Asteras' Goian cautious despite away draw
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Article summary
Veteran defender Dorin Goian says Asteras Tripolis FC are still the "outsiders" in Group C, even after a late goal helped the visitors snatch a 1-1 draw at Beşiktaş JK.
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Article body
• Dorin Goian says Asteras will fight "until the last minute of the last game"
• Veteran defender believes the Greek side are still Group C underdogs
• Beşiktaş's Cenk Tosun rues missed chances
• Facundo Parra's late volley secured visitors Asteras a point
• Next games: Tottenham v Beşiktaş, Asteras v Partizan (2 October)
Dorin Goian, Asteras defender
It was a difficult game for us. We knew Beşiktaş were a very good team, they have very good players and we knew we would suffer. At times we didn't play so well because they put a lot of pressure on us and, honestly, I think this draw means we've gained a point. I am happy with the point and now we will see what happens in the next few games.
We are outsiders in this group, you know. We start as fourth favourites in the group but we try our best in every game and we try to get the maximum from each game. In football, anything is possible. So we'll fight for our chances until the last minute of the last game. The pitch was quite difficult. It was very heavy but it was raining for a couple of days in Istanbul so we knew that it was going to be a difficult pitch.
Cenk Tosun, Beşiktaş forward
Of course it is sad to concede in the last minute. Maybe we could have held the advantage if we had found the second or third goal after going 1-0 up and we had our chances as well, but unfortunately we could not score again. We conceded a bad goal from a defensive error but now we need to forget this game and focus on the other games in our group.
I hope we advance. A season has its ups and downs and we started the season really well. I don't think we are on a downward spiral now. I believe we will prove that in our next games and will get three points.
Today the pitch conditions were bad but maybe it was a miracle to be even this good, because it rained a lot over the past two days. However, we cannot make excuses because our opponents played on the same pitch. Excuses are not for us; we will carry on and keep doing our best.