14 October 2014 05:56
Under-fire Fatih Terim was extremely disappointed after Turkey were forced the share the spoils in Latvia, despite dominating on Monday.
Bilal Kisa’s 47th-minute opener was cancelled out by Valerijs Sabala within seven minutes as Latvia earned a surprising 1-1 draw in Euro 2016 Group A qualifying in Riga.
Turkey – losers to Iceland and Czech Republic prior to kick-off – dictated proceedings in the first half but failed to turn dominance into goals as pressure continues to mount on Terim.
The Turks sit at the bottom of the standings, with just one point from three matches thus far.
“I believe we deserved to win tonight. We had something like ten good chances and they were only able to score with a penalty,” said Terim.
“I can’t remember them creating anything in the first half, and the situation didn’t change much after the break, but that can happen in football.
“Latvia were extremely happy with the draw and that tells its own story. On the other hand, we are not satisfied at all.”
Terim added: “For Latvia it was normal to attack down the wings as we were going forward in numbers.
“For me, the key was the fact that their equaliser came right after we had opened the scoring.
“I would like to congratulate our opponents for this result – they showed a real fighting spirit on the pitch.”