The performance of Sunshine Flickers at the IEI National Hockey League finals was hampered by their unfamiliarity with the astro turf, the team’s assistant coach Biodun Akinyemi has said. 

The inaugural edition of the league which held on the astro turfs of the Abuja National Stadium’s Hockey Complex was concluded at the weekend.

The finals featured six teams/clubs in the women pool, after the Bayelsa Flickers and Lagos state failed to turn up, and eight clubs in the men’s category.

The Akure-based Sunshine Flickers garnered only three points from five matches after three draws and two losses, scoring two goals and conceding six to place seventh and out of title contention.

Akinyemi blamed his team’s performance on the fact that his players were unfamiliar with the astro-turf.

“We came third at the Southern Conference held in Lagos some weeks ago, and that shows that we are good too.

“But we played then on a synthetic turf, and over here we are playing on an astro-turf, which we are unfamiliar with,’’ he told newsmen.

Akinyemi said that apart from the turf, his players had been used to playing on hard ground and could not have mastered the use of the astro-turf in just a few days. 

“This is a faster pitch than what we have been used to, and we were affected by the pitch.

“We couldn’t have done better than this, because we couldn’t prepare for this finals as we would have loved to, due to lack of funds,’’ he said.

The coach said his team could not get the needed funds to prepare and travel for the finals in Abuja.

“We didn’t get the money we asked for, and we managed from the little we have left over from the money used in going for the Lagos competition,’’ he said.

Akinyemi, however, said his team was not giving up the fight for now.

“It is normal that not all teams that have come here will win all their matches, but I am confident that we will get better because we are good and we have been improving with each game.

“I can assure you that there will be changes in our subsequent outings we want to strive to do better and avoid relegation. I am positive about that because we can do it,’’ he said.   

Two of the clubs in the men’s pool of the IEI National Premier Hockey League were relegated to the lower league at the end of the finals.