The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Allen

  • Allen sure of Sharks’ survival

    Allen sure of Sharks’ survival

    Sharks head coach, Festus Allen has insisted that the club will not be relegated to the second tier following their 1-0 win over Bayelsa United at the Oghara Township Stadium on match day 25 of the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

    The Blue Angels have now amassed 25 points from 24 matches following the impressive road victory on Sunday but still remain in the relegation zone as they currently sit in 18th spot on the 20-team NPFL standings.

    Allen said Sharks will remain in the top flight at the end of the campaign with 14 fixtures still to navigate.

    “Sharks will not be relegated; it is not possible. We are too good to go down and I am sure we will save ourselves before the end of the season,” he told supersport.com.

    He then took the time to praise goalkeeper, Henry Ayodele whose heroics helped the Blue Angels claim maximum points in Oghara.

    “The goalkeeper was the hero of the game (against Bayelsa United) and deserves all the accolades he receives.

    “He was instrumental and pivotal in us winning the game,” he said.

    The trainer rounded off by praising star striker, Christian Pyagbara who for the umpteenth time, saved his side, with a crucial goal scored from “an impossible action.”

    “Pyagbara scored from an impossible angle. It was a clinical goal and he did the needful.

    “But while I praise him, I must also add that the entire team played well,” he said.

    Sharks face a difficult task in their next game as they welcome the leaders and six-time champions, Enyimba to the Sharks FC Stadium on Sunday.

  • Allen heaps praises on Ayodele, Pyagbara

    Allen heaps praises on Ayodele, Pyagbara

    Sharks FC goal keeper, Henry Ayodele was undoubtedly the Man of the Match in the Weekend fixture between Bayelsa Utd and Sharks Fc after making 15 saves at the Oghara township  stadium.

    The heavily built goal keeper who was dubbed the Big Show by Oghara fans made six of the saves in the opening 28 minutes and got thumbs up from his coach, Festus Allen who described Ayodele’s feat as a heroic performance worthy of the accolades from the fans.

    “The goalkeeper was the hero of the game, most especially the saves he made in the first half were simply mind blowing.”

    “He deserves all the accolades poured out on him by the fans and Ayodele was  so instrumental to our victory”,Allen said.

    Allen also did not fail to heap praise on Christian Pyagbara whose  brilliance from an impossible situation in the 72nd minute gave Sharks maximum point.

    “It is this kind of performance that distinguishes a striker from another; Christian was in his right element today.

    “Scoring from an impossible situation can only be possible through sheer individual brilliance, to me it was a clinical finish and Pyagbara did the needful,”Allen said.

    And with his second away win of the season in as many as eight matches coach Allen is optimistic the 1-0 victory over Bayelsa United will spur the team when they  host Lobi Stars in a rescheduled league fixture on Wednesday.

  • I’m not a magician, says Allen

    I’m not a magician, says Allen

    Sharks coach Festus Allen insists he is “not a magician” after leading the club to successive wins in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

    A 2-0 win over Abia Warriors on Wednesday meant the Blue Angels won two consecutive league matches for the first time this season.

    The club failed to achieve that feat under former coaches, Gbenga Ogunbote and Daboere Dokubo, who both left the side for different reasons inside the first 16 match days.

    Allen says he did not work any magic and praises his charges for buying into his “philosophy of coaching”.

    “I did nothing special. There was no magic involved.

    “Don’t forget that I worked as an assistant to both Ogunbote and Dokubo and having spent five months at the club, I know the mentality of the players well enough.

    “I must also commend the players for accepting my philosophy of coaching,” he said.

    The trainer rounded off by praising the two former coaches, Ogunbote and Dokubo stating that “they didn’t do a bad job at Sharks”.

    “Some people are now saying Ogunbote and Dokubo are not good coaches because the club won just one match when they were in charge.

    “That is not true. They are both great coaches and didn’t do a bad job at Sharks.

    “The truth is that the league is now as competitive as ever as teams now win matches irrespective of where the games are played,” he said.

    Sharks, bottom of the standings for long stretches this season, are now in 17th place on the 20-team log with 18 points from 18 matches.

  • Allen gives Keshi the ‘thumbs up’

    Allen gives Keshi the ‘thumbs up’

    Former 3SC head coach, Festus Allen, believes that Nigeria head coach, Stephen Keshi, deserves commendation for the job he has done with the Super Eagles.

    Allen explained that the two years and seven months period of Keshi as the Nigeria manager has brought about impressive results including winning the Africa Cup of Nations, qualifying for the FIFA World Cup and featuring in the African Nations Championship (Chan) for the first time.

    The one-time ABS FC manager thinks the Super Eagles gave their best at the 2014 FIFA World Cup but feels they failed to reach the last eight since their performance “wasn’t good enough.”

    “The Super Eagles did their best but it wasn’t good enough to see them through to the last eight. For Keshi, his contributions should be commended for taking the Super Eagles this far. Keshi won the Africa Cup of Nations after a 19-year wait.

    “He also qualified Nigeria for a fifth World Cup and also to the Chan for the first time. He used over 88 players during this period though his best may not be enough because expectations are always high from the Nigeria populace,” he told supersport.com.

    He also wants the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to fashion out plans to build on the performance of the Super Eagles at the World Cup.

    Allen said the qualifiers for the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations should now take front-burner.

    “As for the NFF, the way forward should be the next line of action now. The Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers are just close by and I’m sure other African countries will be preparing to shock Nigeria because we are now the team to beat. It’s never easy being champions and we must start planning in time for that,” he told supersport.com.

    The African champions, Nigeria, are drawn in Group A of the 2015 Afcon qualification alongside South Africa, Sudan and either Botswana or Guinea-Bissau.

  • Allen decries 3SC statement on league standing

    Former Technical Adviser of Shooting Stars Sports Club, 3SC, Coach Festus Allen has condemned the campaign by the club to justify their current position on the Nigeria Professional Football League table.

    The club currently have 12 points from nine matches, winning only four home matches played so far and picking none away.

    But in a story credited to the media officer of the club, Jibril Arowolo, he said that 3SC have made significant progression more than last season when Allen was in charge.

    Arowolo claimed that 3SC got just four points after Week Nine, which led to the suspension of Allen.

    Records showed that 3SC accrued 12 points after nine matches last season. The Oluyole Warriors defeated Sharks 2-1, Dolphins 1-0 and Ocean Boys also by a lone goal in three home matches. The team under Allen played two goalless draws at home to Rising Stars and Gombe Utd, and a one all draw with Sunshine Stars, all at home, to score 12 points. They lost away to Niger Tornadoes, ABS FC and Wikki Tourists to complete the nine matches.

    “I am not joining issues with anybody, but to just put the records straight,” he said.

    Allen, in an interview with newsmen, queried when and where Arowolo got the record that made him to conclude that the club got four points after nine matches.

    “He should put the records straight, instead of trying to justify what should not be justified. If I am not in the team, I should not be rubbished, because I did not do anything to warrant such,” he concluded.