Sports
Egypt 2009: Spirit, Grit Key To Ghana’s Triumph
They play with a free spirit” – that was England coach Brian Eastick’s assessment of Ghana ahead of the group game between the two teams here at the Under-20 World Cup in Egypt.
At the time, having not seen the Black Satellites play in person, many thought this was very possibly so much cliche.
But after watching them live six times, one had to agree with him, although there is much more to this team than attack.
The truth is this Ghana side, World Champions now of course, is massively entertaining to watch, they certainly keep you on the edge of your seat.
Their style captured the imagination of the local fans as Dominic Adiyiah, ably supported by fellow striker Ransford Osei and captain Dede Ayew, raced to the Golden Shoe award for the tournament’s top scorer.
With Samuel Inkoom and David Addy flying down the flanks to provide service, the Black Satellites had the perfect attacking formula.
But if you devote yourself to attack, then your defence frequently suffers, and that problem persisted for Ghana.
They were at their most vulnerable having just scored themselves, seemingly relaxing too much and allowing the opposition opportunities they should not have had.
This happened in their quarter final and their semi, both of which finished in 3-2 wins for the Black Satellites.
And their attitude, although they would deny this, often seemed to be “if they can score two, we can score three!”
And of course they could, but an alternative approach was needed in the final against Brazil.
Those of us who had talked about a high scoring match were proved wrong, as Ghana showed a very different side to their game in the Cairo International Stadium on Friday night.
A lesser team would have wilted at some stage, physically and emotionally exhausted, but Ghana knew they could stay with the South Americans and overcome them.
And so they did, thanks to the most dramatic device of the penalty shoot-out.
So in Africa, in the led up to Africa’s first World Cup, an African team has claimed the under-20 crown for the first time.
And Ghana fully deserve their title.
Sports
CAFCL: Finidi Laud Players Over Impressive Performance
Sports
Umuahia Hosts Africa Para- Badminton Championship
The championship will run from today to October 12 at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia. On the ground for the championship are athletes from Brazil, Peru, Egypt, Cameroon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Mauritius and Rwanda. They arrived on Sunday.
Some of the other countries were expected in the Abia State capital yesterday. Speaking on the championship, yesterday, Abia State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Nwobilor Ananaba, said the chief host, Governor Alex Otti, has mobilised facilities and the personnel to ensure a successful event.
Speaking through the Special Assistant to the Governor on Sports, Raymond Chima Ukwa, said: “We have the best mats, playing mats, especially the wheelchair playing mats, which is the first of its kind in West Africa.
“If you go around, you’ll see the hall and the preparation that has been made to ensure that people have an equitable world-class playing field.” Thrilled by Governor Otti’s support for the competition, Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) President, Francis Orbih, said that, besides making all the necessary arrangements that will ensure a successful hosting of the events, “we will have a Para-Badminton workshop for coaches and players.
“Nigeria is doing well, Abia is doing well, and we want to do better to improve on where we are, which is why all these have been put together by Governor Otti.”
Sports
FIFA U20: Flying Eagles Narrowly Loss to Norway
Nigeria’s Flying Eagles began their campaign at the 24th FIFA U20 World Cup with a narrow 1–0 loss to Norway on Monday, despite creating several opportunities to level the game.
Norway took the lead in the 9th minute after being awarded a controversial penalty. The Flying Eagles pressed for an equaliser but were denied two penalty claims in the second half.
Kparobo Arierhi came close in the 47th minute when his shot drifted wide with the goalkeeper beaten, while Tahir Maigana struck the upright in the 63rd minute.
Nasiru Salihu’s rising effort in the 71st minute also went narrowly over the bar, drawing gasps from the crowd.
Seven minutes from time, Maigana again tested Norway with a long-range strike that went just wide as Nigeria continued to pile on the pressure.
Despite their dominance, the Flying Eagles could not find the breakthrough and now turn their attention to Thursday’s clash against Saudi Arabia in their second group match.
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