Sports
Sharks Secures First Away Victory
Women Judokas struggling for honours during a national event in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, recently.
Sharks football club of
Port Harcourt survived Kaduna united onslaught to pick a valuable three points on the road at the Ahmadu bello stadium on Wednesday.
The hard fought victory turned out to be the first away win for the Coach Gbenga Ogunbote tutored lads who went into the lead as early as the 10th minute when Christain Pyagbara latched onto a Fortune Omoniwari cross after so many failed attempts by the homers to shot into the lead.
The homers dominated possession after Pyagbara put Sharks in the lead and with the support from the few spectators at the stadium they looked good enough for an equalizer but the attackers lacked the cutting edge to draw level.
The homers came close to scoring in 27th minute with Isah Aminu in a world of his own in Sharks 6 yard box but the agility of Danladi Isah his name sake in Sharks goal ensured Isah Aminu could not restore parity for the home side.
Pyagbara and Omoniwari both had Glaring opportunities to stretch the game beyond Kaduna united but for their individualistic approach to the game.
And on the 42nd minute Pyagbara’s individual brilliance paid off after dribbling past three defenders before scoring his second of the day.
Second half saw a more enterprising Kaduna united running rings round Sharks defense while the visitors chased shadows in the middle of the pack and it was not too long Sharks defense caved in to the pressure in a goal mouth melee in the 53rd minute Samuel Agba effort.
Coach Gbenga Ogunbote described the victory as a well thought out plan by the team from the very start of the season.
“ The victory means a lot because we have been working towards it right from the beginning of the season”Ogunbote said.
“ We thank God we were able to get it now because it now shows that we can really get what we planned to get at the start of the season because if you really want to achieve success you must learn to win away from home
He attributed the defensive approach adopted by his boys in the second fourty five minutes to fear that referee antics will set in for the home team thereby piling pressure on the defence.
“They lost concentration because fear set in as they anticipated magic moments by the referee for the home team but kudos to the referee who stood his ground,Ogunbote said”.
“The homers forced us to play their game because my boys resorted to defensive play when the need did not even arise and we paid for it,”
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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