Sports
FA Cup: Minnows Stun Liverpool, End Dream
Plymouth Argyle produced a classic FA Cup giant-killing as the Championship’s bottom club stunned Premier League leaders Liverpool at a raucous Home Park.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot made 10 changes from the side that swept Tottenham aside to reach the Carabao Cup final and paid the price as Plymouth made the most of the opportunity to secure a place in the fifth round.
A scrappy tie came to life eight minutes after the interval when Plymouth were awarded a penalty after Harvey Elliott’s handball, Ryan Hardie drilling home the spot-kick in emphatic fashion.
Hardie almost added a second shortly afterwards when his shot was turned on to the post by Liverpool keeper Caoimhin Kelleher.
Liverpool applied some pressure in the closing stages, keeper Conor Hazard saving superbly from Diogo Jota then miraculously from substitute Darwin Nunez’s header, but Plymouth closed out a landmark win under new manager Miron Muslic.
Plymouth’s atmospheric Home Park erupted with a deafening roar as the final whistle sounded on a victory they will recall forever in Devon.
The sinking of Liverpool was a triumph for Plymouth’s charismatic manager Muslic, who has won the hearts of the ‘Green Army’ since succeeding the sacked Wayne Rooney.
In a stunning atmosphere, Plymouth sensed their chance when Liverpool’s teamsheet landed, with stellar names such as Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk not even on the bench.
Plymouth, as they had to, made the tie a scrap and then the decisive moment came when Elliott needlessly handled, allowing Hardie to assume the role of match-winner.
And they found a hero in keeper Hazard in those closing moments as he saved from Jota, then miraculously from Nunez’s header.
The main priority remains survival in the Championship, but the FA Cup demonstrated its enduring magic by producing a result that Plymouth hope will help their fight to stay up
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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