Sports
Enugu Fans Happy With CHAN Eagles’ Performance
Football fans in Enugu say they are proud of the home-based Super Eagles’ performance at the ongoing 2018 African Nation Championship (CHAN) in Morocco.
The Eagles on Wednesday night booked their place at the final of the tournament after beating Sudan 1-0 to face hosts Morocco in the final.
The 2018 African Nations Championship, known as the Total African Nations Championship (also referred to as CHAN 2018) will be the 5th edition of the biennial football competition.
It is organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and exclusively featuring players from the respective national championships.
Nigeria ranked 51 in the world in the FIFA/Coca Cola is making its third appearance after finishing in the third place in 2014.
Some of the enthusiasts who spoke to newsmen in Enugu, yesterday said the players had surpassed their predecessors’ achievement of third place finish.
A former Nigerian World Boxer, Ikechukwu Okoronkwo, said that the current players had surpassed everybody’s expectation.
“At the very beginning, I never thought that they will reach this level when they draw their first match against Rwanda.
“When I watched their first and second matches and saw how the players missed goal scoring chances, I did not expect them to go beyond the quarter-finals.
“I am happy that those lost scoring chances did not come back to hurt them and as a true Nigerian, the trophy will be a better compensation for the country,’’ he said.
Rangers Media Officer Norbert Okolie said that the players had proved that they were there for business.
“We have not touched this trophy since its inception and for Nigeria to reach the final in Morocco, it is a huge success,’’ he said.
He called on the players to give it one more push as they have 90 minutes separating them and the trophy.
Contributing, Enugu State Boxing Coach Blaise Ude prayed that the team would be successful in the final.
“It surprised me to see the players survive the remaining minutes of the game against Sudan after been reduced to 10 men with Ifeanyi ifeanyi sent off in the 59th minute.
“In fact, everything worked in our favour on Wednesday night against Sudan as Dele Ajiboye the second goalkeeper came in for the injured Ikechukwu Ezenwa and made several saves,’’ he said.
Austin Ezenwata, who runs a football show in Abakpa Nike, Enugu, said that Nigeria deserved to be in final and hoped that they lifted the trophy.
“All the players were not exposed to international football and besides, they have no room in the squad used by the Nigerian coach to prosecute the 2018 World Cup qualifier,’’ Ezenwa said.
He advised the players to go for the trophy against Morocco and to ensure they scored an early goal in the match to ease pressure of the home crowd.
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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