Thomas Reis says Trabzonspor deserved Freiburg draw after Conference League defeat

Thomas Reis insisted Trabzonspor did not deserve to lose to Freiburg after Lucas Holer’s 14th-minute goal secured a 1-0 victory for the German side in the third round of the UEFA Conference League league phase.

The result was Trabzonspor’s first defeat in the competition this season, leaving them on six points and temporarily eighth in the standings until all matches in the round have been completed. Freiburg also moved to six points and are 11th.

Speaking at his post-match news conference, Reis said: “For me, it was a little special because this was the first time I have stood in front of you after we suffered a defeat.”

He acknowledged that Trabzonspor had struggled at the beginning of the match.

“To be honest, we did not produce our best performance during the first 15 to 20 minutes,” he said. “We made simple mistakes when giving the ball away, we did not win the individual battles and we conceded from a corner.”

Freiburg took the lead in the 14th minute through Lucas Holer, but Reis said the second half showed a different side to his team.

“In the second half, I saw a team fighting for each other, looking for chances to score and trying to give everything,” he added.

Reis believed Trabzonspor had created enough opportunities to avoid defeat, even though they failed to find the net.

“I think we deserved at least to come away with a draw,” he said. “Perhaps we were unable to score, but we had several chances from which we could have scored.”

He also argued that Freiburg had not created many clear opportunities during either half.

“As for Freiburg, they did not have many chances to score in the second half. Even in the first half, I cannot say that our opponents created many opportunities,” Reis said.

“But in the end, unfortunately, we were the team that lost.”

Trabzonspor began their Conference League campaign with victories over Finland’s Kups and Scottish club Hearts, but were unable to continue that winning run against Freiburg.

The team will now turn their attention to their next fixture on Sunday.

“We have to focus on the match we will play on Sunday, and of course we want to win it,” Reis said.

Mohamed Salah started the match for his team and threatened Freiburg’s goal, but was unable to find the net.