Sports
Golden Eaglets Dazzle At Pepsi Tourney
The coach of Liberty Professional FC of Ghana, George Lamptey, has declared that the Golden Eaglets’ soccer artistry so far at the ongoing Pepsi Academy Football International Tournament in Abeokuta is enough to give them victory.
The Ghanaian coach, who described the U-17 players as “young beautiful players”, urged the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) to ensure that the players were kept together and groomed into the U-20 national team.
“I have not seen any team that can match the boys’ (Eaglets) performance in this tournament and I must say kudos to their coach.
“Even though they are small in stature, they have been able to do what the big ones cannot do. I see them as tomorrow’s team for Nigeria,” he told newsmen in Abeokuta yesterday.
Lamptey, a pioneer player of Abiola Babes FC Abeokuta, said that if the boys were given the deserved attention and training, they would boost the country’s football.
On Monday, the Eaglets defeated the Liberty Professionals 1-0 in a match described by spectators as interesting. Aliu Aliu scored the only goal of the match in the 10th minute.
The Eaglets had in their Group B opening match on Sunday defeated Pepsi Football Academy II 3-2.
Eaglets coach Danladi Nasidi, expressed satisfaction with the team’s performance and attributed their victory to sheer determination.
He added that his boys won because they played to instruction and promised that their next match would be an “outright win”.
“They won the match because they were determined. The Ghanaians are older and bigger and more exposed but we won because we were determined,” he said.
In Group A, Riverlane FC of Enugu drew 2-2 with Pepsi Football Academy I with Seka Paul scoring an own goal in the 18th minute.
Earlier, Sia One FC of Abuja defeated Dimension de Formation of Benin 3-1 with Onoriode Esejabor, opening scoring for Sia One.
Sesugh Dennis scored a brace in the 40th and 59th minute to put the match beyond the Republic of Benin side. PFA I and BRF of Lagos drew 1-1 with Ajidahun Adebayo scoring in the 70th minute, while Ikechukwu Nwankwo of BRF equalised in the 55th minute.
The competition continued yesterday with an official opening ceremony of the tourney at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta and the Abeokuta Grammar School pitch.
A well-known football pundit in the State, Chief Christopher Okonkwo has lauded the efforts and vision of the Super Eagles Coach Eric Chelle for going from one venue of the Nigeria Domestic Nigeria Professional Football League match to the other in monitoring Nigerian players, with a view to invite some exceptional good one discovered into the main stream of the Super Eagles team.
Okonkwo, who made the commendation in an interview at the Port Harcourt Club recently, described the positive move by Coach Chelle as a good step in the right direction, noting that the practice was how its been done in the past among any contracted coach assigned to tinker the Super Eagles team.
“Truly, it has been an old tradition in the country seeing any newly engaged Coach to lead the National team, visiting some our Nigeria League venues during the league matches to spot light some good talents that could be used to beef up some grey areas in the department of Eagles team”
He, however, frowned at the current situation where our coaches had continously been over depending on the use of foreign based players during invitation of players to the National camp, thereby, relegating the domestic home based league players to the background as if they have nothing much to offer to the team.
“I can vividly recall that the likes of great players in the mode of Finidi George, Taribo West, Kanu Nwankwo, Austin Okocha, Richard Owobokiri, Emmanuel Osuigwe among others started from Nigeria football league before they graduated to play in Europe through which they later invited to Super Eagles camp to represent Nigeria”
“Besides, I’m also of the view that going to secondary school football competitive games could equally serves as a a good platform to discover budding talents that could be nurtured to become great stars in near future”, Okonkwo frankly added.
Okonkwo, therefore, prayed that any football coach to be engaged by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to tinker the Super Eagles should be told not to confine himself in staying in big hotel alone but to be visiting some of our local league match venues, with a view to discover some good players that can be drafted into the Super Eagles team.
“Indeed, I stand to be challenged that there some young good players in the Nigeria Professional League. If spotted and exposed, could give the some of the invited foreign based players a stiff competitive fight in securing a postion in the team”, Okonkwo emphatically stated.
Ezechukwu, one of the youngest members of the Nigerian contingent at the championship in Ghana, said her ambition was to win the 100m title in style and cap it with a new personal record.
The fresh secondary school graduate explained that she is fully focused on contributing to Team Nigeria’s medal hopes and is determined to deliver strong performances across her events.
“My main objective in Ghana is to clinch the 100m title and the 4×100m,” Ezechukwu told Tidesports source.
“Nigeria can be assured of my very best and my commitment to the Team. I would love to set a new personal best in Ghana, but anything that comes, I will take it. The spirit in the team is high, and I think we are ready to go,” she said.
Ezechukwu, who was part of Nigeria’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the World Relays in Botswana, said the experience gained from that competition has strengthened her mindset heading into the continental championships.
She admitted that she learned valuable lessons from her previous outing, including a difficult moment during the relay where an early error affected the team’s rhythm, but said she has used the experience to improve her discipline and composure.
“The secret is just being disciplined, training hard and trusting my coach and believing in God, and the result will show,” she added.
The teenager is part of a 41-member Nigerian team comprising 24 female and 17 male athletes competing at the championships, which begin today at the University of Ghana, Legon.
Nigeria are expected to compete across multiple track and field events as they aim for a strong finish against the continent’s elite athletes.
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