Jol pleased by Besiktas ovation

12 April 2012

Martin Jol saluted the sportsmanship shown by Besiktas fans after Tottenham were applauded from the pitch in recognition of their 2-0 UEFA triumph at the Inonu Stadium.

Pre-match fears over how Spurs would handle Besiktas' noisy home support proved unfounded thanks to a composed display that underlined their status as one of the competition's contenders.

Jol said: "To be acknowledged like that is exactly what you want. Having things thrown at you isn't. For something like this to happen in Turkey is evidence we were rated."

He added: "We wanted to silence the crowd but after a couple of minutes we thought it would be impossible to silence a crowd like that. They showed some respect.

"The Turkish are fanatical but they showed they can be good supporters. If you applaud the away team it says it all.

"In the past a few things happened and that was probably why we didn't bring many supporters, but it should always be like it was today."

Besiktas, who are third in their domestic league, have never beaten an English club in Istanbul and Jol revealed that statistic was used as motivation.

"I'm very satisfied with the three points. It was a very good experience for us. They were a very phonetical crowd, a very good crowd," he said.

"We said before the game let's enjoy it because that's the main thing. We fought for every yard and started off very well, controlling the first 20 minutes.

"It's difficult to play against a proud side like Besiktas. We scored the second goal at the right moment and then had three or four chances after that."

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