Fenerbahçe 2-1 to reach the semifinals. It was a fantastic start at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium for the visitors as Osimhen struck just after the nine minute mark following good hold up play from Barış Alper Yılmaz.

With the home crowd silenced, Galatasaray focused on increasing their advantage and the opportunity came in the 27th minute after a penalty kick was awarded. It was not the best spot kick from Osimhen but his effort just beat Fenerbahçe keeper İrfan Can Eğribayat.

Earlier in the day, Trabzonspor also advanced to the semifinals and influential Congolese striker Simon Banza helped his club overcome Bodrumspor in extra time. Banza opened the scoring inside three minutes with an opportunistic finish from a rebound.

But fellow top flight side Bodrumspor did not make it easy for the hosts. Angola national team playmaker and captain Fredy's pass from midfield found the run of Taulant Seferi and the Albanian did the rest with an accurate finish into the top corner. Bodrumspor then added another five minutes later to take a surprise lead.

But hosts Trabzonspor had the last laugh. Mustafa Eskihellaç leveled the match less than two minutes later and after each team had a player red carded in the second half, extra time was needed to decide the match. Banza's dribble run led to a pass to set up Oleksandr Zubkov and the Ukrainian did the rest with a spectacular shot from distance for a 98th minute goal that stood as the winner.

Osimhen continues to score goals for fun in Turkey. The loanee from Napoli now has 22 goals in 25 games across league and domestic cup play. Banza is not too far off from the Nigerian with 20 goals in 27 matches while Fredy has 4 goals and 2 assists in 28 matches for Bodrumspor.