Zikiye Accepts Blame For Malabo Loss

Dolphins left full back, Jonathan Zikiye has admitted he must share in the blame for the goal in Malabo that cost his side a 1-0 defeat to Leones Vegetarianos in the CAF Confederation Cup.

Dolphins lost through a 57th minute goal conceded when the defence went ball watching and Zikiye says it all started from his position.

“It’s true. That goal was scored after a little slip from our part as defenders and it started from my side,” Zikiye said.

“It was a moment of loss of concentration but in every football match there are bound to be mistakes but the important thing is for us to learn from these mistakes.

Dolphins left full back, Jonathan Zikiye

“We are working hard for the second leg and we believe we will be able to turn it around,” Zikiye enthused.

It was Jonathan Zikiye’s first ever game on the continent and he spoke on what the experience was like.

“It was a good experience even though we lost the game. We went there to win but we lost.

IT was a good experience and we hope to turn it around when they come to Nigeria.”

Rotimi Blames Profligacy For Dolphins Loss

Dolphins’ captain, Sunday Rotimi says missed chances were to blame for the loss in Malabo to Leones Vegetarianos on Saturday.

Dolphins lost the CAF Confederation Cup game via a 57th minute goal and Rotimi says that goal may not have mattered if the team had taken their chances.

“It’s a game we should have won but our attackers threw away many chances in the first half. From where I was, I counted four of them.

“In important games like these you must take your chances and these four we got were clear cut chances and we should have scored them but our attackers failed to do so and the result is the loss,” Rotimi said.

Rotimi also pointed out that the team was not robbed in Malabo but that they lost due to carelessness.

“We know the terrain very well and referees will always give slight advantages to the home side which he did on Saturday, but imagine if we had scored those four goals or even two of them and the story would have been different.

“We were not robbed, we were just careless on the day,” Rotimi said.

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How they played

Coach of Dolphins, Stanley Eguma handed a debut to Christian Pyagbara and it was Dolphins on the front foot in the first half but carelessness on the part of the attackers ensured the first half ended goaless.

Ifeanyi Egwim had a chance to score but missed when that was the more difficult option.

Isiaka Olawale was also through on goal but failed to find the back of the net and Tijani Adamu had his turn to miss and while the goalkeeper was beaten, his outstretched leg stopped the ball from going in.

Christian Pyagbara also registered his name amongst players who missed clear cut chances in the first half when he blasted wide with the ball at his feet in front of the goal.

Going into the break, it seemed Dolphins would turn out winners on the day until the 57th minute when Jonathan Zikye failed to take care of a Vegetarianos winger whose low cross in the box was jabbed home after defenders Victor Ezuruike and Joseph Zaovi Douhadji were found ball watching.

Five minutes later it could have been 2-0 if not for Sunday Rotimi making a point blank save in the box and Dolphins were the more relieved team at the full time whistle.

Dolphins start list

22. Sunday Rotimi, 6. Ayobami Asekunowo, 26. Jonathan Zikye, 8. Emeka Atuloma, 30. Victor Ezuruike, 5. Joseph Douhadji, 7. Isiaka Olawale, 13. IFeanyi Egwim, 9. Christian Pyagbara, 20. Tijani Adamu, 10. Victor Alegbe

Subs

Omo Johnson replaced Christian Pyagbara, Chigozie Ihunda came in for Victor Alegbe and Ifeanyi Egwim was taken off for Chidiebere Okolie

Rotimi, Douhadji, Egwim Make Dolphins Confederation Cup Team

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Captain of Dolphins, Sunday Rotimi, Togolese born defender, Joseph Yaovi Douhadji and attacker, Ifeanyi Egwim are some of the players registered by Dolphins for the CAF Confederation Cup.

Dolphins start their campaign on the continent on the 14th of February in Malabo against Leonas Vegetarianos FC and have already submitted a list of twenty two players to the Confederation of Africa Football, CAF.

Sixteen players from the team of last season will join five newly acquired players to do battle in the Confederation Cup.

Victor Ezuruike tries to stop an Enyimba player in the League last season

Sunday Rotimi is the only goalkeeper returning from the squad of last season while defenders who are returning to the team are Chidiebere Okolie, Joseph Douhadji, Ayobami Asekunowo, Tobins Zikalla, Jonathan Zikiye and Victor Ezuruike.

The returning midfielders are Tijani Adamu, Tasiu Lawal, Hope Fiberesima, Victor Alegbe, Emeka Atuloma and Isiaka Olawale while attackers are Chigozie Ihunda, Omo Johnson and Ifeanyi Egwim.

The names of the newly registered players will be made available to the press next week.

Orange, Title Partner Of The Africa Cup Of Nations In Equatorial Guinea For The 4Th Consecutive Edition

Today January 17, 2015, the Orange Africa Cup of Nations Equatorial Guinea 2015 will kick off in Malabo. The competition will take place over a three-week period in the cities of Bata, Malabo, Mongomo and Ebebiyín. This is familiar territory for the major African football event, since the country had already hosted the tournament with Gabon in 2012.

