Sports
Sharks Secures First Away Victory
Sharks football club of
Port Harcourt survived Kaduna united onslaught to pick a valuable three points on the road at the Ahmadu bello stadium on Wednesday.
The hard fought victory turned out to be the first away win for the Coach Gbenga Ogunbote tutored lads who went into the lead as early as the 10th minute when Christain Pyagbara latched onto a Fortune Omoniwari cross after so many failed attempts by the homers to shot into the lead.
The homers dominated possession after Pyagbara put Sharks in the lead and with the support from the few spectators at the stadium they looked good enough for an equalizer but the attackers lacked the cutting edge to draw level.
The homers came close to scoring in 27th minute with Isah Aminu in a world of his own in Sharks 6 yard box but the agility of Danladi Isah his name sake in Sharks goal ensured Isah Aminu could not restore parity for the home side.
Pyagbara and Omoniwari both had Glaring opportunities to stretch the game beyond Kaduna united but for their individualistic approach to the game.
And on the 42nd minute Pyagbara’s individual brilliance paid off after dribbling past three defenders before scoring his second of the day.
Second half saw a more enterprising Kaduna united running rings round Sharks defense while the visitors chased shadows in the middle of the pack and it was not too long Sharks defense caved in to the pressure in a goal mouth melee in the 53rd minute Samuel Agba effort.
Coach Gbenga Ogunbote described the victory as a well thought out plan by the team from the very start of the season.
“ The victory means a lot because we have been working towards it right from the beginning of the season”Ogunbote said.
“ We thank God we were able to get it now because it now shows that we can really get what we planned to get at the start of the season because if you really want to achieve success you must learn to win away from home
He attributed the defensive approach adopted by his boys in the second fourty five minutes to fear that referee antics will set in for the home team thereby piling pressure on the defence.
“They lost concentration because fear set in as they anticipated magic moments by the referee for the home team but kudos to the referee who stood his ground,Ogunbote said”.
“The homers forced us to play their game because my boys resorted to defensive play when the need did not even arise and we paid for it,”
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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