Giwa, Crown To Overhaul Teams

The Chief Coach of Giwa
FC of Jos, Kadiri Ikhana, has said the club is set to overhaul its squad to meet the challenges of the premier league.
Ikhana disclosed this to newsmen in Jos shortly after his side’s 2-0 victory over visiting Crown FC of Oshogbo.
He said the club will use the mid season break of the Nigerian Professional Football League to overhaul all departments in the team.
“In the proposed overhauling of the squad, all departments would be thoroughly assessed and strengthened, and it is all for the good of the team.
“Although we defeated our opponent, but there is still much work to be done, because the team is far from attaining premier league standard.
“The team still has a very long way to go because it is yet to be at the standard of the premiership.
“We will fortify the team by getting some new players and also working on the others as we have enough time to do that during the mid season.
“We will have one month break because of the World Cup and I believe we will use this period to strengthen the team.
“The break is enough to enable us come back better and stronger in the second stanza of the league,’’ the former super falcons’ handler said.
He appealed to the club’s fans to continue to support the team, pledging that they would not let them down.
Reacting to his team’s loss, the Crown FC Chief Coach, Lawrence Akpokona, blamed the defeat on the absence of notable members of the team who were sidelined by injuries.
Akpokona told newsmen that three of his strikers were injured and the other players suffered from fatigue due to the long journey from Ogbomosho to Jos.
“The attack wasn’t there, even at that we did not expect to lose by such a margin, but there was nothing anyone could do because of the situation we found ourselves,’’ he said.
The Crown FC handler said that the club would recruit some new players during the mid season window to strengthen the squad.
Akpokona lauded the match officials for excellent officiating, saying it was one of the best officiating he has seen in the NPFL in recent times.
Ibrahim Shuaibu got the lead for Giwa in the first half of the match and Usman Nura doubled the advantage in s                  econd half.

Athletes struggling for honours during 100m race during a national event in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, recently.