Flying Eagles Qualify For 2015 AYC After Lesotho Walkover

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles on Saturday qualified for the 2015 African Youth Championship after they walked over Lesotho in Kaduna.

Match officials insisted till the last minute that they have not received any official notification that the first leg final qualifier has been called off after Lesotho expressed concerns over the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in Nigeria.

They therefore went through the traditional walkover ceremony that involved a 15-minute wait after the referee’s kick-off whistle.

Nigeria will thus join seven other countries including hosts Senegal for the 2015 AYC from March 8.

Coach Manu Garba

“Congratulations Nigeria on this qualification,” saluted Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba.

“We trained very hard in the last two months for this match and we would really have been a lot happier had we qualified for the AYC on the pitch and not in the boardroom.

“It was a bit of a disappointment that Lesotho failed to turn up, but there was nothing we could have done about that.”

Manu said the team will now decamp and regroup in time for the tournament proper.

The Flying Eagles therefore walloped Kaduna United second team 6-0 in a test game at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium in Kaduna.

Skipper Musa Muhammed and Sulaiman Abdullahi scored a brace each with Taiwo Awoniyi and Ifeanyi Matthew also getting on the scoreboard.

After near misses by Awoniyi, Alhassan Ibrahim aka Muazam and Abdullahi Alfa, whose shot in the 18th minute crashed against the crossbar, the Nigeria U20s took the lead in the 21st minute from the penalty spot taken by Muhammed after goal-bound Awoniyi was felled inside the box.

Muhammed doubled the lead seven minutes later when he cut through from the right flank before he fired home a tight angle.

Flying Eagles in Morocco

In the 31st minute Awoniyi rounded the Kaduna United goalkeeper to make it 3-0.

And eight minutes later, Ifeanyi Matthew slotted home another spot kick after Awoniyi was brought down and the goalkeeper was sent off.

Substitute striker Sulaiman Abdullahi scored twice in the 49th and 86th minutes after the Flying Eagles fluffed numerous chances.

Flying Eagles Thump Prisons FC 5-0

Nigeria U20 team, the Flying Eagles, on Thursday stepped up their build-up for next month’s final Africa Youth Championship qualifier against Lesotho when they trounced Nigeria National League side Prisons FC of Abuja 5-0.

The Flying Eagles will host Lesotho on August 16 with the return leg a fortnight later in Maseru and the overall winners will advance to the 2015 AYC to be staged by Senegal in March.

Taiwo Awoniyi, fresh from a training stint in Sweden, grabbed a brace with Ifeanyi Matthew, Sulaiman Abdullahi, Chisom Eze and Segun Alebiosu also getting on the scoreboard.

The Nigeria U20s opened scoring after 12 minutes from the penalty spot when Awoniyi was fouled inside the box and Ifeanyi Matthew sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.

Awoniyi then fired his first goal on 26 minutes, when he crashed his effort from inside the box into the roof of the net.

The languid striker would have scored again in first half stoppage time, but he missed an easy chance.

Prisons best chance came in the 53rd minute, when Flying Eagles goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo parried a goal-bound effort for corner.

In the 69th minute, substitute Sulaiman Abdullahi scored the Flying Eagles third goal when he lobbed over the Prisons goalkeeper before he coolly finished off.

Prisons midfielder Ochule Paul was sent off in the 71st minute for dissent.

Substitutes Chisom Eze and Alebiosu crowned the victory with well-taken goals in the 73rd and 89th minutes, respectively.

Flying Eagles vs Prisons FC

Joshua Enaholo – Seun Olulayo (Mustapha Abdullahi 70), Musa Muhammed (Ifeanyi Nweke 83), Wilfred Ndidi (Adebayor Ademuluwa 83), Zaharadeen Bello (Izu Omego 79) – Ifeanyi Ifeanyi, Ifeanyi Matthew, Obinna Nwobodo, Bernard Bulbwa (Chisom Eze 64) – Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam (Sulaiman Abdullahi 46, Segun Alebiosu 79), Taiwo Awoniyi

Flying Eagles off to bright start in AYC qualifiers

Nigeria’s Flying Eagles got off to a bright start in the 2015 AYC qualifiers after they beat hosts Tanzania 2-0 in Dar es Salaam in a second round, first leg clash on Sunday.

