The U-23 National Team, nicknamed Dream Team, threw a firm leg into the final qualifying round for the Men’s Football Tournament of the 11th All-Africa Games after hammering Gabon 4-1 in Libreville on Saturday.
Junior Ajayi scored in the very first minute before Warri Wolves FC striker Etebo Oghenekaro increased the tally from the penalty spot two minutes to half time.
Ajayi maintained his knack for quick starts with another goal in the 47th minute, but Gabon pulled one back through Axel Meye midway into the second half, but Nigeria ensured a handsome advantage going into the second leg when Enyimba forward Peter Onyekachi made it 4-1 in added time.
Members of the Nigerian community in Gabon made a good presence and cheered the Dream Team loudly at the Stade Augustin Monedan a Sibang.
The return leg will take place at the National Stadium, Abuja on Saturday, March 7.
Head Coach of the Dream Team, Samson Siasia, has charged his wards to go all out for victory against their Gabonese counterparts in the first leg of the 11th All-Africa Games qualifying game to be played at the Stade Augustin Monedan a Sibang, Libreville on Saturday.
After breakfast on Friday, Siasia said that from the calibre of players at his disposal, he is not expecting less than outright victory. “Nigerians expect nothing short of victory from you guys. You guys should put in mind that you are the next generation of Super Eagles players, but for Nigerians to accept you as such, you must show that on the field of play. That is the only way that you can convince the nation that you have what it takes to take over.”
Siasia Samson credit fifa.com
Appealing to the players to play to instructions, the U-23 gaffer said, they should not bother about what the Gabonese have to throw at them, but to follow his instructions and the rest will be history, adding that they should not be expecting any favors from the match officials so should be brave.
Also on Friday, NFF’s Director of Technical, Dr. Emmanuel Ikpeme commended the players for the high level of discipline they have so far exhibited, remarking that the greatest undoing of their immediate predecessors was indiscipline.
He urged whoever is picked on Saturday to see the game as a war of pride that must be won for the nation, assuring that the NFF will always do everything within its limited resources to ensure the team is properly catered for in their pursuit of tickets to both the 11th All-Africa Games and Men’s Olympic Football Tournament of next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Former U-20 international Gero Abdullahi was the surprise exclusion from the 21 –man list released by the Head Coach of U-23 National Team Samson Siasia for this weekend’s All-Africa Games qualifying game against Gabon in Libreville.
Others who failed to make the team are Aminu Umar, who arrived late to camp and Warri Wolves’ forward Freedom Omofonma who also arrived camp late after his club’s CAF Confederation Cup game in Burkina Faso.
The list of 16 home boys and five overseas- based professionals are expected to depart the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos on Wednesday evening for Gabon aboard an Ethiopia Airline flight.
The man who won Nigeria an Olympic silver medal in football six years ago is on the march again, as preparations for the building of a new strong squad has already commenced.
Former Super Eagles’ Captain and Coach, Samson Siasia has called up 39 players to open a screening camp in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja on Sunday, with another set of 39 and a final set of 38 to follow in batches.
Siasia has the assignment to raise a squad that will qualify Nigeria for the Men’s Football Tournament of the 11th All –Africa Games (taking place in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo in July 2015) as well as qualify for the CAF U-23 Championship (taking place in DR Congo, also next year), and also qualify for the Men’s Football Tournament of the 2016 Olympic Games through the CAF U-23 Championship.
The first hurdle is an All –Africa Games qualifying fixture against Gabon, with the first leg away in Libreville towards the end of February, and the return leg in Nigeria early March. The winner of that fixture squares up against the winner of the fixture between Zambia and Madagascar in late March.
The Dream Team, as Nigeria’s Olympic squad is known, will then take on the winner among Ghana, Liberia and Congo in the qualifying race for the CAF U-23 Championship in July.
Olympic gold medallists in Atlanta, USA in 1996, the Dream Team faltered at the 2000 Games in Australia, failed to qualify for the Athens 2004 Games, won silver medal in Beijing in 2008 and failed to qualify for the London Games in 2012.
Siasia has explained that each batch will spend only three days in camp before the other, with the selected ones among the lot to convene a proper camp late December. All the players are to report at FIFA Technical Centre, Abuja.
Siasia Samson fifa.com
FIRST BATCH (23 – 25 November)
Goalkeepers: Emmanuel Daniel (Enugu Rangers); Kasim Yekini (Bayelsa United)
Gabon organised successfully this weekend Zone 4 clinic for the African Dream Project in Libreville, Gabon.
The clinic was instructed by FIVB and CAVB instructor Mayam Reniof Blaise from Cameroon and attended by representatives from RD Congo, Congo Brazzaville and Chad.
