Fatih Tekke, the Trabzonspor manager, admitted that his side threw away victory against Kasimpasa, after settling for a 1-1 draw in the opening round of the Turkish league on Saturday evening.
One major error, the Turkish coach confirmed, let the hosts grab the equaliser.
His team were not fully ready, Tekke said after the match, yet in the first half they produced a performance that exceeded his expectations. They should have settled the game early.
He added: "We said from the start that we were not ready, but in the first half we delivered a level better than I expected. We should have finished the match during that half."
Tekke said: "We conceded the equalising goal from a penalty after a very big mistake. And in the final minutes, the opponent also had good chances. You could say we lost the three points because of the mistake we made."
Mohamed Salah, a recent addition to Trabzonspor, came on in the 58th minute. Tekke felt his team looked a different side with the Egyptian star on the pitch compared to the period they played without him.
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He explained: "Our match after Salah came on is slightly different from without him," but he stressed that the team still needs to develop several aspects, most notably keeping possession, controlling the flow of play, and raising the level of concentration and enthusiasm. He added: "We have some shortcomings, and our emotions and desire in the match should have been higher. We need to keep the match under our control to a greater extent. It was an unfortunate start, and we have to admit that we did not succeed."
These first weeks will be decisive for the Trabzonspor project, Tekke pointed out. The team face an important European match on Thursday against a stronger opponent, then Basaksehir. Both, he stressed, will be difficult.
The Trabzonspor manager concluded: "We have to forget this match starting from tomorrow, and begin preparing for what is coming. We have no choice but to keep working."