The Flying Eagles scored in the 49th minute through Musa Yahaya and killed off the contest in the 82nd minute courtesy of striker Taiwo Awoniyi.

“This win away from home is very, very good for us going into the return leg match in Nigeria,” Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba told reporters after the match watched by a fair crowd at the 60,000-capacity National Stadium in Dar es Salaam.

“Tanzania also showed they are a very good side, but they will have to work on their finishing.

“Overall, it was the better team that won even though I was not completely satisfied with the final 15 minutes of the game as we sat back in our defence.”

However, Ngorongoro of Tanzania coach John Simkoko insisted they have not given up hope and said they will battle in the return match in Nigeria in a fortnight.

“Nigeria were the better team and deserved to win,” he admitted.

“But the battle is not over yet as we will come prepared to Nigeria.”

It was a goalless first half, but Nigeria enjoyed more of the ball possession and created more chances with their biggest opening coming after 24 minutes, when Musa Yahaya blasted wide from inside the six-yard.

Newly drafted striker Saad Kipanga from Mbeya City also had a glorious chance to put his team ahead after just five minutes, but his header from inside the box missed its target.

The home team suffered a major blow when first-choice goalkeeper and skipper Aishi Manula could not continue after a thigh injury in the first period.

He was therefore replaced by Peter Manyika for the resumption of the second half.

Four minutes after the break, Tanzania’s worst fears came to be as Musa Yahaya slotted past the goalkeeper from the near post after a low cross by skipper Musa Muhammed.

Kelechi Iheanacho, who replaced Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam’ for the second half, was denied a goal in the 54th minute by a piece of brilliant goalkeeping by Manyika.

Flying Eagles goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo ensured he kept a clean sheet when he made a big save in 67th minute and he will again pull off another save late on as Tanzania attacked.

But Awoniyi killed off the tie eight minutes from time, when he held off his marker and stand-in captain Pato Ngonyani, before he slotted past the onrushing goalkeeper.

The home team created several openings late on to at least reduce the tally, but Abdallah Kheri and Juma Liuzio both failed to find target from inside the 18-yard box.

Flying Eagles vs Tanzania

Joshua Enaholo – Musa Muhammed (skipper), Mustapha Abdullahi, Wilfred Ndidi, Izu Omego – Akinjide Idowu, Ifeanyi Matthew, Abdullahi Alfa, Musa Yahaya (Chidiebere Nwakali 74) – Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam’ (Kelechi Iheanacho 46), Taiwo Awoniyi

Manu keeps faith with Flying Eagles vs Tanzania

Coach Manu Garba has kept faith with the team who lost last week’s warm-up against Benin 1-0 in Cotonou.

This means Manchester City duo of Kelchi Iheanacho and Chidiebere Nwakali will start from the bench as they did in Cotonou.

Manu had toyed with the idea of starting both players, but has eventually chosen a more cautious approach as his team are playing away from home.

His 4-4-2 formation diamond will see Wilfred Ndidi partner Izu Omego in the heart of the back four, while Akinjide Idowu will be the ball winner for a talented midfield that boasts Musa Yahaya and playmaker Ifeanyi Matthew.

Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam’ and Taiwo Awoniyi will lead the Flying Eagles charge for goals.

Flying Eagles vs Tanzania

Joshua Enaholo – Musa Muhammed (skipper), Mustapha Abdullahi, Wilfred Ndidi, Izu Omego – Akinjide Idowu, Ifeanyi Matthew, Abdullahi Alfa, Musa Yahaya – Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam’, Taiwo Awoniyi

Tanzania bullish ahead AYC qualifier

Both the Tanzania U20 team and the local papers here in Dar es Salaam are talking confidently ahead of Sunday’s AYC qualifier against the Flying Eagles.

Coach of the Ngorongoro Heroes, John Simkoko, said they hope to win against mighty Nigeria.

“It’s going to be a great test for us, we all know that Nigeria have a strong team that boast a lot of experience playing in the competition, but we’ve got to rise to the occasion,” said Simkoko.

“We have set our focus on eliminating them as we want to reach the finals, and to achieve our mission we have to beat them on Sunday.”

The Citizen on Sunday headlined its preview ‘Heroes out to tame Eagles’ and The Sunday News titled theirs ‘Heroes out to gun down Eagles’.

