İlhan Palut: 'We started the match extremely sluggishly'

Süper Lig side Çaykur Rizespor manager İlhan Palut made statements following their 2-0 away loss to Başakşehir.

Speaking at the press conference held after the match played at Başakşehir Fatih Terim Stadium, İlhan Palut said, "It was a very important match. When you look at the points table, we played against a direct rival. Looking at the table is enough to explain the importance of the match. When we analyzed Başakşehir, they appeared to be a team with various attacking options, capable of making changes to their starting 11 easily, and trying to defend against the opponent through rotation. We took our precautions accordingly. Our game plan was ready when we had the ball. We started the match extremely sluggishly; if it had been due to Başakşehir's pressure, I might have accepted it, but we panicked unnecessarily and could not get organized on the pitch when we had the ball. We conceded a very poor goal. In the remainder of the first half, we started to balance things out gradually. We didn't give Başakşehir any opportunities other than Piatek's difficult chance," he stated.

WE HAD TAKEN CONTROL OF THE GAME

"In the second half, we watched a Rizespor team that dominated the game. We tried very hard, we found positions, but unfortunately, we couldn't bring about an equalizer. One of the transitions resulted in a penalty, and the final score of the match emerged. I am not satisfied with the first half; we struggled in the second. We need to keep this defeat as just a loss of 3 points rather than a breaking point. We have a young team; we don't have many players who have experienced this ranking race before. While continuing our work, we will also motivate our players for the race again. I congratulate Başakşehir on their victory."

SHELVEY LEFT TRAINING EARLY

Providing information about the status of Jonjo Shelvey, who was removed from the match squad at the last minute, İlhan Palut said, "Shelvey got injured in a very strange way during training on Friday, let's call it a small clumsiness. It was not due to an impact. He left the training early. He couldn't participate in the work in Istanbul yesterday; we thought he could play today. His name was on the team sheet, but he didn't feel well during the warm-up. We included Muammer in his place. Our player didn't play badly, but Shelvey was an important player to have in such decisive matches. We would have liked him to be with us, but it didn't happen. Maybe if we had one or two more days, we could have gotten him ready. I don't think there will be a problem regarding Shelvey for the Ankaragücü match," he explained.

News Source: AA