The seminar discussed the implementation of the Ambitious CAVB programme which is supervised by FIVB President Dr Ary Graca aiming at establishing a common project mainly focusing on volleyball at school.
All relevant stakeholders must be involved which are Ministry of Education, Ministry of Sport, Ministry of Youth, and National Olympic Committee.
The project will see the setting up of centers that will be used to develop identified athletes at young age and arranging all the keys for their involvement later on to their corresponding Youth national teams.
Meanwhile, Golden Eaglets’ captain, Kelechi Nwakali and defender Lukman Halilu have been recounting their ordeal in the hands of the Gabonese saying the nasty experience would only emboldened them for the second leg cracker.
The duo who kept a separate diary of events during their laborious journey from Lagos to Libreville noted the unsporting conduct of their hosts but hopeful their counterparts from Gabon would meet their Waterloo on the pitch in Calabar.
Said Halilu: “The journey from Lagos to Libreville was stressful and we were not happy the way we were treated in Lome when we were ordered out of the flight even after checking in and collected our board pass because we were told the Gabonese did not want us to come for the match.
“Even on getting to Libreville, we were warned not to even eat their food because of their hostile nature which we later saw on match day.
“The match never came in our favour to the extent that we were robbed because of the bad officiating by the referee and we are equally shocked when the fans started shouting at us and calling us ‘Ebola Nigeria! Ebola Nigeria!!’
“All through our stay in Libreville, I kept on remembering what coach (Emmanuel) Amuneke had been told us during the screening process that “this journey is not going to be easy” and our experience in Libreville has given us idea what he meant.”
Yet Nwakali believes the Golden Eaglets have put the nightmarish experience behind them as they turn attention to the second leg.
“We are going to show Gabon that Nigeria is Under-17 defending champions and not ‘Ebola Nigeria’ as they called us in Libreville,” Nwakali said in his usual jocular manner.
…Golden Eaglets get cash boost to beat Gabon
Meanwhile A good hearted Libreville-based Nigerian businessman, Chief George Uche, has offered a handsome cash reward to the Golden Eaglets if they win next weekend’s African Under-17 Championship finale qualifying match against Gabon.
Uche who owns a thriving freight business in the Gabonese capital said he was impressed with the performance of the team despite the odds placed before them before their 1-2 loss to Gabon on Sunday hence the reason behind the dinner reception he hosted before their departure.
Apart from doling out $500 to the players, Uche has pledged the sum of One Million French Francs (about Three Hundred Thousand Naira) to the team should they make good their promise to beat Gabon and pick one of the tickets to Niger 2015 Championship.
Prince Udofia, Golden Eaglets’co-ordinator has therefore, commended Uche’s magnanimity while calling on eminent Nigerians as well as Corporate Nigeria to rally behind the team in their quest to qualify for the CAN championship.
“Chief Uche has really done well and we want to thank him from the bottom of our heart,” he said.”This is an exemplary conduct and we want to believe this would ginger other well-to-do Nigerians to come and motivate the players in the crucial game against Gabon.
“This is an opportunity to remind Nigerians that the Under-17 team are defending World Champions and they can only defend the trophy by first qualifying for the tournament in Niger as such this is the time to motivate the players,” he noted.
Nigeria’s Under-17 team, Golden Eaglets, resumed training at their base in Calabar on Tuesday barely hours after they returned to the country from Libreville where they lost 2-1 to their Gabonese counterparts.
The contingent, who actually left Libreville on Monday for Lome aboard ASKY Airline, breezed into Lagos in the night through neighbouring Cotonou but finally arrived Calabar midday on Tuesday aboard Arik Airlines to begin preparations in earnest for the finale qualifier against Gabon next week.
Head Coach Emmanuel Amuneke said it was important to resume training immediately in view of the enormity of the task ahead even as he enjoined the players to give their utmost best in the days.
Golden Eaglets with some officials at Dreamland Park
“I want you to put behind all that happened in Libreville because that is gone,” Amuneke said.”I want you to know that we are condemned to win our match here and you must be focused on everything we are going to do from now.
“What we demand of you is hard work and nothing but hard work; because we want you to show Gabon that you don’t need to be aided by referee to win matches.
“We believe in you and we want you to apply yourself because we are going to undergo strenuous work in the coming days as we build up towards the match,” he warned.
Meanwhile, seven players who failed to make 18-man list to Libreville have vowed to pull their socks in order to be part of the second leg encounter against Gabon.
Dr. Sam Iheanacho with the Golden Eaglets shortly before the team’s training session
“We are happy that our teammates and other officials are safely backed in Calabar but the good thing is that we too have been working even while they were away in Gabon,” stated defensive midfielder, Henry Okebugwu.”We would keep working hard and pay serious attention to the
training programs because we know the coaches would only select the best against Gabon.”
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