Akwa United duo of Alhassan Ibrahim and Abdu Maikaba have been named League Bloggers Awards (LBA) Player and Manager for April respectively following their outstanding performances in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) in the month under review. Alhassan emerged winner of the player’s award for April after seeing off challenges from the trio of […]
Flying Eagles players have said they hope to complete a home and away win over the Ngorongoro Heroes of Tanzania on Saturday in Kaduna to advance to the third round of the 2015 African Youth Championship qualifiers.
The Nigeria U20s won the first leg 2-0 in Dar es Salaam about a fortnight ago.
“We are not relaxing on the result from the first match. For us, Saturday’s match is a different game altogether and we want to win it,” said striker Alhassan Ibrahim aka Mu-azam.
“We respect the Tanzanians, but we are a better team and we will prove this on Saturday.”
Mustapha Abdullahi added: “It’s an important game and we will fight to win it.
“We will not take anything for granted.”
In 2012, Nigeria also eliminated Tanzania from the African Youth Championship.
The Flying Eagles won 2-1 in Dar es Salaam before they again won 2-0 in Ilorin.
The Flying Eagles have endured several injury problems from the first leg, but all squad players including Kelechi Iheanacho, Wilfred Ndidi and Izu Omego have since bounced back to full fitness.
After training twice on Monday, the Flying Eagles will now train only once leading up to the match on Saturday at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium.
Kick-off time is 4pm.
Spanish La Liga club Granada are yet to confirm when they will release striker Isaac Success for a training camp ahead of next month’s AYC qualifier.
“We are still waiting a confirmation from Granada for the player,” said team secretary Aliyu Auwal Ibrahim.
Also, there has been no feedback on the availability of goalkeeper Dele Alampasu, who has been on trials at Belgian club Genk.
Unconfirmed reports had suggested the Abuja College goalkeeper may have suffered a long-term injury while on trials in Belgium.
The Flying Eagles rounded up their training for Wednesday’s friendly against their Moroccan counterparts Tuesday morning.
Set plays were emphasised during the one and a half hour workout on a warm and sunny day.
Ifeanyi Matthew, Musa Yahaya and Alhassan Ibrahim aka ‘Mu-azam’ proved to be great free kick specialists as they bent their kicks past goalkeeper Emeka Nwabulu.
‘Mu-azam’ will win a $100 bet with assistant coach Nduka Ugbade, when he curled his effort round a packed defensive wall for his second goal in the interesting exercise.
Morocco U20s will line up a wholly home-based side with several players from last year’s African U17 team promoted, same as the current Flying Eagles.
The Flying Eagles will depart their training base outside Casablanca immediately after breakfast on Wednesday for Rabat, where the match will be played.
The match will kick off at 4pm local time, which is same time with Nigeria.
Taiwo Awoniyi, Alhassan Ibrahim and Musa Yahaya will lead the Flying Eagles 20-man squad to two tune-up matches in Morocco this weekend.
Awoniyi and Ibrahim each fired a hat-trick in a test game on Thursday in Abuja which the country’s U20 team won 12-0.
The new Flying Eagles under coach Manu Garba will play two friendlies against their Moroccan counterparts on Wednesday, April 9, and another game two days later.
Both teams are preparing for 2015 African Youth Championship qualifiers next month.
Nigeria face the winners of the match between Kenya and Tanzania, while Morocco take on the winners of the clash between Togo and Equatorial Guinea.
The squad to Morocco:
Goalkeepers: Adamu Abubakar, Abdulazeez Abubakar, Emeka Nwabulu
Defenders: Aliyu Abubakar, Wilfred Ndidi, Prince Izu Omego, Ifeanyi Nweke, Mustapha Abdullahi, Zaharaddeen Bello
Midfielders: Abdullahi Alfa, Akinjide Idowu,Ifeanyi Matthew, Samuel Mathias, Musa Yahaya, Anthony Omaka, Bernard Bulbwa
Strikers: Taiwo Awoniyi, Alhassan Ibrahim, Suleiman Abdullahi, Abubakar Lawal
The Flying Eagles pounded Lugbe United 12-0 in a test game in Abuja on Thursday in readiness for two friendlies against their Moroccan counterparts next week.
Alhassan Ibrahim aka ‘Mu-azam’ and Taiwo Awoniyi both scored hat-tricks as the country’s U20 team overran the Nationwide side.
“We’re just starting, this was our first match since we came together,” said coach Manu Garba after the match.
“We’re yet to hit our form, there’s still some work to do, we have to improve especially concerning scoring goals.”
Despite early pressure from the Flying Eagles, the goals did not start pouring till the 13th minute, when ‘Mu-azam’ stabbed home off a corner moments after he was denied at point-blank range by the goalkeeper.
Two minutes later, Ifeanyi Matthew put through Awoniyi to score the team’s second goal.
Awoniyi will then help himself to his second goal of the day on 18 minutes after he was released by Bulbwa, before the lanky striker was brought down inside the box for a penalty in the 25th minute.
Ifeanyi Matthew tucked away the resulting penalty in the 26th minute.
Scorer Matthew then turned provider when he set up Bulbwa to make it 5-0.
The outstanding Matthew then put through Mu-azam for goal number six, before Matthew scored his second goal five minutes from time.
Left back Mustapha Abdullahi made it 8-0 10 minutes after the interval, before Mu-azam completed his hat-trick in the 59th minute with a simple tap in from close range.
Three minutes later, Awoniyi also completed his treble with a powerful shot.
Manu then made a wholesale change of the starting XI in the 63rd minute.
Substitute strikers Abubakar Lawal and Sulaiman Abdullahi will add to the tally with two late goals thereafter.
Flying Eagles vs Lugbe United
Adamu Abubakar – Mustapha Abdullahi (Ifeanyi Nweke 63), Izu Omego (Sirajo Mazadu 63), Wilfred Ndidi (Timothy Danladi 63), Aliyu Abubakar (Bello Zaharadeen 63) – Abdullahi Alfa (Anthony Omaka 63), Akinjide Idowu (Mathias Samuel 63), Bernard Bulbwa (Musa Yahaya 63), Ifeanyi Mathew (Ahmed Umar 63) – Taiwo Awoniyi (Sulaiman Abdullahi 63), Alhassan Ibrahim (Abubakar Lawal 63)
Coach Manu Garba
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