Sports
HOS Cup: It’s Govt House, Special Duties For Final
Gabriel Nwanetanya, and Joy Teena, Chioma Nnodim
The Government House Football team, yesterday overcame their Ministry of Justice counterparts in the second semi final match of the 2013 Rivers State Civil Service Football competition tagged Head of Service, HOS, Cup.
In the match decided at the Sharks FC Stadium, the Government House team triumphed 3-2 via penalty shootout after regulation time had ended scoreless.
Now, the team will square up with the Ministry of Special Duties team, winner of the first semi final in the final match for the ultimate prize of the competition.
The Special Duties team had defeated Ministry of Sports by a lone goal in their semi final encounter last Monday.
Yesterday, both the Government House team and their Justice counterparts battled each other to standstill and could not be separated within normal time.
Both side demonstrated ample determination to make the final, as neither of them had reached the final stage in the competition’ five year history.
However, Ministry of Justices ambition was betrayed by the players poor penalty kicks, missing the first and third kicks to hard the finals ticket to the Government House team, who showed better composure and accuracy to convert their first three kicks.
Reacting to the victory, Government House’s team coach, Mr Adawari Ubani expressed joy at the historic victory. He noted that it would be the first time the team would be getting to the final of the competition in fire editions and promised to do his best to ensure that they win the trophy.
The Ministry of Sports and their Justice counterparts will now play for the third place crumbs tomorrow.
Meanwhile, elimination and qualifying series for the other sports events, athletics, 100 metre 200meter and 4×100 metres and thug of war were conducted began yesterday at the mainbowl of the Liberation Stadium, Port Harcourt.
The finals of the events come up next week during the grand finale of the civil service week celebrations.
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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