Orange (http://www.orange.com) is once again the title sponsor of the Orange Africa Cup of Nations, with participation by the teams of Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Conakry, Mali, Senegal and Tunisia, where the Group is established. Throughout the competition, the Orange brand will be visible in the stadiums of Equatorial Guinea and in the African countries in which the Group is present, with exclusive content for mobile phones and on the Web via Orange Football Club and the StarAfrica portal.

Bringing The Stadiums To Life
In the stadiums, Orange has created a special trophy designed to illustrate the unique link between the fans and the players themselves. The “Man of the Match” and the “Fan of the Match” trophies are built from a single, interlocking design. During each match, the most passionate supporters are invited to take part in the “Fan of the Match” photo competition. The winning supporter is then given the privilege to hand-over the “Man of the Match” award to the best player during a press conference following the match. Throughout the competition, 32 lucky fans will win the trophy and get the chance to immortalize the moment with one of Africa’s greatest football stars.

Bringing The Match-Spirit Into Towns And Cities Across Africa

Numerous events and festivities will be organised held in African countries in which Orange is present to allow fans to experience the tournament live and share their passion for football. The “Orange Villages” will be set-up in major cities across Africa, with giant-screen broadcasts of key matches as well as the organisation of football-based video game competitions and photo contests

Bringing Football Into The Digital World

Inspired by the success of initiatives in previous editions of the Orange AFCON, the Group has sought to go even further this year in the range of digital services on offer:

 Orange Football Club is a platform for fans of African, European and international football where the latest live news is available for free on the web, mobile phones and on social networks. Orange Football Club has more than 500,000 Facebook fans and the mobile app has been downloaded 100,000 times. More information is available at http://www.footballclub.orange.com

 online contests have also been set-up, with prizes to be won each week until the competition begins:

– Golden Ticket: an online treasure hunt to find virtual tickets hidden in a series of on-screen pictures with prizes including a trip to Equatorial Guinea to watch a match, Samsung tablets and several other prizes;
– Best Supporter: a contest in which fans can upload photos of their favorite moments. 34,000 people have already voted for their favourite photo among the 800 photos uploaded.
For more information, go to the fan page at http://www.facebook.com/OrangeFootballClub

 exclusive content is also available on http://www.StarAfrica.com, Orange’s entertainment portal in Africa, which is available in English, French and Arabic and attracts 1.5 million unique visitors each month. A team of sports journalists will be dispatched to report on the events live, produce video broadcasts and give live-text commentary on all of the competition’s matches. The Orange AFCON Equatorial Guinea 2015 newswire will also be available on Twitter @StarAfrica and on Facebook.

The Orange Africa Cup of Nations is a major and hugely successful event in Africa. It is one of the only events on the continent to go beyond the borders of the countries taking part. For Orange, it is an opportunity to forge strong bonds with its customers, its employees and fans of football across the continent to experience and share their passion for the sport.

Orange’s commitment to football goes far beyond this sponsorship deal. The Group has actively supported the national football teams of Botswana, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea Conakry, Mali, Niger and Senegal for many years. This involvement in African football took on a new dimension with the signature of the partnership between Orange and the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 2009, which made the Group the principal sponsor of the six major CAF competitions until 2016.

Pinnick Off To Malabo, Mandates Akinwunmi To Act

President of Nigeria Football Federation, Mr. Amaju Pinnick flew into Malabo, capital of Equatorial Guinea on Wednesday as the African football fraternity got into the mood for the 30th Africa Cup of Nations kicking off on Saturday.

The NFF supremo will commission two matches in the group phase at the championship with opportunities for more in the knock –out rounds.

Seyi Akinwunmi, NFF 1st Vice President

However, the Confederation of African Football has once more rued the absence of 2013 champions Nigeria, who failed to reach the finals after finishing behind South Africa and Congo in Group A of the qualifying campaign.

Before jetting out of the country, Pinnick transmitted a letter to Members of the NFF Executive Committee notifying them that the 1st Vice President, Barrister Seyi Akinwunmi will act in his stead.

“I will be away to the Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea from 16th January – 9th February, 2015 on the invitation of CAF and in official capacity.

NFF President, Mr. Amaju Pinnick.

“The First Vice President, Bar. Seyi Akinwunmi should thus oversee the workings of the Office of the President for the period I will be away. All official correspondence should be channeled to him.”

Host Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Burkina Faso and Gabon will contest in Group A of the three –week, 16 nation finals, with Zambia, DR Congo, Tunisia, Cape Verde battling it out in Group B.

Group C has Ghana, Senegal, Algeria and South Africa while Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali and Cameroon contend in Group D.

The finals, scheduled for 17th January – 8th February, will be played across four cities: Malabo, Ebebiyin, Mongomo and Bata