Turkey downs Team Ireland in IFAF European Championships

Turkey traveled to the MTU Stadium, Bishopstown Cork and claimed 15^th 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.

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