The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Eaglets

  • Eaglets vow to beat Mali for Imoke

    Eaglets vow to beat Mali for Imoke

    •Maigari, others rally support for Manu Boys

    THE Golden Eaglets have pledged to win their last 2013 African Under-17 qualifying home match which kicks off at 2:00pm against Mali today as a parting gift to the government and people of Cross River State.

    His Excellency, Senator Liyel Imoke is unarguably the team’s most important fan and the players have unanimously agreed that any goal against Mali would first and foremost be dedicated to the amiable Executive Governor of Cross River State.

    Eaglets’ star midfielder, Alhassan Ibrahim, said it’s important that the team win today’s match in a goal-rious fashion to reciprocate the good gestures by Cross- Riverians – particularly Governor Imoke.

    “We can’t thank Governor Imoke enough,” said the player who is widely regarded as the new Nwankwo Kanu for his guiles and wiles on the ball which is similar to the erstwhile Super Eagles’ captain. “Right from day one, the Governor told us that Calabar is our home and we have enjoyed our stay in Calabar especially by winning our matches.

    “By the grace of God, we are going to beat Mali on Sunday (today) and we are going to dedicate the goals and victory to the Governor,” added Ibrahim who is the team’s joint-top scorer on three goals with Isaac Success in the qualifiers so far.

  • Calabar Stadium wears new look for Eaglets

    The government of Cross River State is pulling all the stops to ensure that the Golden Eaglets’ last 2013 African U-17 qualifier home game against Mali on Sunday would be in a blaze of glory and fanfare as the U.J. Esuene Stadium is now undergoing redecoration.

    General painting of the 10,000-capacity stadium started on Monday and would expectedly be completed before Sunday’s crunch game between Nigeria and Mali.

    The stadium’s manager, Koko Bassey-Omara informed that the Golden Eaglets’ game against Mali would not have come at a better time than ahead of the huge annual Calabar Carnival.

    “The renovation at the U.J. Esuene stadium would serve dual purposes for the Golden Eaglets’ last game against Mali on Sunday and importantly our biggest annual festival, the Calabar Carnival,” he said. “We have really enjoyed the Golden Eaglets here and it is a pleasant coincidence that the team’s last game is coming just before the start of the 2012 Calabar Carnival.”

    It was learnt that the His Excellency Senator Liyel Imoke has spared little in ensuring that the U.J. Esuene stadium is at its posh best for the two forthcoming big events.

    ” Frankly, the governor doesn’t joke with beautification of Calabar and I think it is only fitting that the Golden Eaglets that have been here for this long would see the stadium at its colourful best which is usually the case for the Calabar Carnival,”he added.

    Meanwhile, the Golden Eaglets’ build-up towards Sunday’s game is in top gear as the team finetunes its preparation inside the main pitch of the stadium.

    “Our schedule is going well and we now train daily inside the stadium,”informed coach Garba Manu (MFR). “We have few days to the match against Mali and we don’t want to overstretch the players.”

  • Eaglets, Falcons commended

    Eaglets, Falcons commended

    THE Nigeria Football Federation on Monday praised the U-17 National Team, Golden Eaglets and the Senior Women National Team, Super Falcons for excellent performances in the past 24 hours.

    On Sunday, the Eaglets whip-lashed the U-17 National Team of Guinea 4-0 in Conakry in the second leg of their 2013 African U-17 Championship, to qualify for the final round of qualification series on a 7-0 aggregate. And on Monday in Bata, Equatorial Guinea, the Falcons edged Cameroon’s Lionesses 2-1 to pick up the three vital points in their opening match of Group B at the 8th African Women Championship.

    Speaking in Abuja on Monday, Chairman of the NFF Media and Publicity Committee, High Chief Emeka Inyama said: “The performances of the Golden Eaglets and the Super Falcons followed on the heels of excellent outings by the Flying Eagles and the Super Eagles to qualify for next year’s African championships.

    “The NFF is delighted that our National Teams are now giving their all in important games and we will continue to ensure the teams prepare well for major championships within the limits of our resources.

    “The Eaglets, in a way, avenged the defeat of the Super Eagles in Conakry during the qualifying series for the 2012 African Cup of Nations while the Falcons have now paid the Cameroonians back for that penalty shoot-out blot that stopped our girls from the London 2012 Olympics,” said Inyama.

