Sekongo's goal, and a Konyaspor side that finished a man short

Samsunspor beat Konyaspor 1-0 in Samsun on fewer chances than usual, while the visitors finished the match with one player fewer.

Konyaspor had a player sent off during their trip to Samsun, and that matters more than anything else in a game Samsunspor won by a single goal. The side with more of the ball was the one that ended up a man short, which makes their share of possession harder to read at face value.

The only goal came in the 39th minute, when Antoine Sekongo finished after a pass from Tanguy Coulibaly. The finish earned Sekongo an 8.2 rating, and it was the decisive moment of a match that otherwise moved slowly around both penalty areas.

Samsunspor had 49% of the ball, a little under the 52.9% they usually keep at home. Their chances were thinner than normal too: they took six shots against an average of 11, and their expected goals, a rough score for how good those chances were, came to 0.70 against a usual 0.89. Only three of those shots were on target.

Konyaspor had 51% of the ball, above the 48.9% they usually keep away from home, but their attacking output dropped as well. Their attempts were also below their own average of 10.4, and their expected goals sat under the 0.94 they usually manage on the road. Only one of their efforts reached the goal, and Bahadır Han Güngördü made two saves for the visitors.

Across the division, a typical side takes 12.7 shots and creates 1.26 expected goals, and the average match produces three goals. This one produced one, and neither side came close to those averages on chances, which is why the single goal carried so much weight.

Samsunspor's win ends a run of six straight defeats, and it is the first time in that spell that the home side has taken anything from a game. Before kick-off they sat 17th in the table, two places below Konyaspor in 15th, and this result does little to change the picture for either side in the short term.

The points on the day went to the home side, and the most telling detail is the one that is easy to miss: Samsunspor won with fewer chances than usual, and Konyaspor lost a player while still having more of the ball. Samsunspor are 17th and Konyaspor 15th.

Player of the matchAntoine Sekongo1 goal8.2

Jean-Luc Dompé4 chances created7.3

Tanguy Coulibaly1 assist7.2

Afonso Sousa6 duels won7.2