The Nation Newspaper

Tag: defeat

  • Rangers defeat Crown FC 2-0 in Enugu

    Rangers defeat Crown FC 2-0 in Enugu

    Enugu Rangers shook off their disappointing 2-0 away loss to Heartland last Wednesday with the same scoreline victory over visiting Crown FC of Ogbomosho in a Glo Premier League Week 14 tie played at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium,Enugu.

    The players of the Flying Antelopes responded to the call from their head coach, John Obuh to improve the quality of their game for the Coal City side or get sidelined like some recently suspended players with a win over the Ajilete Boys.

    Pierre Coly left his defensive duties to nod home the curtain raiser in the sixth minute before former 3SC star, Osagona Ighodaro put the icing on the cake of the result with the ‘insurance’ goal in the 78th minute to the delight of the crowd at the stadium.

    Rangers are on 17 points from 12 matches while Crown FC remained on same 17 points but are below the Flying Antelopes on goals difference.

  • Edo PDP still smarting from council polls’ defeat

    The Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cannot, in the foreseeable future recover from the bloody-nose it suffered in the recent Esan North East Local government re-run election from the state-ruling All Progressive Congress (APC), the Senior Special Assistant on Media Affairs to Governor Adams Oshiomhole, Prince John Mayaki has said.

    “No amount of public relations spin can help the PDP in Edo State recover from the political reputational defeat they suffered in that re-run election in Esan North East Local Government Area, at least, not in the foreseeable future”, Mayaki said yesterday in Benin City, the state capital.

    The governor’s aide, who spoke against the background of what he described as political intrigues and antics perpetrated in some quarters, observed that Edo PDP “are spending heavily on adverts and sponsored articles accusing Governor Oshiomhole and his party for the bloody-nose they sustained at the re-run, doubtless if they are aware that the public, even in Chief Tony Anenih’s home, still view them with suspicion, if not outright contempt and as such, countering accusations from the PDP is completely an unnecessary distraction.”

    Expatiating, he said: “It was an awful outing for Chief Anenih and PDP during their blitz in governance of Edo State. Critics had insisted that they would pay for their exuberance later but thank goodness, Oshiomhole came with some careful political engineering, in which he re-captured the politically distressed local governments.

    “Given their poor performance and worthless political investments, I have no doubt that their leaders were merely hanging on Abuja while others gasping for political oxygen for survival  and hoping the council polls would be won and as such, milk it’s treasury for as long as possible.

    “Their shopaholic days are over. They have since realised how bad things look and trying to paint the exercise in bad light. What were they expecting, if I may ask? They lost Akoko Edo House of Assembly re-run, lost Etsako Central re-run, lost the governorship election where Governor Oshiomhole won in 18 local government out of 18, and thereafter lost the 18 councils to APC. They should remember that the constant variable or common denominator in life is change.”

  • Ighalo on target in Granada defeat

    Ighalo on target in Granada defeat

    Nigerian striker Odion Ighalo got a late consolation in Granada’s failed attempt for a comeback in Thursday’s 2-1 home defeat to high flying Atletico Madrid.

    Ighalo only got his second start in five league games this season on Thursday night scored on the 90 minute mark for his first goal of the current La Liga season.

    Diego Costa’s 38 minute strike from the spot separated both sides at the break before former Valencia man and summer signing from Barcelona David Villa doubled Atletico’s lead 33 minutes after the break to seal the victory.

    The home side, however, fought hard but were put at bare by Diego Simeone led Atletico side and could only manage to reduce the inside the final minute of the game after Ighalo pounced home from a Allen Nyom’s assist.

    Atletico retain second spot on the table with 30 points, one behind Barcelona after 11 games while Ighalo and his team-mates sit in 14 spot with 11 points from the same number of games.

  • Accept defeat, PDP tells party

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to accept defeat in last Saturday’s Delta Central by- election.

    The PDP candidate, Emmanuel Aguariavwodo, was declared the winner in the election widely described as failing in credibility standards.

    A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, yesterday berated the opposition for “rehearsing excuses ahead of the 2015 general elections.”

    Metuh said the election was free, fair and credible and the people freely gave their mandate to the PDP candidate.

