Wasteful Turkey seal narrow win over Montenegro to go top of Nations League group
Turkey came into this game in fine form having lost just one of the last five matches (W3, D1), and they went close inside the opening minute through captain Hakan Çalhanoğlu, whose effort from distance was denied by a fantastic Igor Nikić save.
The Crescent-Stars continued to pile pressure on the visitors throughout the opening stages of the first half, with Nikić being called into action twice to deny Barış Alper Yilmaz, who went close with two headers.
Vincenzo Montella’s side were incredibly dominant in the first half, but they struggled to break down the resilient Montenegro defence, with Nikić being called upon again with just under 10 minutes remaining, denying Orkun Kökçü after the midfielder looked to find the bottom-right corner from the edge of the area.
The start of the second period saw Turkey continue to dominate possession, going close to taking the lead just three minutes after the restart when Nikić managed to scramble back across goal to make the save from Kökçü.
The SL Benfica midfielder went close yet again just over 10 minutes after the break, this time managing to beat the goalkeeper only to be denied by the foot of the post as he looked to find the bottom-right corner.
The deadlock was finally broken with just over 20 minutes to play though, as substitute Irfan Can Kahveci poked the ball into an empty net from a yard out after Kenan Yildiz struck the inside of the post.
Çalhanoğlu went close with just five minutes to play when he found himself free inside the box, firing across goal as he looked to find the bottom-left corner, only to be denied by Nikić yet again.
The home side saw the game out from there to move two points clear at the top of the group. Meanwhile, Montenegro remain rooted to the bottom of the group after losing all of their opening three matches.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Turkey)