Beşiktaş coach struggles to see the positives

The one-goal victory over Ankaragücü in the Turkcell Super League on Saturday night was not enough to make Beşiktaş coach Mustafa Denizli happy.

Though the defending champion extended its winning streak to four with a strike by left back İsmail Köybaşı in the 15th minute, Denizli was in a complaining mood when he spoke after the game.

The Beşiktaş coach said that the club had applied to the Turkish Football Federation to play that game on Friday, which would have given the team one more day to prepare for its crucial Champions League match Tuesday.

“We wanted to play this game Friday because we have another match ahead against our most serious opponent in our Champions League group,” said Denizli. The team’s request was rejected due to Ankaragücü’s Turkish Cup match against Karşıyaka last Wednesday.

“We asked the federation to be helpful with the schedule. They should have considered our schedule when arranging the dates for the league and cup games,” said Denizli. “That Turkish Cup game, which is not that important right now, could have been played next week or sometime else.”

Added the coach: “We don’t want any privileges for Beşiktaş. But think about it, why did not we play a night ago, or even in the afternoon? Now my players can sleep no earlier than 3 or 4 a.m. Now we will do what we can in that only one day we have before the game.”

Beşiktaş started Saturday’s game in attacking fashion, but slowed the pace after finding the goal 15 minutes into the game.

“That was a tough game and winning is nice,” said Denizli. “We missed chances that could have made the game more comfortable for us.”

The match was Beşiktaş’ fourth victory in a row after a dismal period of one month without a win.

“We are slowly getting there,” Denizli said of his team’s form.

Also Saturday, Bursaspor saw its five-game winning streak come to an end when it was held to a 1-1 draw at the hands of Antalyaspor.

The home team took the lead with Serge Dijehoua’s header, but Bursaspor managed to escape with a point after Ivan Ergic’s goal in the second half.

Antalyaspor coach Mehmet Özdilek complained that his goalkeeper, Ömer Çatkıç, was fouled by Bursaspor defender Tomas Zapotocny in that goal.

“We can’t be happy with the one point we got because it was a game we could have won,” Özdilek said after the game. “We did everything we could to win, but sadly, we could not overcome the referee.”