Gazişehir Gaziantep vs Antalyaspor Match Recap - Oct 19, 2025

Gazişehir Gaziantep Survive Late Scare, Outgun Antalyaspor 3-2 to Cement Süper Lig Surge

If Süper Lig football is to be measured by its capacity for spectacle, then the Kalyon Stadyumu delivered on Sunday afternoon, as Gazişehir Gaziantep withstood a furious late rally from Antalyaspor to win 3-2—a victory that not only underscores their ambitions but also deepens the questions swirling around their visitors.

For much of the match, Gaziantep looked untouchable, a team brimming with confidence and executing with clinical precision. By the 31st minute, a raucous home crowd had already celebrated three times, each goal an emphatic demonstration of the speed and cohesion that have become their hallmark during this promising season.

The tone was set scarcely four minutes in when Drissa Camara, seizing on a loose ball at the edge of the area, rifled a low shot into the bottom corner to ignite an early wave of optimism. As Antalyaspor scrambled for shape, Kacper Kozłowski doubled the advantage in the 17th—a sequence that began with a surging run down the left and ended with Kozłowski steering a clever finish past an exposed goalkeeper.

With the visitors reeling, there was little respite. Mohamed Bayo capped Gaziantep’s whirlwind opening half-hour, latching onto a slick through-ball before driving home the third, prompting the home faithful to dream of a rout.

But football is rarely so accommodating to expectation. If Gaziantep’s last two league outings—a 2-0 away win at Fatih Karagümrük and a hard-fought 2-2 draw with Samsunspor—revealed both their attacking potential and capacity for late drama, nothing prepared the Kalyon faithful for what was to follow in the final minutes.

For more than eighty minutes, Antalyaspor appeared a side lost for ideas, their recent struggles—back-to-back losses, seven goals conceded in two games—etched into every hesitant touch. Yet suddenly, with the match seemingly decided, a flicker of defiance appeared.

In the 84th minute, Antalyaspor clawed one back, capitalizing on a rare lapse in Gaziantep’s defense. Then, just two minutes later, their pressure told again; a sharp counterattack ended with a well-taken finish to cut the deficit to one. The home crowd, once in full voice, grew anxious as Antalyaspor scented the possibility of an improbable point.

The goals may have come too late to rewrite the final outcome, but they did breathe new life into a match that had at one point threatened to become little more than a procession. For interim manager and supporters alike, those goals may serve as slender hope that a turnaround is still within grasp, even as defensive frailties persist.

For Gaziantep, it is a result that carries real significance. With 14 points from eight matches, they now sit sixth in the table, within striking distance of the league’s upper tier. Their run of form—unbeaten in five, including three wins—has seen Kozłowski and Camara emerge as critical figures in attack. Today’s tally marked Kozłowski’s third goal in as many games, while Camara’s opener added further evidence of his growing influence.

By contrast, Antalyaspor’s campaign is threatening to unravel. Slipping to tenth with 10 points, Nuri Şahin’s men find themselves mired in a stretch that has yielded just one victory from five matches and exposed a troubling vulnerability at the back. The five goals conceded against Rizespor a fortnight ago have clearly left scars, and today’s trio offered little suggestion of defensive improvement.

Head-to-head history in recent seasons has been evenly split, with neither club able to dominate. Yet Gaziantep’s evident home-field verve showed a team intent on rewriting that narrative, especially with memories still vivid of their resilient 3-2 win at Kasimpasa in August and a string of solid results at Kalyon.

No red cards marred the contest, but the intensity of the final fifteen minutes was a reminder of what is at stake for both clubs: for Gaziantep, the promise of a sustained challenge for European places; for Antalyaspor, the need to rediscover confidence and defensive solidity before the campaign slides out of reach.

As the whistle sounded and a relieved Gaziantep celebrated, the message was plain: this is a side capable of dazzling football—and, perhaps just as importantly, of surviving their own lapses. For Antalyaspor, the search for answers continues, with the knowledge that time—and the table—waits for no one.

What comes next may well define these teams’ seasons, but on an afternoon of nerves and noise, Gaziantep’s ambitions could not be more alive. The next few weeks will reveal if this resilience is fleeting, or the foundation of something greater.