Turkey traveled to the MTU Stadium, Bishopstown Cork and claimed 15th place in the IFAF European Championship standings with a 17-14 win over Ireland to delight a large raucous following of visiting supporters.
After Ireland turned the ball over on the opening kickoff, Turkey came out firing and after having had a touchdown on their first offensive play called back for pass interference, soon went ahead 7-0. That lead increased to 10-0 at halftime through a Melih Ozyurt field goal.
Late in the third quarter, Ireland got back into the game when a steady drive featuring a pair of receptions and a run set up first and goal, which culminated in Matthew O’Meara finding a receiver in the corner of the end zone and the hosts only trailed by four points.
Photo: Ian Humes
Aytac Mercan effectively moved the ball on the ground for Turkey and he scampered to the end zone after a short toss from Yigit Suleyman Yabaneri and the visitors moved 17-6 ahead once Ozyurt tagged on the point after.
The Wolfhounds wouldn’t go down without a fight and an O’Meara touchdown and two-point conversion cut the Turkey lead to 17-14 as 47 seconds remained on the clock but the subsequent onside kick attempt failed..
With the win, Turkey finishes 15th and Ireland drops down to 16th.
Original text by Michael Preston