    It would be recalled that the NFF flew the Falcons to Ghana for a one-week final training camp before the tournament and also hiked the team’s win-bonus to $3,000 per player.

    NFF General Secretary, Barrister Musa Amadu assured that the Federation will give every support to the Falcons in their next match against Ethiopia on Thursday and for the Eaglets in their final round of qualifiers against Mali.

    “We are already putting arrangements in place for the Eaglets to return to Calabar immediately they come back from Guinea on Tuesday, in order that they can start preparation for their first leg match against Mali, which comes up on 18th November. Governor Liyel Imoke (CON) and the wonderful people of Cross River State have been very supportive and we appreciate them.

    “As for the Falcons, we are putting heads together to see how we can further motivate them to fire from all cylinders against Ethiopia, as a win in that match will guarantee our semi final place even before the clash with Cote d’Ivoire on Sunday.”

  • CAN U-17 QUALIFIER EAGLETS TACKLE JUNIOR SYLI STARS TODAY

    CAN U-17 QUALIFIER EAGLETS TACKLE JUNIOR SYLI STARS TODAY

    •Manu dismisses Guinea fears

    •Kick-off 2pm

     

    GUINEA’S Junior Syli Stars would certainly meet their waterloo today when they meet the Golden Eaglets of Nigeria at the U.J Esuene Sports Stadium in Calabar.

    The match which expectedly would kick off at 2:00 pm Nigerian time is a second round-first leg game in the 2003 African Under-17 qualifier towards participating at the forthcoming African Youth Championship to be hosted by Morocco.

    Speaking ahead of the game during a media session at the University of Calabar’s Abraham Ordia Sports Stadium, the Golden Eaglets’ Head coach, Manu Garba (MFR) said he is confident that his team would win. “Pressure? What pressure?”Garba said rhetorically.”I don’t know anything about pressure despite the fact that we know little about the Guinean team.” Unlike the Golden Eaglets,this is Guinea’s fist game in the 2013 Under-17 qualifier after enjoying a bye into the second round.

    “I don’t agree with you that we are under any pressure simply because we beat Niger on a 10-1 aggregate in the first round rather, we are at an advantage to continue from where we stopped last time,“ Garba, a gifted midfielder in his heyday with El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri, said.

    “We duly respect our opponents and even if we are playing Chad, we are going to respect them. We are ready for Guinea and we are going to force them to play to our rhythm because we have a good team.

    “Since we started this campaign, we have shown that we are a high scoring side and we are going to continue in that tradition against Guinea on Sunday.

    “We want to score as many goals as possible without conceding any at home so that the job would be easier when we go for the return leg match in Conakry,” he added.

  • Keshi to watch Golden Eaglets

    Keshi to watch Golden Eaglets

    • Manu boys pray for Eagles

    Super Eagles’ Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, has indicated interest to watch live the Golden Eaglets when they square up against their Guinean counterparts in Sunday’s 2013 African Under-17 qualifier.

    This is a busy weekend for Nigerian football with both the Super Eagles and Golden Eaglets expectedly taking their turn at the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar.

    While the Super Eagles play Liberia in a 2013 African Cup of Nations decider on Saturday, the Golden Eaglets have a date with Guinea in a second round, first leg game 24 hours later.

    “Coach Stephen Keshi as well as other members of the coaching crew would be watching your game against Guinea on Sunday after ours against Liberia on Saturday,” informed Ben Alaiya, the Super Eagles’ media officer. “We have heard and read so much about the Golden Eaglets and we want to see things for ourselves.

    “This is good for Nigerian football and hopefully some of these players would be able to play for the Super Eagles in the nearest future,” added Alaiya in a frank exchange with an official of the Golden Eaglets.

    The same inkling was given by Dr. Robinson Okosun, the Super Eagles’ psychologist, saying that he is impressed with the positive vibes emanating from the camp of the Golden Eaglets.

    Meanwhile, the Golden Eaglets have added the success of the Super Eagles in Saturday’s AFCON crunch game against Liberia as one of their prayer points.

    Musa Mohammed, the team’s captain said it’s imperative that Nigerians should rally behind the two teams on the verge of qualifying for their respective tournaments next year.

