Stanimir Stoilov: It is disappointing that two of our players are suspended

In the 18th week of the Trendyol Süper League, Göztepe defeated Çaykur Rizespor 3-1 at home. Göztepe Head Coach Stanimir Stoilov made statements regarding the match at the press conference held after the game.

Stating that they achieved a valuable victory, Stoilov said, "We earned a well-deserved win against a strong team. I always have hesitations about the opening matches after long breaks. Indeed, although we won today, many of our players could not reflect their true potential on the pitch. They performed below the expected level, and we need to change this quickly."

"We need to fix our defense"

Pointing to the game system and missed opportunities, Stoilov said, "Our game system requires all players to perform at the highest level in every match. After making the score 1-0, we could have found a second goal, but we could not capitalize on the opportunities. Our opponent, Çaykur Rizespor, also had chances. Since we have been much better defensively in the past, this is not a normal situation for us, and we must fix it urgently."

Stoilov also emphasized fan support and suspensions, saying, "In general, I can say that our players performed at 80 percent on the pitch. Our fans were with us in the stands with a similar 80 percent occupancy rate. I always state that suspensions affect us negatively; today we were without about 5,000 fans, and in previous matches, we were without 18,000. This creates a problem, and I hope it does not happen again. The victory was valuable, but our players need to return to their high levels as soon as possible; we will ensure this in the shortest time."

"I don't like to talk about referees"

Speaking about the next match and the missing players, Stoilov said, "As you know, I don't like to talk about referees. However, it is disappointing that two of our regular players have become suspended. Still, we have other center-backs in our squad, and this situation will create an opportunity for them to prove themselves. These things can happen in football. When we lose players who are used to playing with each other, we will make mandatory changes, but the teammates who will replace them have also performed well before. Even though it is a difficult situation before an important match, there is nothing to fear. I wish only one of them were suspended, but we have the strength to overcome this situation."