Lift Your Head and Walk Toward the Sun
Beşiktaş’s defeat to Trabzonspor was shaped by a single decision in front of goal. Before Salah’s strike, Vlahovic found himself with the ball near the edge of the opposition penalty area and Trossard free in a promising position. Had Vlahovic made the pass, Beşiktaş might have drawn level. Instead, he lost possession, and Trabzonspor turned the mistake into a counterattack that extended their lead and effectively settled the match.
The result was a harsh one for Beşiktaş, especially given the work the team had put in. The Black Eagles had played with purpose in the first half, taken six shots and even struck the post, but they could not get past Onana. Trabzonspor, by contrast, made the most of their first clear opportunity, with Ozan finding the net.
Football can be unforgiving: when one side fails to take its chances, the other may punish it. Beşiktaş created openings in both halves but did not convert its energy into goals. The team looked particularly disjointed in attack, with players pushing forward without enough coordination to turn possession into a sustained threat.
Orkun’s absence once again highlighted his importance. Without him, Beşiktaş seemed to lack a commander in midfield-a player able to set the tempo, connect the lines and give the team a clear direction. Miretti has undeniable quality, but he does not offer the same profile. He dropped too deep, leaving Trossard, Vlahovic, Cerny and Olaitan struggling to build a reliable passing rhythm between them.
The pattern of the second half was familiar: Beşiktaş pressed and tried to force its way back into the game, while Trabzonspor waited for chances to break forward. The visitors were comfortable relying on transitions, an approach Thomas Reis had also implemented effectively during his time at Samsunspor. Once Beşiktaş committed players forward, spaces opened up for Trabzonspor to exploit.
One criticism of Beşiktaş’s management was that the changes came too late. Cerny and Miretti, in particular, could have been replaced at the interval. Earlier substitutions might have given the new players more time to influence the match and created fresh opportunities for the Olaitan-Vlahovic partnership.
That does not mean the defeat should be treated as a disaster. It was a setback, and setbacks can be repaired. Trabzonspor deserve congratulations for taking their chances and executing their plan. Beşiktaş, meanwhile, must take lessons from the loss without allowing it to define what comes next.
The key lesson is not simply to shoot more. Beşiktaş had already produced attempts and hit the woodwork; the greater need is to make better decisions in the final third. When a teammate is unmarked, the right pass can matter more than an individual attempt. In a tightly contested match, one moment of composure may be the difference between a comeback and a counterattack against.
The midfield also needs a workable solution when Orkun is unavailable. Miretti’s deeper positioning left a gap between the centre of the pitch and the forwards. Beşiktaş will need either a different role for Miretti or another way to move the ball forward quickly, so that the attacking players are not left isolated or forced to create everything on their own.
For Trabzonspor, the match offered a reminder of the value of patience. The team absorbed pressure, remained alert to spaces behind the defence and took advantage when Beşiktaş gave the ball away. That approach requires discipline: a side cannot rely on counterattacks alone unless it can defend consistently and move forward with speed when the opportunity comes.
Beşiktaş still has reasons to believe it can respond. The team showed enough intent to create chances, but effort must be matched by organisation, sharper finishing and timely decisions from the bench. The next step is to turn those promising spells into goals and to avoid letting one mistake become the turning point of another match.
A brave player can fall, but what matters is how he rises. Beşiktaş must lift its head, learn from the defeat and keep moving forward. The scoreline could have been different-and the response now will determine whether this loss remains a single stumble or becomes a larger problem.
*By Turgay Demir, Fotomaç*