Ekuban scores as Mikel’s Trabzonspor suffer title setback vs Kayode’s Gaziantep

Trabzonspor suffered a major title setback as they were held 1-1 by Gaziantep in Saturday’s Turkish Super Lig encounter.

The Black Sea Storm went into the game as league leaders, however, their inability to secure an away win saw them drop to second place following Istanbul Basaksehir’s 3-0 win at Goztepe.

In a cagey encounter at the Gaziantep Arena, Caleb Ekuban headed past goalkeeper Gunay Guvenc thanks to Kamil Corekci’s cross.

John Obi Mikel had the chance to double his side’s advantage seven minutes later, but his long-range effort went over the crossbar.

Olarenwaju Kayode levelled matters for the hosts in the 53rd minute after Trabzonspor’s defenders were caught flat footed.

Anthony Nwakaeme was brought down by Papy Djilobodji in the hosts’ box, but referee Halis Ozkahya waved away the Nigerian’s penalty appeal.

Nwakaeme had a late chance ruled out for offside to compound a miserable outing for the title hopefuls.

Goalscorer Ekuban was replaced in the 71st minute by Abdulkadir Omur, while Bilal Basacikoglu came in for ex-Nigeria captain Mikel with seven minutes left to play.

The Black Sea Storm – who are unbeaten in their last 17 games across all competitions – would be hoping for redemption when they visit Yeni Malatyaspor on Wednesday.