Maxim's Creative Mastery Puts Gaziantep Past Kasımpaşa in Five-Goal Epic

Highly Entertaining Futmetrix Score: 71/100. This five-goal assault was a collision between Gazişehir Gaziantep's controlled dominance and Kasımpaşa's desperate late-game resurrection—intensity defined by early control and final-whistle defiance.

Gaziantep's Early Stranglehold: Maxim Orchestrates the Chaos

Alexandru Maxim was the architect of Gaziantep's opening assault. In the 13th minute, Melih Kabasakal broke the deadlock from Maxim's assist, setting the tone for what would become a relentless first-half performance. By the 30th minute, Gaziantep had doubled their advantage through another Maxim creation, establishing a 2-0 balance that seemed insurmountable. With 39% possession, Gaziantep executed the counter-attacking blueprint to perfection—economical, lethal, and suffocating. Kasımpaşa dominated territory (61% possession, 87% pass accuracy across 449 total passes), yet found themselves chasing shadows against a side that turned scarcity into superiority.

The Turning Point: Kasımpaşa's Late Surge and Hajradinovic's Lifeline

The match's stakes crystallised in the 70th minute. Pape Gueye's goal halved the deficit and injected hope into a Kasımpaşa side languishing in 16th place with just 1 point from four matches. Four minutes later, Artem Kizildag restored Gaziantep's two-goal cushion at 3-1—but Kasımpaşa refused to fold. In the 87th minute, Haris Hajradinovic's penalty converted turned desperation into a final gasp. The scoreline: 2-3. Gaziantep held firm, but only just. Kasımpaşa fired 20 shots (6 on target); Gaziantep managed 9 (7 on target). A combined 29 shots, 13 finding the target—a goalkeeper's nightmare and a pundit's dream.

Goalkeeper Heroics and the Arithmetic of Survival

Eight saves between the keepers underpinned this chaotic narrative. Gaziantep's discipline wavered—four yellow cards against Kasımpaşa's three—yet their clinical finishing (7 of 9 shots on target) proved decisive. Kasımpaşa's possession dominance and passing efficiency (87%) counted for little against Maxim's orchestration and Gaziantep's ruthless transitions. The lead changed hands once; Gaziantep's early opener set the rhythm, and Hajradinovic's late penalty merely delayed the inevitable. Gaziantep emerged with three points and a statement: control the spaces between the lines, and the scoreline follows.