Both previews spoke of the Flying Eagles awesome record in this competition, but the host team could still shock them on Sunday.

Flying Eagles pick Iheanacho, Musa Yahaya for Benin warm-up

The Nigeria U20 team have named a 20-man squad for Sunday’s warm-up match against their Benin Republic counterparts in Porto Novo.

Among those picked were the country’s heroes from last year’s FIFA U17 World Cup-winning team like Kelechi Iheanacho, skipper Musa Muhammed, Chidiebere Nwakali, Musa Yahaya, Taiwo Awoniyi, Abdullahi Alfa and Zaharadeen Bello.

Others on the squad are Alhassan Ibrahim aka Mu-azam, Wilfred Ndidi, Ifeanyi Matthew and goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo.

The test match will be played at Charles de Gaulle Stadium in Porto Novo from 4pm local time, which is the same time with Nigeria.

Both teams have clashed at the same level previously.

They drew 1-1 in Cotonou in September 2012 and a rematch in Abuja ended in a goalless draw.

Two players will then be dropped from the squad for the 2015 AYC qualifier in Tanzania in the weekend of May 9-11.

NFF executive committee member Shehu Adamu will lead the team to both Benin and Tanzania.

The full squad:

Goalkeepers: Joshua Enaholo, Adamu Abubakar, Abdulazeez Abubakar

Defenders: Musa Muhammed, Mustapha Abdullahi, Ifeanyi Nweke, Wilfred Ndidi, Izu Omego, Zaharadeen Bello

Midfielders: Chidiebere Nwakali, Musa Yahaya, Kelechi Iheanacho, Abdullahi Alfa, Akinjide Idowu, Wasiu Jimoh, Ifeanyi Matthew, Ifeanyi Ifeanyi

Strikers: Alhassan Ibrahim ‘Mu-azam’, Taiwo Awoniyi, Sulaiman Abdullahi

Flying Eagles Trash FC Twente Abuja 11-0

The Flying Eagles continued their buildup for next month’s AYC qualifier with an 11-0 pounding of FC Twente of Abuja on Thursday morning.

FC Twente were a last-minute replacement for Nigeria National League side Supreme Court FC of Abuja.

Flying Eagles coach Manu Garba said the test game will enhance team confidence and team building as they hope to get tougher opposition in the coming days.

“We should not read much into the outcome of this match. We are still gradually building for the task ahead and hope to face tougher opponents in the coming days,” Manu said.

The Nigeria U20s will tackle Nationwide side Dabo Babes of Kano on Saturday morning at the FIFA Goal Project in Abuja in another test game.

On Thursday, Kelechi Iheanacho scored a brace, while there were nine other different scorers on the day.

Lanky striker Abubakar Lawal opened scoring after five minutes, when he was set up by fellow striker Sulaiman Abdullahi.

But it was not until the 28th minute that the Flying Eagles doubled their lead through skipper Musa Muhammed, who flicked home a low corner by Iheanacho.

Four minutes later, Sulaiman Abdullahi’s half volley made it 3-0, before Wilfred Ndidi increased the tally on 38 minutes.

Ifeanyi Matthew smashed home the fifth goal five minutes from the break after he was released by Iheanacho.

Two minutes after the interval, left back Mustapha Abdullahi netted a rare goal for the Flying Eagles.

Iheanacho scored his first goal in the 52nd with a powerful shot from outside the box, before substitute Antony Omaka flicked home a header a minute later.

Iheanacho completed his brace in the 55th minute when he fired home from an acute angle.

Substitute David Okereke also scored from a tight ankle in the 70th minute.

Flying Eagles goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo displayed great concentration when he blocked a goal-bound effort for a corner a minute later.

Substitute Victory Omodiagbe completed the demolition job on the stroke of time with a well-taken shot.

Flying Eagles vs FC Twente

Joshua Enaholo – Musa Muhammed, Mustapha Abdullahi (Sirajo Mazadu 48), Wilfred Ndidi (Izu Omego 62), Zaharadeen Bello (Ifeanyi Nweke 48) – Akinjide Idowu, Ifeanyi Matthew, Kelechi Iheanacho (David Okereke 62), Abdullahi Alfa (Anthony Omaka 43) – Abubakar Lawal (Wasiu Jimoh 43), Sulaiman Abdullahi (Victory Omodiagbe 48)