With the tough encounter heading for a draw, the Malian winger handed the Roosters all points at stake against Hamza Hamzaoglu’s men
Hadi Sacko was Denizlispor’s hero having inspired them to a 3-2 triumph over Yeni Malatyaspor in Saturday’s Turkish Super Lig encounter.
With the game heading for a 2-2 draw at the Denizli Ataturk Stadium, the Mali international settled the tight encounter 10 minutes before full time.
Having bowed 3-0 at Besiktas their last time out, the Roosters faced Hamza Hamzaoglu’s side with the ambition of sealing all points at stake – a result which would ease their relegation worries – but they were pegged down by Stephen Mallan’s 16th minute strike.
Collecting a pass from Mustafa Eskihellac, the former Scotland youth international drilled the ball past goalkeeper Cenk Gonen from close range.
That lead lasted for 15 minutes as the hosts equalised through Hugo Rodallega. The Colombian forward curled a beautiful past goalkeeper Ertac Ozbir at the edge of Malatyaspor’s goal area.
A minute before the half time break, they took the lead courtesy of Turkish midfielder Recep Niyaz who controlled a pass from Muris Mesanovic before slotting the ball past onrushing Gonen.
In the 77th minute, Benjamin Tetteh brought YMS to level terms with a simple tap in after goalkeeper Ozbir had fumbled a header from Adem Buyuk.
Nonetheless, it was Sacko who had the final say after rifling home a Rodallega pass to the delight of his teammates. The goal was his second in the 2020-21 campaign.
The 26-year-old African was substituted for Oguz Yilmaz in the 83rd minute while Tunisian defender Ayman Ben Mohamed was in action from start to finish. Whereas, Togolese midfielder Matthieu Dossevi was an unused substitute.
Egypt's Karim Hafez, Morocco's Issam Chebake, Zimbabwe's Teenage Hadebe and Tetteh played from start to finish for the visiting side.
Cote d'Ivoire's Moryke Fofana replaced Mustafa Eskihellac in the 64th minute but Congo's Jody Lukoki and Mali's Aly Malle played no role in the five-goal thriller.
Even at this result, Denizlispor remain in the relegation waters with just 24 points from 27 outings but Yeni Malatyaspor occupy the 13th spot with 31 points with a game more.
Sacko would be aiming to add to his goal tally when his club take on Gaziantep FK on March 14.