Fener comes back from the dead to earn semifinal berth in Ziraat Turkish Cup

But the never-say-die Canaries showed staying power as they came from two goals down to force a 2-2 draw in the 92nd minute, sending the game into extra time and eventually winning 5-4 in a penalty shootout. Aykut Kocaman's Canaries therefore advanced 7-6 on aggregate to the semifinals of the second-tier competition, where they will slug it out with the winner of the Boluspor-Karabükspor quarters.

Kocaman left injured captain-playmaker Alex de Souza and prolific midfielder Emre Belözoğlu behind in İstanbul. The coach also took a gamble, benching first-choice keeper Volkan Demirel and starting with young Fehmi Mert Günok -- and this gamble almost backfired.

Kayseri's Netherlands-born Morocco forward Nordin Amrabat silenced the thousands of Fenerbahçe fans at 19 Mayıs Stadium in the 42nd minute, when he reconnected a pass from Munich-born midfielder Furkan Özçal to put his side up 1-0 just minutes before halftime.

Bosnian-Swedish striker Emir Kujovic doubled the score for Kayserispor two minutes into the second half (47th). But Fener's Brazilian midfielder Cristian Baroni scored a minute later (48th) to reduce the difference to 2-1 for his team.

And the Canaries trailed until the second minute of added time (92nd), when Senegal striker Moussa Sow rose to the occasion to equalize 2-2 and force 30 minutes of extra time. There was still no winner at the end of extra time, and a penalty shootout had to determine the semifinalist.

Out-of-favor Turkey striker Semih Şentürk, Switzerland left back Reto Ziegler, defender Serdar Kesimal, Sow and Baroni converted all of Fener's five penalties.

And Paraguay midfielder Cristian Miguel Riveros, Australian winger James Troisi, Slovakia defender Peter Pekarik and Cologne-born left back Hasan Ali Kaldırım all scored their spot kicks for Kayserispor. But Kujovic missed his and automatically turned from hero to zero.

Kayserispor's Georgian coach Shota Arveladze and his men learned the hard way that it's never over ‘til it's over in the beautiful game. And the 2011-12 cup elimination will continue to hang across their necks like the Ancient Mariner's albatross.

Chasing rare double

For Fenerbahçe, the hard-won victory has cleared the way for a rare league and cup double. The Canaries are hungry and thirsty for the Turkish Cup because it is an elusive trophy they have not won for several decades.

While archrival Galatasaray has won the cup a record 14 times, Fenerbahçe has lifted the trophy only four times since the inception of the competition in 1962. And the interesting thing is that the Canaries last took home the cup in 1982-83 -- nearly three decades ago. This season, however, Aykut and his men seem bent on breaking the curse and taking home the cup.

“We're on the right track for the league and cup double, and we have the ability to accomplish this feat,” Kocaman, whose team hosts Trabzonspor in their Super Final opener on Sunday, said.