    “The Super Eagles are our big brothers and we are praying for them because they missed qualification for the Nations Cup co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea,” the lively Mohammed said with a boyish smile. “We are lucky because we would see their game on Saturday before we play Guinea on Sunday. We want Nigerians to pray for the two teams so that we can be successful.”

  • Manu: Eaglets set to face Guinea

    Manu: Eaglets set to face Guinea

    The coach of wave-making Golden Eaglets, Manu Garba (MFR), believed his wards would be ready to take on their second round opponents in the elimination matches towards a place at the 2013 African Under-17 Youth Championship to be held in Morocco.

    West African side, Guinea are yet to kick a ball in the qualifiers after getting a draw into the second round on account of their presence at the last African Championships in 2009. Nigeria on the other hand, had missed out on qualifications for both the 2009 and 2011 editions in Algeria and Rwanda respectively.

    But Garba has enthused that the Nigerian team is ready to take on any team following the manner his wards steamrolled Junior Menas of Niger with a 10-1 aggregate score line in the first round.

    “With all modesty, we are ready to take on any team and we don’t mind if it is Niger or Spain,” the usually reserved Garba said matter-of-factly. “In football, there are three areas to measure performance and those are composure, commitment and concentration. We are proud that these boys have these attributes and they can only get better.

    “Whatever the situation is, we have told them never to lose concentration and we are happy that they were not carried away even when they were comfortably leading with four goals against Niger,” he explained, adding that the team is yet to reach its limit.

    “We rested some of the players today against Niger so that we can see what others can do. Above all, we don’t have a first or second team in this Golden Eaglets and this sort of give us the confidence that whoever gets the nod to play would represent the country well,” he noted.

    The Golden Eaglets are expected to play Guinea at home on October 14 with the reverse fixtures in Conakry two weeks later. “We shall be ready for Guinea because our preparations for the upcoming matches are well on course,” Manu stated.

    Meanwhile, the Golden Eaglets have been given a three days recess in order for the players to loosen up after a strenuous training regimen.

    “Work and play should go hand-in-hand and we want the players to relax so that they can be refreshed when we commence training again,” an official of the team volunteered.

  • Niger’s coach salute Eaglets

    Junior Menas of Niger’s coach Soumaila Tiemogo has given the Golden Eaglets a resounding applause following his side comprehensive 10-1 aggregate loss to the Nigerians in the 2013 African Under-17 Youth Championship qualifier.

    The Nigerien youngsters were handed a 4-1 defeat in Niamey with a further 6-0 defeat at the weekend in Calabar. Tiemogo, who recently led his side to win the 2012 Airtel Rising Stars Tournament in Nairobi, said his boys gave a good account of themselves against a better team.

    “I think we played well over the two legs but we met a well-organised team,” Tiemogo said through an interpreter. “The Nigerian team simply outclassed us and I think there is nothing to be ashamed of because we were beaten by a very good team.”

    It would be recalled that Suleymanu Kabirou, the Junior Menas’ captain, had raised the alarm that it would be an uphill task for them to avenge their 4-1 loss against the formidable Nigerian lads.

    “We were shocked with the good handling of the ball by the Golden Eaglets,” Kabirou reportedly said after the first leg game in Niamey.” It was as if we were watching football on a playstation machine.”

    Similar view was expressed by coach Tiemogo after the second leg 6-0 loss. He refrained from picking any single player as the best amongst the Golden Eaglets, saying that the strength of the Nigerians lie in the fact that they play as a team with a very strong mentality.

    “Football has gone beyond individuals, though I saw some good players on the Nigerian side, what impressed me most are their collective style of play. They are a good team that simply outclassed us,” he added.

  • Eaglets dedicate win to late goalkeeper’s mother

    Eaglets dedicate win to late goalkeeper’s mother

    THE National Under-17 team has dedicated yesterday’s 6-0 win recorded against Junior Menas of Niger to the memory of late Mrs. Iyabo Sarah Adewale.

    The mother of the team’s goalkeeper, Adeyinka Adewale, died on the eve of the Golden Eaglets’ 4-1 away win in Niamey, penultimate Saturday where the lad gave a good account of himself.

    Though he did not make the 18-man list for yesterday’s game in Calabar, his teammates said they resolved to beat Niger as a mark of solidarity to their teammate.

