Rivers Angels Right back, Ugo Njoku and Left back, Mabel Effiom are confident the six times Women Federation Cup Champions will emerge victors in the quarter final clash of the oldest football competition tomorrow.
The last year’s champions will be bidding for a place in the semifinals as they take on Kogi based Confluence Queens at the Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium in Enugu by 3pm.
Njoku in a chat with the club’s media officer said the team will ensure to get the job done in regulation time.
“I promise Rivers State a total victory of tomorrow because Kogi Confluence is not a push over team and also we’re a good side and also they are also good side, so tomorrow’s game , 90 minutes will decide” Ugo said.
“We’re not going to a penalty shootout anymore because our girls, everybody is ready because we’re going all out, full force to the game, we’re not scared of any team in this country, we are equal to the task” she added.
Former Rivers Angels forward, Lola Philips will be reuniting with the team for the first time since joining the Kogi based team and left back Mabel Effiom says her presence is no threat to the team.
“What I hope for tomorrow’s game is we’ll come out with victory and our defense will do very very well because I believe that God will surely help us come out with victory”
“In terms of marking, we’ll do our possible best to stop her, so her own case is never our problem, so we’ll do our possible best to make sure that we keep our net safe from goals” said Effiom.
As the maiden Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF)-organised elite junior and cadet training camp enters final week, players taking part in the exercise are still in cloud nine over the quality of coaching coupled with the superb organization of the 14-day training camp.
The two weeks camping exercise was initiated by one of Africa’s most decorated table tennis players, Segun Toriola assisted by national coach, Nosiru Bello and Friday Aba.
The 18 players taking part are made up of nine boys and nine girls and they were drawn from Lagos, Ogun, Kogi, Kwara, Ondo, Ekiti and Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja and they are between the ages of seven and 16.
For the trio of Tosin Oribamishe, Abayomi Animashaun and Afeez Solanke, the exercise has imparted so much on them as they had acquired new skills as well as correct some of their lapses in the game.
sther Oribamishe is one of the players taking par in the ongoing NTTF elite junior and cadet training camp holding in Lagos1
Oribamishe, one of the most travelled junior players and the current national junior champion, believes that the “elite junior and cadet training camp” should be staged regularly.
“we have never had this kind of camping before and I want to appeal to the federation not to make it a one-off event especially with the presence of Toriola, who has played to the highest level in the world. His presence alone served as a motivation to us because we have seen some of things he has been able to achieve with the game and we are also hoping that we can follow in his footstep.
this camp has revealed my mistakes and I have been able to correct it while I also pick up new skills. So this exercise should be sustained especially for the young players,” Oribamishe said.
For 12 year-old Animashaun, the camping has been an eye opener especially with the presence of his role model, Toriola, whom he said has impacted so much in him during the exercise.
His words: “In the camp, I leant not to be on the defensive side when playing and that I must be on the offensive. Also, my top-spin as well as my looping is now perfect because they are now staying on table.
Also, I have been able to adjust my movement on the table which I found very difficult to correct before. All these are things I have been able to do within the first week of the camping. As we enter the final week, I am hoping that I will pick up new things.”
Solanke, winner of the maiden DAWN Games, admits that being part of the exercise has been worthwhile.
“I am so happy that I made it to the camp and for me this is an opportunity for me to perfect my skills especially as I am looking forward to making it to the national junior team.
I can say that Toriola has really impacted so much in us while the organisation of the camping has been so impressive since last week. We are also hopeful that this week will be more interesting than last week,” the southpaw player said.
According to the President, NTTF, Wahid Oshodi, the players were selected based on their performance in competitions sanctioned by the federation and with the aim of teaching them the basics of the game.
For the initiator of the camp, Toriola, the country still blessed with enormous talents in the game, while efforts should be geared towards nurturing these skills to stardom.
“It is very important for former players that had represented this country to see how they can help to improve the game through this kind of exercise which I believe if staged regularly will surely help the young players to improve and rub shoulders with the world’s best.
Most of the players are just playing without understanding the basics especially in pushing long balls and also the need for them to be on the attack because nobody plays defensive game these days.
With what I have seen so far, I think there are bright prospects in the game.
Also our former players should change their mind that until they become national team coaches before they can contribute their own quota towards the development of the game.
Dolphins managed a 1-0 win over Kogi united to move the the Federation Cup Round of 16
It was a long penalty goal scored by Victor Ezuruike in the 67th minute of the game.
Chidiebere Okolie was brought down in the box and Ezuruike stepped up to score at the second time of asking after Kogi goalkeeper, Ndem innocent parried the penalty back to Ezuruike’s feet.
Abdulahi Biffo, head coach of ?Kogi United blamed the loss on hard luck and said his team will now focus on the league.
“The refereeing was here and there and we really have nothing to complain about but it was a game we could have won.
“I’m proud of players and I agree we cannot win all the time. It was a painful loss,” Biffo said.
“Now we must focus on the league and fight for the promotion slots and see if we will okay in the Premier League next season,” Biffo said.
Dolphins head coach, Stanley Eguma admitted his players were not fully fit after the break.
“It’s a good win for us eventually. We will keep getting better with games and we look forward to our next opposition,” Eguma said.
Dolphins will next play Elkanemi in the Federation Cup Round of 16
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