Veliaj makes amends for Albania
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Article summary
Albania 1-1 Turkey Emilijano Veliaj's goal cancelled out Semih Şentürk's opener for Turkey as honours were shared in Group 2.
Article body
Turkey and Albania completed their UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying campaigns with a 1-1 Group 2 draw.
Semih goal
Semih Şentürk exploited some indecisive defending to score Turkey’s opener after just nine minutes, but despite getting plenty of pressure in the opening period, the visitors never managed to add to their account and it was a more even affair in the second half.
Final standings
Having suffered a humiliating defeat in Ukraine four days ago, Hasan Lika's Albania put in a much improved performance and defender Emilijano Veliaj beat Turkey goalkeeper Fevzi Elmaz for their equaliser after 72 minutes. The result means Albania finish second from bottom of the group while Turkey finished fourth.
Kapsal pleased
"We were better in the first half - we controlled the ball very well," said Turkey coach Reha Kapsal. "The goal gave us a boost and allowed us to control the match better. The boys have put in a good performance even though this was an easy match for both teams."