Martin: We’ll take so much learning
Southampton manager Russell Martin reflected on a productive night’s work for him and his team, following a 1-1 draw with Göztepe which concluded a pre-season trip in Turkey.
In only the second game of Martin’s stewardship so far there were plenty of players utilised once again, as the manager looks to get to grips with his squad.
Saints’ hosts took the lead on 26 minutes, profiting from their only real spell of possession during the first half as Yalçin Kayan opened the scores.
The visitors made changes and one of those, Charly Alcaraz, secured a deserved equaliser on 64 minutes.
Despite having much to entertain the fans in attendance and those following online, it finished 1-1 between the two Sports Republic clubs.
“It was good, I enjoyed it,” said a visibly pleased manager post-match. “Very different feel for a pre-season friendly. Good atmosphere, small pitch, difficult pitch.
“I saw some stuff I really liked, saw some stuff that we need to work on, which I think is inevitable for the second game.
“We’ve had two tough days of work in the heat too, the lads were out there on the training pitch this morning. So all in all I’m really pleased we were so competitive.
“The last half hour, I was really pleased with the guys who came on. The game looked how it should look really. It was attack after attack; we just couldn’t make the most out of our really good chances.
“We limited them [Göztepe] to very few, mainly from our mistakes. But they're good, I really enjoyed it. Credit to the manager and his team.
“We’re going to face that shape a lot in the Championship this season. We haven’t faced it yet because in training we’re working on our shape, it’s not something we’ve come across. So we’ll take so much learning from that, I’m really pleased.”
