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Kocaelispor defeated Corendon Alanyaspor 2-1 on the road in week nine of the Trendyol Süper Lig, taking control with two first-half goals before holding on after the break.

Berkan Kutlu and Baku scored for the visitors, while Duarte pulled one back for Alanyaspor early in the second half. Kocaelispor coach Selçuk İnan called it a deserved win, and Alanyaspor coach Joao Pereira blamed a first half in which his side never got going.

Two first-half goals settle the match

Kocaelispor threatened first in the 24th minute. The attack came down the left and Baku let fly from outside the area, but the shot hit Lima and flew just over the bar.

Three minutes later the visitors were ahead. Rivas played the ball into the area from the left and Berkan Kutlu finished the move with a shot into the net.

Alanyaspor responded in the 32nd minute when Hagi crossed from the right to the far post, where Duarte rose well but headed just wide of the goal.

Kocaelispor made it 2-0 in the 42nd minute. A corner taken by Uğur Kaan Yıldız from the left caused a scramble in the box, Aye laid the ball off to Baku on the right side of the area, and Baku fired it into the net. The half ended with the visitors two goals up.

Duarte gives Alanyaspor hope after the break

Alanyaspor cut the deficit in the 52nd minute. Duarte exchanged passes with Enes Keskin on the left before carrying the ball into the area and driving a powerful shot past the goalkeeper.

The home side kept pushing. In the 71st minute Aliti delivered a cross from the left and Cedric met it with a header that Kocaelispor goalkeeper Serhat Öztaşdelen held.

Another chance came in the 84th minute, when İbrahim Kaya played the ball through the middle to Ben Ali, whose shot Öztaşdelen gathered at the second attempt.

No further goals followed, and the match finished 2-1 for Kocaelispor.

Selçuk İnan praises preparation and squad rotation

Kocaelispor coach Selçuk İnan said at the post-match press conference that the team had anticipated Alanyaspor's approach and prepared accordingly. He described the home side as a settled team that likes to keep possession but is also capable of changing formations and rotating players.

"We guessed what kind of game Alanyaspor would come out with. They have a clear plan, they try to keep the ball and their play is consistent. They may look strong on the pitch, but they are a side that can rotate and line up in different ways. We prepared for that. Our tactical change was partly down to that," İnan said, adding that the player involved sometimes operated at centre-back and moved into midfield once his team won the ball.

İnan said the players carried out everything worked on during the week, and described the result as a deserved and pleasing win.

Rotation, he said, is a constant feature of the team's league campaign. Keeping every player ready is one of his main duties because injuries can strike without warning, he said, and the cup is one of the club's biggest goals, with the aim of reaching the final. "We will go out and try to play with the same desire to compete. We will make a few changes, but those changes will not only be about rotation, they will be about winning the match," İnan said, adding that players with minor knocks and those who are not fully fit physically may be rested, with the intention of fielding the strongest possible eleven.

Joao Pereira faults his side's first-half display

Corendon Alanyaspor coach Joao Pereira was blunt about the opening period. "We basically did not come out onto the pitch in the first half. It was as if we stayed inside, in the dressing room. We did not play, we did not run. We made so many passing mistakes. It was as if we had not taken the field at all. We lost the match because of that first half," he said.

Pereira said he was weighing two explanations for the poor display. "Either I did not go into the match with a good idea, my ideas were not good, or my players did not work hard enough to win the match. It is one of these two options. I am speaking slowly in particular because I do not want to say something wrong. I am trying to be careful," he said.

The Portuguese coach said he made three substitutions at half-time and switched to a 5-3-2 system the squad had worked on only once. "If it were up to me I would have made ten changes. Even so the game took on a completely different shape, because the energy of the players who came on changed it a bit. The tactics may have been bad, I can accept that, I am not perfect. I am not Guardiola, Klopp or Mourinho. I work hard but I can make mistakes. One thing is clear, though, we were like night and day," he said.

Pereira said the second half brought a different energy and, even if the performance was not what he wanted, the team at least fought on the pitch. "Tonight I think I will have nightmares, I don't think I will sleep, because I will try to understand what happened and why it was like this today. We lost three points, but there was certainly a team in the first half that had not taken the field at all, I can say that," he said.

Alanyaspor have 12 points from nine matches, Pereira said, adding that the team had many chances to better last season's return over the same number of games. "In the last three matches we could have collected at least four points but we got one. This performance is never enough for me or for the team. We are very sorry, and we need to be very sorry, but we are not dead either. We have another match in three days, we will continue. That is football, nothing is over," he said.

Key takeaways

• Kocaelispor won 2-1 at Corendon Alanyaspor in week nine of the Trendyol Süper Lig
• Berkan Kutlu and Baku scored in the first half; Duarte pulled one back in the 52nd minute
• Selçuk İnan said the win was deserved and praised how the players executed the game plan
• Joao Pereira said his side "did not come out onto the pitch" in the first half and lost the game there