Olanrewaju Kayode - SivassporGetty

Kayode and Yatabare fire 10-man Sivasspor past Konyaspor

Super-sub Olanrewaju Kayode ended his seven-game goal drought by finding the net in Sivasspor’s 3-1 defeat of Konyaspor in Sunday’s Turkish Super Lig outing.

Since his effort against Ankaragucu on February 7, the Shakhtar Donetsk loanee has found it difficult to score. However, he found the sumptuous moment to end his barren spell against the Anatolian Eagle.

Unbeaten in their last four league outings, Konyaspor travelled to the Sivas Stadium for a date with Riza Calimbay's men who were yet to drop a point in their last eight fixtures.

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With just 27 minutes into the game, Mustapha Yatabare gave Sivasspor the lead after poking the ball past goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic – who fumbled a shot from Max Gradel.

On the dot of half time, the hosts were handed another brilliant opportunity to double their lead as Nejc Skubic handled a cross from Yatabare. Gradel stepped up to pick the ensuing kick, albeit, he ballooned the ball over the crossbar.

In the 55th minute, Zymer Bytyqi levelled matters for the visitors with a smart finish that was unstoppable by goalkeeper Ali Sasal Vural.

In dire need of all three points at stake, manager Calimbay threw Kayode into the fray for Ivorian forward Gradel. That substitution proved to be a masterstroke as the Nigeria international put his team ahead three minutes later.

Getting a pass from Hakan Arslan, the former Manchester City player beat two of his markers before burying the ball inside the net.

Again, Sivasspor’s lead was threatened after Arslan was given his marching orders in the 80th minute following dangerous play against Abdulkerim Bardakci.

Despite playing one man down, the Braves dominated every department of the game before getting their third of the afternoon via Robin Yalcin’s penalty. The kick was awarded after Kayode was brought down in the goal area.

Morocco's Faycal Fajr was handed a starter's role but he was substituted for Cote d'Ivoire's Aroune Kone, while Brazil's Claudemir was introduced for Ghana's Isaac Cofie in the 66th minute. However, Mali's Mamadou Samassa and Samba Camara were unused substitutes.

With this result, Sivasspor climbed to 9th in the Super Lig log having accrued 47 points from 32 outings, while Konyaspor remain 11th with 40 points from the same number of games.

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