Kevin-Prince Boateng assist not enough as Besiktas suffer defeat at Kayserispor

Kevin-Prince Boateng came on as a second-half substitute to provide an assist as Besiktas fell to a 3-1 defeat by Kayserispor in the Turkish Super Lig on Monday night.

The Black Eagles came off the back of a 3-0 victory over Konyaspor last time out which was preceded by a 5-1 win at Nigeria international Ogenyi Onazi’s Denizlispor.

After a goalless first-half, Kayserispor took the lead in the 51st minute via Hasan Huseyin Acar.

Boateng came on for Necip Uysal in the 62nd minute and his nicely-weighted pass found Atiba Hutchinson who equalized for the visitors from close range 12 minutes later.

It was the Ghanaian’s first-ever assist for the club since he joined on loan from Fiorentina in January having already found the back of the net on his debut against Patrick Twumasi’s Gaziantep and against Anthony Nwakaeme’s Trabzonspor.

More misery was to follow however for Sergen Yalcin’s men as Acar and Artem Kravets scored between the 83rd and 86th minutes to ensure they finished the game with all three points.

Boateng’s 28 minutes on the pitch saw him produce two shots (one on target, one off-target), 13 touches, seven accurate passes at 77% while also winning two of four total duels.

Other Africans to feature for Besiktas on the night were Egypt international and Arsenal loanee Mohamed Elneny who played the entire game with a passing accuracy of 95.8%, the fifth-highest of the Besiktas players, while also producing 85 touches, four tackles, one interception and winning six of 10 ground duels.

Mali winger Abdoulaye Diaby played for 84 minutes, producing three total shots and attempting six dribbles before being replaced by Guven Yalcin.

Franco-Cameroonian Georges-Kevin Nkoudou came on for former Sunderland and Netherlands international Jermain Lens in the same minute Boateng was introduced.

Although the result is Besiktas’ second loss in four games since the resumption of the Super Lig, they remain in fifth spot on the log, one point clear of Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce and two points shy of other city rivals Galatasaray for Europa League qualification.

They host Kasimpasa next at Vodafone Park on Thursday night.