The Nation Newspaper

Tag: loss

  • Federation Cup Exit: Great loss to Nasarawa United — Aloy Agu

    Federation Cup Exit: Great loss to Nasarawa United — Aloy Agu

    Nasarawa United goalkeeper  trainer Aloy Agu has told SportingLife that his players were down  following their Federation Cup defeat to Crown FC of Ogbomoso on Thursday.

    The Solid Miners lost to the Ajilete Boys 5-4 on penalties after 1-1 at the end of 90minutes in the match played at the Enyimba International Stadium, Aba.

    Lekan Agunloye scored the opening goal for Crown FC before Okan Ogunosi got an equaliser for Nasarawa United towards the tail end of the first half.

    The former Super Eagles goalkeeper in a chat with SportingLife said his side tried to end the game before the shootout but to no avail. He rued his boys’ missed chances.

    “It was a very great loss for us, penalties are anybody’s game. We had our chances during the game but couldn’t utilise it. We tried all we could to finish the game and avoid penalties but we missed our chances. You know in football when you have chances and miss them you pay dearly, that was exactly what happened to us.

    “We planned to go far in the tournament and lift the trophy but in football you win some, lose some and draw some. We give everything to God now,” Agu told SportingLife.

    He informed that the club will shift their focus to the league while expressing hope that the Solid Miners will get over the painful Federation Cup exit.

    “We will shift our attention to the league. That is what we have on our minds now. We will try and perfect that good job we’ve started when the second stanza resumes.

    “Everybody is down but I think we will get over it. They are professionals; you win, lose and draw,” he said.

  • Sokoto Utd 1-0 Kogi Utd: Loss of concentration costs us the game, Biffo admits

    Head Coach of Nigeria National  League, NNL side, Kogi United,  Abdullahi Biffo said a momentary loss of concentration caused his side to pick at least a point in their 0-1 away game to Sokoto United in the Week 19 encounter of league.

    Substitute Aminu Bala headed in the lone goal for Sokoto United in the 75th minutes after Kogi united captain Afolabi Abiodun was hacked down in the box.

    The Wada Boys had numerous scoring chances but could not make it count despite a near perfect officiating from the match officials.

    Biffo, who blamed ill luck for his boys’ missed chances noted that hope is not lost for Kogi United to end the season well.

    “It was a very unfortunate game for us, we had all the chances to score at least three goals today, they (Sokoto utd) had their own chances, but could have been better if it ended in a draw, the goal we conceded was as a result of loss of concentration.

    “Yes, it has affected our ambition to end the season well, but we will go back and make amends where we made mistake, we have an opportunity to go back to winning ways quickly with our double home games, and I’m sure we will give it all,” said Biffo.

    Sokoto United defender, Abdulateef Adeshina who denied Kogi United a goal bound chance admitted that his side were lucky to win the game as he expected the Wada Boys to give them a fight at home.

  • Big Boss blames ‘stage fright’ for loss

    Big Boss blames ‘stage fright’ for loss

    Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi has voiced his sentiments following his side’s 1-2 loss to Mali in their opening game of the 2014 African Nations Championship (Chan) in South Africa.

    Goals from Mali’s Abdoulaye Sissoko and Adama Traore rendered Gbolahan Salami’s header purely Academic on Saturday and meant Nigeria would basically need to win their final two preliminary fixtures against Mozambique and South Africa to progress to the knockout stages of the competition.

    Speaking to the media at the post-game press conference, Keshi attempted to explain the reasons behind the loss.

    “I was expecting this kind of result because of the anxiety that comes with this kind of championship for players that have not been exposed to tournaments like this,” he said.

    The Nigerian trainer said his charges only came to terms with the flow of the game when the damage had already been done.

    “We did not play our game. We only started playing well in the last five to 10 minutes and that was too late.

    “At the half time break, I asked them to feel free and express themselves and I don’t know if that worked because we still lost the game,” he revealed.