    Said he: “Protesting the outcome of an election where it did not get up to 10 per cent of the total votes cast, the APC has shown that it remains a party borne out of violence, religious extremism and desperation; a party of bigots, which fails to understand that it does not have the support of Nigerians, hence its inability to win elections due to its undemocratic and do-or-die posture.

    “APC remains a serial bad loser, which delights in overheating the polity, establishing fascism in the states under its control and refusing to be bold and sportsman-like enough to accept clear defeats.”

    The statement enjoined the opposition party to learn from the nobility of the PDP, saying that the ruling party was always bold to accept defeat in the states won by opposition parties in the past.

  • Default is defeat for Republicans

    Default is defeat for Republicans

    What to do about the lemming wing of the Republican party? As the deadline for a US default inches closer, some hope the showdown will create a split that would convert the Tea Party into a southern rump – never to threaten US creditworthiness again. Others say Republicans could be snapped back to their senses by a stinging defeat in next year’s midterm election. A few even say a US default this month is the only catharsis that would work – if Washington is in a perennial game of Russian roulette, better the gun goes off now than later. All of which is instructive. But it does nothing to fix the dilemma facing John Boehner, the Republican Speaker, who has the power to end this crisis at any time. Yet he knows if he voted with the Democrats, it could cost him the speakership.

    There are two reasons for Mr Boehner to do the right thing even if it earns him the Tea Party’s hatred. First, he should not want to go down in history as the first speaker to permit a US sovereign default. Nor does he want to be the one who helped turn Republicans into pariahs. The occasional US government shutdown is one thing. It is irritating but not catastrophic. Failure to uphold America’s full faith and credit is quite another. Mr Boehner’s unwillingness to stop it would earn him history’s obloquy.

    If it comes to it – and it probably will – Mr Boehner should fall on his sword in defence of US national interest. There was a time when Republicans had a strong grasp of what that meant. One hopes Mr Boehner still does.

    Second, President Barack Obama rightly refuses to negotiate. The longer the shutdown continues, the greater the risk it fuses with the debt ceiling and ignites. Mr Boehner will get no more concessions from Mr Obama two weeks from now than today. There is no sense in waiting until the last minute to lift the ceiling. It is possible the US could enter technical default for a few days without the markets viewing it as such. Nobody knows.

    A 1,000 point drop in the Dow can solve most problems in Washington. In September 2008 a slightly smaller decline was enough to shake legislators from their refusal to approve the troubled asset relief programme. But it would be better for Mr Boehner not to find out. A key wing of his party is prepared to wreck America’s reputation as the bedrock of the global economy. They are Republicans in name only. For the sake of his party’s reputation, Mr Boehner should end the crisis now.

     

    – Financial Times

     

  • MANDELA CHALLENGE: Eagles defeat Bafana 2—0

    MANDELA CHALLENGE: Eagles defeat Bafana 2—0

    Uche Nwofor rose from the bench at half time, and scored twice in 18 minutes to give the Super Eagles of Nigeria a 2-0 win over a disappointing South Africa in the Mandela Challenge match played at the Moses Mabhida stadium in Durban on Wednesday.

    Nwofor had come on in place of Shola Ameobi, who was handed his second cap by Stephen Keshi.

    The Super Eagles had dominated the first half of the game, but did not create any clear cut chance that would have yielded a goal.

    Academical of Portugal midfielder, John Ogu, had posed the biggest threat for the South Africans, as his two shots from long range were the bright moments for the Super Eagles.

    The South Africans had their own chances too, as they caught the Eagles out twice, and got behind the defence, only to find Austin Ejide capable.

    Then came the second half.

    Nwofor scored with virtually his first touch of the ball, as he compensated for an earlier miss with an audacious back heel that sailed in for the first goal.

    Ahmed Musa should have created a third when he cut in from the left with minutes left on the game, but opted to shoot rather than feed a lurking Brown Ideye.

