Abdullah Avcı: We apologize to our fans

Trabzonspor manager Abdullah Avcı spoke at a press conference after his team was defeated 5-4 on penalties by St. Gallen in the UEFA Conference League play-off round second leg, which ended in a 1-1 draw after regular time and extra time.

Avcı said, "In the first half, we applied pressure correctly at times. At other times, we couldn't. Perhaps due to the feeling of wanting to seal the game early with the balls we won from our pressing, we made quick turnovers in 2 or 3 passes. The opponent also had their own organization and became a part of the game. We conceded a goal in the first half from a ball we cleared from a throw-in."

Stating that they made changes to their game formation in the second half, Avcı added, "When we look at the entire second half, we found an early goal. We had opportunities. There were ones we didn't capitalize on, and ones we couldn't finish. There was a ball that hit the post."

We had control of the entire game, including extra time. It could have been finished in the first leg, and it could have been finished after it was 1-1. We created the necessary opportunities. We lost through extra time and penalties. We are emotional and sad. My players are also very upset. Should we call this bad luck? We couldn't capitalize on our opportunities and lost on penalties. We are sorry, and we apologize to our fans. There is another match on Sunday; we want to prepare for it in the best way possible and make a proper start. We haven't been able to get the results our improving game has deserved over the last two matches," he said.

News Source: İHA