    “We are one big family in this team,” Wilfred Ndidi, the assistant captain of the team said. “We really felt bad for Adeyinka when we heard about the death of his mum which was very painful because she was still very young.

    “We have been praying for Adeyinka and his family members since we learnt about the unfortunate incident, and we told ourselves that we must win this game for him because he contributed greatly to our first leg away win in Niamey,” noted Ndidi.A visibly happy Adeyinka said he was happy about the honour done to his family by his colleagues even as he asked Nigerians to continue praying for the team.

  • 2013 Under-17 fifa World Cup: Ugbe, Ugbade tip Golden Eaglets

    2013 Under-17 fifa World Cup: Ugbe, Ugbade tip Golden Eaglets

    The Golden Eaglets have no choice than to qualify for the Under-17 African Youth Championship in Morocco en route to the 2013 World Cup in the UAE.

    Golden Eaglets’ Assistant coach, Nduka Ugbade and Patrick Ugbe, the Cross River State Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, said as much on the Good Morning Cross River TV show on Cross River Broadcasting Corporation on Wednesday.

    The Golden Eaglets have failed to qualify for the last two editions of the African biennial tournament but Ugbade and Ugbe both believed that the current squad would cross the Rubicon.

    “I’ve seen these boys closely during their training sessions and I’m very impressed with the quality in the team,” said Ugbe, calling on soccer fans to troop to the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar for the team’s African qualifier game against Junior Menas of Niger on Saturday. “We are ready for the game (between Nigeria and Niger) on Saturday and I’m using this opportunity to call on our people to be at the stadium to see these talented boys.”

    Ugbe maintained that hosting the Golden Eaglets by Cross River State offered the people the chance to see Nigeria’s Generation Next at close quarters, adding that the state government accepted to host the junior national team in order to inspire local youngsters.

    Said he: “We are delighted to have the Golden Eaglets because His Excellency, Senator Liyel Imoke sees this as national service though at a big cost despite the state’s lean resources. We want our people to enjoy this moment to see these players before they become full fledge professionals that they would be reading on the pages of newspapers. Saturday is their first major game here and we are calling on Nigerians far and near to come and see them,” Ugbe noted.

    Speaking in the same vein, Ugbade said there are reasons to be optimistic about the chances of these Golden Eaglets following recent failures.

    “We are condemned to qualify for both the African tournament and the World Cup and I believe we are on the right course,” said Ugbade, the foremost captain of the national cadet team.”This is the team that plays with information and not formation; and we are happy that the boys are responding well.”

    Ugbade said the team was focused but shied away from predicting the outcome of Saturday’s game against Junior Menas of Niger: “People have been saying we would massacre Niger because of our 4-1 away win in Niamey but the game would be tighter because the Nigeriens have seen the quality of our team. We just need to score the first goal and we would build on that,” Ugbade added.

    The Nigerien contingent is being expected in Calabar Thursday for Saturday’s first round, second leg match.

  • Imoke: I’m proud of fantastic Eaglets

    Senator Liyel Imoke, His Excellency, the Governor of Cross River State has described the New Nigeria Golden Eaglets’ fine start to their campaign for a ticket for the 2013 African Under-17 Youth Championship in Morocco in one word: Fantastic!
    Imoke was on board Monday’s mid-day Arik flight that took the national Under-17 team from Abuja to Calabar after their 4-1 victory over Niger in Niamey at the weekend. On landing at the Margret Ekpo International Airport in Calabar, the amiable governor had a brief conversation with the team.
    “I have been told about your performance against Niger and that was fantastic,” he said in his usual warm candour. “I’m very proud of you guys and I trust you won’t relent o

    • Eaglets line up

    n your efforts.”
    The team’s number 1 citizen, Manu Garba (MFR) quickly told the governor and his entourage that the team would not have achieved anything without the hospitality extended to the officials and players.
    “Once again, we thank you sir,” Garba said. “All what we have achieved so far was because you gave us a conducive environment to prepare the team. We are grateful sir.”
    Meanwhile, Garba has downplayed the team’s heart-warming first leg 4-1 win over Niger saying football is not mathematics, hence all hands must be on deck for the second leg match on September 22 in Calabar.
    “We are not celebrating anything yet because we have not won anything actually,” he explained. “We have not qualified for the second stage of the competition until after the second leg game, after then we can begin to talk about our next opponent. Our focus now is the second leg game.”