  • Pam chides NFF, LMC over Eagles’ CHAN defeat

    Pam chides NFF, LMC over Eagles’ CHAN defeat

    The chairman of JUTH FC of Jos Ishaya Pams has taken a swipe at the achievements of Super Eagles Coach Stephen Keshi since he took over as Head Coach of the senior national team, Pams believes all of the team’s successes at the 2013 Africa Nations Cup in South Africa where it won a third crown for the country as well as Nigeria’s first-time-ever qualification for the Championship of African Nations (CHAN) yesterday in Abidjan, are all based on luck and not proper planning.

    Speaking against the backdrop of the home-based Eagles’ qualification for the 2014 CHAN championship holding in South Africa next year, Pams, who was the immediate past Chief Medical Director of the Jos University Teaching Hospital, said: “You cannot have a stable national team, without a stable national league.

    Everyone saw what happened in Abidjan at the weekend, the Elephants almost cancelled the three-goal deficit in the first half. It was sheer luck that saw us through.

    “That goes a long way to prove that our successes so far in various championships is just because of luck and nothing more. We don’t plan at all. We were all busy celebrating our victory at AFCON early in the year, but refused to put a formidable structure on ground to consolidate on that.”

    “So, what happened at the Confederations Cup in Brazil?  Nothing!”.

    What we have been doing is to always rush out to bring overseas players to the national team, whether they do well or not we accept it. We are just bouncing about.

    “Every country that has a good national team has good leagues and very organised academy systems. We don’t have those things and we want to win always. Though we have good players in our local league, we don’t have a youth football programme.

    “I feel sorry for the coaches because at the national team you don’t need to be teaching the players how to control and pass balls. That is exactly what the coaches do at our national teams. I really pity them because they work in a very tight situation.

    “When we win it is all about providence and not because of good planning. Many of the players they are talking about are all over-aged players. They play well in a tournament, in the next one they are injured and they cannot recover from it again.

    “The emphasis is ‘scapegoatism’. All of these coaches are drafted in in a hurry. If Keshi fails tomorrow, the next thing is to fire him, and get another person, but the basic structures to enable him perform would not be in place,” he said.

    The medical practitioner whose tenure as chairman saw the Jos-based team gaining promotion to premiership, disagrees with the decision of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to slam a life ban on the players of the four teams involved in the 146-goal match-fixing saga in two Nationwide Division 3 play-off matches in Buachi. He said: “I was amazed, I was shocked, I was saddened but I was not surprised. It has been a gradual deterioration, because they say a stitch in time saves nine.

    “When Akwa United and Calabar Rovers did theirs that ended 13-0, nothing happened. Same to that between Kaduna United and Zamfara United which ended 9-0. Everything was swept under the carpet. If you remember, it was that match that led to the relegation of my team. Now, we have reached 146-0.”

    “I was saddened because I know the Plateau United Feeders team very well. But, what people don’t know is that JUTH FC Feeders team played that Plateau United feeders in the qualifying match of that competition in Plateau State. They beat us 1-0 in a controversial manner, and went to Bauchi to run into trouble.

    “So, these things have been going on but people have not been sensitised about it. It is the corruption in the league that has trickled down to the feeder teams. It is very bad.

    “The young boys have come to realise that anything goes in football in Nigeria. They saw what happened in the bigger leagues and nothing happened, so, what law have they broken? They can go to court and win their case. If 13-0 is not match-fixing, then what makes 146-0 match fixing?

    “I believe they have a good case in court. I am not defending them, but I know that the decision of banning them for life should be out of it, because when it happened to the older ones, nothing was done. I don’t think they should do that to the children because they are victims of maladministration, improper training, among others.” he concluded.

     

  • Coreman blames defeat on poor officiating

    Coreman blames defeat on poor officiating

    Coach Maurice Coreman of Gombe United FC has blamed his team’s 0-1 loss to hosts Bayelsa United of Yenagoa in a mid-week Globacom Premier League match on poor officiating.

    Coreman disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) moments after the match played on Wednesday at the Samson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa. The coach said that the way the centre referee, Amao Opeyemi, from Kwara handled the week 18 match robbed his team of an “obvious” victory.

    “The referee made some questionable decisions in the course of the game. If you ask me about officiating, I will say this was a case of very bad officiating. Why should a referee award a penalty kick just because a player fell on the ground, when the goalkeeper did not touch him, why?

