Sports
Ba, Again Leads Africa’s Performance In Europe
Senegal’s Demba Ba is the English Premier League’s leading
scorer after netting both Newcastle United goals in a 2-2 draw at Reading at
the weekend.
Previously unhappy with the decision of manager Alan Pardew
to use him as a wide striker, Ba has netted five times in three outings. He has
six goals overall.
Malian Jimmy Kebe and Ivorian Gervinho were also on target
in the Premier League, whilst Angolan Manucho struck twice for Valladolid as
they eased to victory in Spain’s La Liga.
ENGLAND
DEMBA BA (Newcastle): The Senegal striker twice equalised in
a 2-2 draw against Reading. His first goal was a sublime volley on the run
following a clipped pass from Ivorian Cheick Tiote. But controversy surrounded
his second when he inadvertently diverted the ball into the net off his hand
with an attempted header.
JIMMY KEBE (Reading): The Malian opened the scoring in the
58th minute when he slotted a low shot inside the near post but the eventual
draw meant his side stay in the bottom three.
GERVINHO (Arsenal): The Ivorian drew the Gunners level
against Chelsea with a well-worked shot that saw him take just one touch before
beating Petr Cech from eight yards, but his goal was not enough to inspire an
Arsenal revival as Chelsea won 2-1. He has scored four goals this season, as
many as he managed for the entire 2011-12 campaign.
FRANCE
FOUED KADIR (Valenciennes): The Algeria midfielder scored
one goal and made another as Valenciennes ended Marseille’s 100 percent start
to the season with a stunning 4-1 win at Stade du Hainaut.
YOUNES BELHANDA (Montpellier): Belhanda broke the deadlock
as defending champions Montpellier won 2-0 at Nancy to register only their
second win of the new season. His Senegalese colleague Souleymane Camara made
the points safe in the final minute with a fine 25-yard drive.
CHEICK DIABATE (Bordeaux): Giant Mali striker Diabate got on
the score-sheet for the first time this season to seal Bordeaux’s
smash-and-grab 2-0 success at previously unbeaten Lyon. The towering
centre-forward out-jumped Mouhamadou Dabo to head home from close range in the
82nd minute, as Francis Gillot’s side extended their unbeaten run to 10 games
in all competitions.
GERMANY
JOEL MATIP (Schalke): The Cameroon international scored his
first goal of the season in a 2-2 draw at Fortuna Dusseldorf. Matip hit the
target with a well-timed header in the 20th minute from a Christian Fuchs
free-kick.
DIDIER YA KONAN (Hanover): Three days after scoring twice in
a 4-1 win over Nuremberg, the Ivory Coast star was kept at bay by the Hamburg
defence in 1-0 defeat. He came close, however, with an acrobatic scissor-kick
which went over the bar.
ITALY
KWADWO ASAMOAH (Juventus): Asamoah was used only as a
second-half substitute by Juventus caretaker coach Massimo Carrera in a 4-1 win
over Roma.
KEVIN PRINCE BOATENG (AC Milan): Boateng showed an improved
performance as the Rossoneri laboured to a 1-1 draw at Parma when they really
should have won the match. Boateng had several attempts on goal, but after
seeing ‘Little Pharaoh’ Stephan El Shaarawy – an Italian who has an Egyptian
father – score for his side the Ghanaian woke to media claims he had been a
“flop”.
SPAIN
ALEX SONG (Barcelona): It was another assured performance at
the back from Cameroon midfielder Song in a 3-2 win over Sevilla, as he
deputises in the absence of regular central defenders Gerard Pique and Carles
Puyol.
MANUCHO (Valladolid): Manucho’s Valladolid future was in
doubt earlier this year, but against Rayo Vallecano the Angolan produced one of
his best performances for the club with two goals in a 6-1 win.
OBAFEMI MARTINS (Levante): After making an immediate impact
with a winning goal in his debut last week against Real Sociedad, it was a
disappointing match for the Nigerian against Osasuna as Levante crashed 4-0. He
showed only glimpses of his pace and his only chance was a first-half header
that was comfortably saved.
