The Yellow Canaries are a team on a mission.  At least that's how they are playing these days.  Fenerbahçe dominated the first half of Thursday's Ziraat Türkiye Cup quarterfinal, and the defense held firm down the stretch as they cruised to a 3-0 win over Bursaspor.  Fener have now outscored their opponents 8-1 in their previous two matches, and take a commanding lead into their second leg at Bursa next week. 

Fenerbahçe look like a renewed team in 2010.  After cruising through the Ziraat Türkiye Cup group phase, the Canaries have rattled off two dominating wins in the last five days.  Fener lit up last year's league runners-up Sivasspor on Sunday, then posted an impressive 3-0 victory over the league's third-place team in Bursaspor tonight. 

It didn't take long for Fenerbahçe to take command of Thursday's game, although Bursa got the first crack at a goal in the 6th minute from an Ozan İpek shot that was saved.  Two minutes later, the Canaries got their first of many opportunities on the night.  Semih Şentürk's attempt in front of the goal resulted in a corner kick, but Fener were unable to capitalize. 

Fenerbahçe established the tempo of the match early on, and it was clear that Christoph Daum's side were eager to continue their winning ways from the Sivasspor match.  They nearly struck their first goal in the 17th minute from an Alex de Souza left-footed shot, but his effort was too high.  Andre dos Santos had a good look four minutes later, but his shot was saved. 

In the 22nd minute, Fener would get on the scoreboard.  An intended long pass from Alex de Souza into the box instead hit the post, and Andre dos Santos was there for the rebound and put-back.  Fener took an early 1-0 lead that would double just minutes later.

Three minutes after the first goal, a Semih Şentürk shot was deflected by Bursaspor goalkeeper Dimitar Ivankov, eventually finding its way to Diego Lugano.  The Uruguayan defender easily slipped it past Ivankov to put Fenerbahçe up 2-0 in the 25th minute of play. 

Bursa had a good opportunity to cut the deficit in half in the 27th minute, when Sercan Yıldırım's attempt required Volkan Demirel to come out of goal for a last-second save.  It would be the last opportunity of the day for Bursaspor's superstar striker.  He left the match three minutes later after suffering a torn muscle. 

Cristian Baroni fired off a long-range shot in the 35th minute that went high as the Canaries kept up the pressure.  One minute later, Fener would lose one of their stars from the previous match in Uğur Boral.  The versatile winger went down after suffering a knee injury and had to be carried off on a stretcher.  He underwent an MRI after the match, and Fener coach Christoph Daum told reporters that Uğur suffered ligament damage to his knee and would likely miss the remainder of the season. 

With the first half winding down, Fenerbahçe had no intentions of stepping off the gas pedal.  The Canaries kept attacking as they had Bursaspor on the ropes.  A 37th-minute Gökhan Gönül cross from the right side found Gökçek Vederson for a header that was saved, but Fener would attack again.  In the 40th minute of play, a lob pass into the box from Özer Hurmacı found Alex de Souza for a header.  The captain sent the ball to Semih Şentürk, who put it in the back of the net, giving Fener a commanding 3-0 lead before the break. 

With three minutes of stoppage time added on, Fener continued their first half domination.  The Canaries had attempted nine shots in the first half (six on goal) compared to just three overall for Bursaspor (one on goal). 

The second half opened much like the first half ended, with Fenerbahçe threatening.  In the early moments after the break, Özer Hurmacı attempted a shot that hit the post as Dimitar Ivankov continued to be the target of Fener's impressive arsenal of weaponry. 

Bursaspor, feeling the obvious pressure of a massive deficit, began to attack and look for more opportunities.  The 57th minute brought a shot from Ali Tandoğan but his attempt was saved.  For the criticism targeted at the Canaries' defense in recent weeks, the back held up tremendously against a talented Bursaspor squad Thursday night.  Nevertheless, the Green Crocs kept attacking in hopes of salvaging a goal or two to take back to Bursa. 

With a comfortable lead, Christoph Daum would go to his bench in the second half to bolster the defense.  He replaced Emre Belözoğlu with Selçuk Şahin in the 66th minute as Bursaspor continued to press and look for a goal. 

Daum would go to his reserves one last time in the 72nd minute.  New Yellow Canary Gökhan Ünal came on for Semih Şentürk, with little pressure on the transfer to score immediately.  He would play a lively remaining 20 minutes, however, and nearly score his first goal as a Canary. 

As the second half played on, Bursa continued attacking and pressuring the Canaries' defense.  Fener would get more opportunities of their own, however.  A 73rd-minute shot by Özer Hurmacı was aimed right at the keeper and saved.  Fener also won the battles in the midfield througout the match, keeping Bursa from setting up useful attacks on several occasions. 

Just six minutes after checking in, Gökhan Ünal impressed the home crowd with some elusive footwork to slide between two defenders in the 78th minute.  His resulting shot went wide, but the former Kayseri and Trabzon star showed flashes of brilliance in the play. 

Gökhan Ünal would find two more fantastic opportunites in the final minutes of play.  An 87th-minute shot just outside the box sailed too high, but he would nearly score his first goal in the navy and yellow in stoppage time.  With two minutes added on, the striker would fire off a shot that hit the post, keeping him off the scoreboard for the time being. 

Bursa continued looking for chances to salvage a goal, but the final whistle blew after two minutes and Fener prevailed with the 3-0 victory.  The Canaries now take a commanding lead to Bursa next Thursday in the second leg of their Ziraat Türkiye Cup quarterfinal with Bursaspor.  Fener's next match, however, will be Sunday.  The Canaries will face Diyarbakırspor in league play at Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. 

STADIUM:  Şükrü Saracoğlu

REFEREES:  Hüseyin Göçek, Serkan Gençerler, İsmail Şencan.

FENERBAHÇE:  Volkan Demirel, Gökhan Gönül, Diego Lugano, Fabio Bilica, Andre dos Santos, Özer, Cristian, Emre (Selçuk - 66th), Uğur (Vederson - 36th), Alex, Semih (Gökhan Ünal - 72nd)

BURSASPOR:  Ivankov, Ali, Ömer, Zapotocny (İbrahim - 46th), Mustafa Keçeli, Ozan İpek, Kirita, Ergic, Bekir Ozan (Iglesias - 68th), Turgay, Sercan (Volkan Şen - 30th)

GOALS: Andre Santos (22nd), Lugano (25th), Semih (40th)

YELLOW CARDS: Bekir Ozan, Mustafa Keçeli (Bursaspor), Lugano (Fenerbahçe)
 

(photo courtesy of Hurriyet)