    “We had a lot of calls for infringement on our players, the referee never spotted them, but when Bayelsa players fall this way, he awards an infringement against us,” Coreman stated.

    The Belgian, who acknowledged that his players wasted good chances at goal, however assured that Gombe would improve in their subsequent matches.

    NAN reports that Bayelsa got the only goal of the encounter through Ebi Peters, in the 7th minute. In the 86th minute, referee Opeyemi, citing an infringement in the 18-yard box, awarded the home team a controversial penalty, which Chigozie Christopher failed to convert.

    The referee’s decision drew wild condemnation from the Gombe bench, while Coreman insisted that there was no body contact between his goalkeeper and the Bayelsa player.

    Coach Ladan Bosso of Bayelsa, in his assessment of the match, lamented over his players’ lack of concentration in the attack, which he said resulted in the slim goal margin.

  • Glo Soccer Academy boys defeat Man Utd trained team

    Glo Soccer Academy boys defeat Man Utd trained team

    One of the major highlights of the recent training tour of Manchester United Soccer Schools, Carrington, UK, by the Glo Soccer Academy team was the defeat of the Manchester United trained Irlam and Cadished College teams in a friendly encounter.

    In an action-packed match played at the Irlam and Cadished College pitch, the Glo Soccer Academy team outclassed their host through purposeful and entertaining football, which resulted in 1- 0 victory for the Nigerian visitors.

    The only goal of the match was scored in the dying minutes of the game by the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of Glo Soccer Academy; Muri Lawal who netted the ball after a free-kick from the edge of the box was blocked by the host team defender. The ball rebounded to Muri on the edge of the box and he fired a low drive to the left of the post beyond the goalkeeper’s reach.

    The match offered the Glo Soccer Academy team an opportunity to practise and showcase all they had been taught in real match situation.

    The match was organised by the Manchester United Football Club as part of the training programmes lined up for the Glo Soccer Academy boys during their training tour of Manchester.

    Commenting on the match, the youth coaches of Man United, Andrew Smith and Adam Temple said, “ The quality of the players is high and each of them has the talent to walk into any academy in the EPL’’.

    The Irlam and Cadished College is a Manchester United-supported team under Manchester United Football Foundation that offers technical training and support to several college teams in the Manchester area.

    Sixteen finalists had emerged from thousands of participants drawn from across West Africa in The Glo Soccer Academy. Twelve of the boys from Nigeria and Benin Republic made it to the UK for the training at Manchester United Soccer Schools, while the remaining four boys from Ghana who were not issued visas, will undergo a training tour of Dubai’s Soccer Academy.

    The 16 finalists have been awarded G-Bam Scholarship of N750,000 and N1 million Naira each for 15 of them, while the Most Valuable Player received N5 million.

    The team returned to Nigeria last week and was received by the Board of Nigeria Football Federation and the Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke who, on behalf of Globacom, presented cheques for the various prizes to members of the team.

    The Glo Soccer Academy was organized to discover and train talented young footballers across West Africa and it was conceived to provide a once-in-a lifetime opportunity for talented footballers to kick-start their career in professional football.

  • Aneke suffers away defeat with Crewe

    Aneke suffers away defeat with Crewe

    Nigeria’s Chucks Aneke who’s on loan with League one side Crewe Alexandra was on duty for his team in the 3-0 away loss to Hartlepool on Tuesday night.

    Aneke who was handed a starting spot by Coach Davis was on duty for 71 minutes before being taken off for Clayton. His contribution on the night however was not enough to at least secure a point for Crewe to take with back home.

    The relegation threatened Hartlepool continued their upturn in form as they easily saw off Crewe to record their third consecutive win in their last five matches in the league.

    Jonathan Franks and Jack Baldwin combined to allow Charlie Wyke to put Pools ahead in the 27th minute before allowing Franks to double the lead, firing low past Steve Phillips 13 minutes later.

    The visitor’s goalie Phillips denied Wyke, James Poole and Evan Horwood with superb saves before Andy Monkhouse smashed in Hartlepool’s third on the 90 minute mark to earn his side the comfortable victory.

    The home side were dominant throughout and are now just six points from safety having appeared doomed to relegation in December.