Trabzonspor entertaining Kardemir D.C. Karabükspor in a Black Sea derby brings to mind the good old days in 1992-1993 and 1997-1998, when Karabükspor used to ply its trade in the Turkish First Division League (now Turkcell Super League).

Karabükspor, relegated in the 1997-98 season, had dropped to the lowest divisions until it fought its way back to the Bank Asya League 1 last season.

Today's Trabzonspor-Karabükspor clash at Trabzon’s Hüseyin Avni Aker Stadium therefore is not an encounter in topflight Turkish soccer, but one of the 14 matches in round two of the Fortis Turkish Cup. So the gulf between the two teams is enormous: Trabzonspor co-leads the Turkcell Super League with 10 points from four matches, while Karabükspor, walloped 5-1 away by leader Manisaspor on Saturday, is placed third from bottom in the Bank Asya League 1 (second division).

On paper, the rampaging Trabzon Black Sea Storm is the favorite against a struggling Karabük side battling against the odds to avoid relegation to the third division next season. However, what makes the Fortis Turkish Cup interesting is that this competition at times produces upsets suitable for use in science fiction stories. Simply put, this competition has a penchant for surprises.

In the most outstanding upsets in Turkish Cup history, struggling second division side Pendikspor ousted wealthy and star-studded Fenerbahçe in the second round in the 1999-2000 season -- and the following year Pendik dropped to the third division.

Second division Erzurumspor ousted mighty Galatasaray in the third round of the competition in 2001. And, most recently, in 2006, relegation-bound Kayseri Erciyesspor sent reigning Turkcell Super League champion Galatasaray packing in the quarterfinals and then went on to eliminate Trabzonspor in the semis.

Trabzonspor currently has a good attacking force, masterminded by Gökhan Ünal and Umut Bulut. The Storm's defense, orchestrated by ex-Galatasaray player Rigobert Song, is solid as a rock; little wonder Trabzon has scored five goals while conceding only one goal in four Turkcell Super League outings.

So can Karabükspor keep up the upset tradition in the Turkish Cup, or will today's game turn into a round of shooting practice for the Storm's strikers? This we will only know after referee Suat Arslanboğa blows the final whistle.

The other Fortis Turkish Cup second-round matches today are as follows: İstanbulspor-Ankaraspor (referee Hüseyin Sabancı); İskenderun Demir Çelikspor-Kayserispor (Deniz Çoban); Beyköz 1908-Altay (Yusuf Yılmaz); Alanyaspor-Gençlerbirliği (Gökhan Güneşer); Malatyaspor-Hacettepe (Halis Özkahya); Manisaspor-Kocaelispor (Serkan Çinar); Çaykur Rizespor-Gaziantepspor (Bülent Yıldırım); Konyaspor-Güngören Belediyespor (Nihat Akman); Bursaspor-Belediye Vanspor (Özgür Özkahya); Ankaragücü-Giresunspor (Çagatay Sahan); Eskişehirspor-Diyarbakırspor (Bünyamin Gezer); Samsunspor-Antalyaspor (Zafer Demir) and İstanbul Büyükşehir Belediyespor-Tokatspor (Taner Gizlenci).

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