Galatasaray blames cold for away draw

Galatasaray coach Jan Olde Riekerink blamed the weather and the icy pitch after his side was held to 2-2 draw at Osmanlıspor in the Spor Toto Super League on Dec. 18.

"The game was played under extraordinary conditions," Riekerink told a post-game press conference.
"We asked Osmanlıspor to come here one day early to have a training session in this stadium, but it was rejected," the Dutchman said.

The visiting side made a good start to the game, which was played at a temperature of -5 degrees Celsius, as Yasin Öztekin put Galatasaray ahead as early as the third minute.

Osmanlıspor's Cameroonian striker Pierre Webo leveled the score in the 35th minute and scored another in the 85th, but Galatasaray salvaged a point thanks to defender Semih Kaya's goal two minutes later.

"I congratulate all my players on my team; I am proud of them," Riekerink said.

"In these difficult conditions they did not stop fighting until the end. Of course, it is not possible to play football in this field conditions. The greatest measure for me was the reaction we showed after our opponent's second goal. When we fell back in some games we could see a team that was upset. Today, Galatasaray wanted to find the goal and equal the score as soon as possible. This is what made me most happy as a coach," he added.

Osmanlıspor coach Reşit Akçay was upset to have missed the victory.

"It is really painful to miss so many scoring chances and get a draw. You cannot blame the players for the missed chances, we have a team of good intentions and character. We have to work on finishing. But scoring is also a virtue given by Allah," he said.

With the draw, Galatasaray remained in third spot with 30 points from 15 games, trailing...