Sports
My Tactics Suffered Against South Africa – Peseiro
Super Eagles coach, Jose Peseiro, has stated that his new-found winning formation suffered in the last 20 minutes of the semi-final clash with the Bafana Bafana of South Africa.
The Tide’s source reports that Peseiro said this during a news conference after Nigeria’s 4-2 penalty shootout win at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Bouake, Côte d’Ivoire.
The Portuguese tactician also said the semi-final match was his toughest game so far in the ongoing AFCON.
“Around 90 minutes, I saw that our team suffered; we were shaken; we lost the balance.
“But during the break before the extra time, we put ourselves together and went into extra time with that confidence.
“They are a very good team; they created a lot of problems for us; they did a fantastic job, but I think our boys deserved to win,” Peseiro said.
His South African counterpart, Hugo Broos, expressed the belief that his team played very well but lost the game and praised his boys for a good job.
“Two minutes before the end of 90 minutes, we had three clear-cut chances. If we could score, then it means we are going to the final.
“It is a disappointment for everyone because we feel that we played a very good game today, and I’m very proud of it.
“I’m proud of my players; the disappointment is small, and the proudness is very big. What they did, what they performed, not only today, I think I have to be proud as a coach,” Broos.
Nigeria’s captain, William Ekong, scored from the spot to give the Super Eagles the lead in the 67th minute.
A dramatic twist in events saw Victor Osimhen’s celebrations cut short in the 86th minute after scoring what would have been Nigeria’s second goal.
But a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review resulted in a penalty against the Super Eagles after Alhassan Yusuf had fouled a player in his goal area.
Bafana Bafana’s Teboho Mokoena sent goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali to the wrong side to even the score in the 88th minute.
The Tide’s source reports that the two sides had their few chances in extra time, but Nwabali stole the show when he stopped two of South Africa’s penalties to give Nigeria a 4-2 win at the end of the encounter.
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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