Sports
CAA Wants Ghana To Host 2026 Athletics Champions
The Confederation of African Athletics has invited Ghana to bid for the hosting rights of the 2026 African Athletics Championships, following a successful athletics event at the just concluded 2023 African Games.
President of Ghana Athletics, Bawa Fuseini, stated this and expressed confidence in the transformative potential of the Legon Stadium for athletes and Ghana’s bid to host international competitions.
With a capacity of 11,000, the Legon Stadium played a pivotal role in the recent African Games, hosting both the opening and closing ceremonies as well as various sporting events including athletics, football, and rugby.
Fuseini highlighted the success of the athletics events held at the stadium, which contributed to Ghana winning six medals.
“We have already started getting requests from the Confederation of African Athletics to bid for the 2026 African Athletics Championships.
“When they came and saw what we have put in place and the level of organisation, they told me that for the last 20 years, they’ve never seen any organisation like this before. We did three official courses. And the last one, we had 110, all of them passed. We had a lot of officials and equipment.”
Since its establishment in 1979, Ghana has never hosted the African Athletics Championships, with Nigeria being the host country twice, in 1989 and 2018.
This year, Cameroon will take the reins as the host nation, with the event set to be held at the Olembe Stadium.
Sports
‘I’m Not Under Pressure To Coach Eagles’
Finidi George, head coach of the Nigeria Premier Football Leagues side, Enyimba, has stated that he is not losing any sleep over getting the Super Eagles job on a permanent basis.
Early this month, the Nigeria Football Federation declared the position of the Super Eagles’ head coach vacant, following the exit of Portuguese Jose Peseiro, who led the side to a second-place finish at the 2023 Africa Cup Nations in Ivory Coast in February.
In an advertisement on its website calling for applications with a March 13 deadline, the football governing body stated that the prospective Eagles coach “must have proven experience at the elite level of football.”
The former Ajax man, who also applied for the job, was appointed Eagles interim coach for the international window with the former winger picking a win and suffering a defeat.
In an interview with Tidesports source, the 52-year-old tactician said he was not desperate for the job permanently.
“I felt really good when I was told to take charge of the team. I have been with the team for almost two years, I know all the players, their strengths, and their weaknesses but I am only here to serve Nigeria the way I know how to do stuff.
“I will just take these two games and go back to my club. Whatever the decision is taken after, so be it. I’m not under pressure to say I must get the role permanently.”
Sports
‘Reasons Why Eagles Lost To Mali’
The friendly games against Ghana and Mali were to serve as an audition for George Finidi, who was in charge of the team on an interim basis, but the Eagles’ lacklustre display in those friendlies has called for his further evaluation.
Finidi kept faith with ex-coach Jose Peseiro’s defensive formation against Mali on the back of his first win (against Ghana) in charge of the team four days earlier.
But this time, his defence was punished following a combination of defensive errors and poor passes.
The Eagles struggled to play out of defence due to the high pressing of the Malians and it was no surprise that the first goal by Les Aigles was a direct result of their aggression.
Chidozie Awaziem, who started on the right of the back three alongside Kenneth Omeruo and Semi Ajayi, lacked composure and was pressured into making a pass across his box straight at Bilal Toure, who made no mistake in getting the ball past Stanley Nwabali. They missed the calming presence of injured William Troost-Ekong.
Vice captain, Kenneth Omeruo, was also culpable of misplaced passes and was beaten for pace when Kamory Doumbia ran past him to seal Mali’s first win in over four decades, firing his shot past a helpless Nwabali, who stood no chance.
Eagles wing backs, Bright Osayi-Samuel and Jamilu Collins also did not do enough to support the team in attack when they had the chance to.
Lack of creativity
Finidi paired Raphael Onyedika and Wilfred Ndidi in a double pivot in midfield. Both players are naturally anchor men and neither is a box-to-box midfielder.
They both do not possess the offensive capability to drive the team’s attack forward, which left the Eagles once again craving for a natural creative midfielder.
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