    Expectations among Nigerian fans were never at the rafters after key components of the squad like Godfrey Oboabona, Sunday Mba, Gabriel Rueben and Gomo Onduku recently joined European clubs which basically rendered them ineligible for the competition.

    The Nigerian league has been on hiatus since October 2013 and Keshi inferred that this may have been responsible for his charges’ lack of sharpness.

    “I think this is a perfect opportunity for home-based players to move forward and get exposure. If it’s about the league of each country, we have been out of action for like four months and we have had these players for only three weeks, but I don’t know if that was responsible for today,” he said.

    Keshi will now hope his players improve rapidly ahead of their second game against Mozambique.

  • LOSS TO MALI: Erico, Adepoju, Dosu disappointed

    LOSS TO MALI: Erico, Adepoju, Dosu disappointed

    Some notable football stakeholders on Sunday expressed disappointment with the performance of the home-based Super Eagles after the 2-1 loss to Mali on Saturday.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Eagles were defeated 2-1 by the Mali in the second Group `A’ match at the ongoing Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) in Cape Town, South Africa.
    A former Super Eagles player, Mutiu Adepoju told NAN that the defeat was unfortunate but added that hope was not lost.
    “It was really unfortunate that the home-based Eagles lost their first match. However, they must go back and intensify their efforts to do better in order to win the next two matches. They need to work on their defense. It was very obvious that there were lapses here and there. Confidence also matters and I believe they should work harder,’’ he said.
    A former Super Eagles goalkeeper, Joseph Dosu also said that the loss was unexpected but there was still a chance for a comeback in the next two group stage matches.
    “We expected them to win the first game but they failed to do that, and this scenario reminds me of when Nigeria lost to Algeria in 1990, they still progressed to the finals and lost again by 1-0 to the same team. I think the coach should go back to the drawing board and beef up areas that are lacking, and I am sure there is still room for more improvement,’’ Dosu said.

  • Ike Uche gets praise despite loss

    Ike Uche gets praise despite loss

    The manager of Villarreal, Marcelino, has congratulated Ikechukwu Uche and his teammates after their narrow 2-1 defeat to Barcelona on Saturday.

    The Spaniard insisted that his Villarreal side made Barcelona ‘nervous despite failing to win their third game in a row.

    “I want to congratulate my players though – we’ve done well here,” he said after the encounter.

    “I think we played better against Madrid and Atletico, but this game was different.

    “Here we played a very good match, and we made Barca nervous in the last few minutes. We’ve competed wonderfully well here.

    “Barca are a great team that have won all their home games, but I thought we were close.”

    A double from Neymar gave the Blaugrana all three points at Camp Nou, with the Brazilian securing the win with a 68th minute goal.

    Ikechukwu Uche played the last 26 minutes of the game, after coming on for Edu Ramos.

  • ‘Multinational firms cause loss of $1b weekly’

    Africa loses about $1 billion every week through illicit financial flows out of the continent, and chiefly through transactions by multinational companies, an African Union (AU) agency has said.

    The New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), an AU policy wing, said in a statement that the world’s poorest region lost 900 billion dollars in the illegal financial flows between 1970 and 2008.

    Commercial transactions by multinationals accounted for 60 per cent of the unlawful flows, followed by criminal activities such as trade in drugs, weapons and people at 35 per cent while bribery and embezzlement made up five per cent.

    Channels for the illegal flows were trade mispricing, investment-related transactions and offshore tax havens, a report commissioned by NEPAD and the UN’s Economic Commission for Africa said.

    For example, a company or official could say a piece of imported equipment costs 100 million dollars when in fact it was exported with an $80 million price tag, NEPAD said in the statement.

    The difference can be discreetly deposited in an offshore bank account.

    “The development impact of these illicit flows has resulted in loss of tax revenues, damage to economic potential and weakening of governance,’’ it said.

    A report by the African Development Bank earlier this year also showed that Africa was a net creditor to the world through illegal outflows worth between $597 billion and $1.4 trillion in the three decades to 2009.

  • Dike suffers painful loss

    Dike suffers painful loss

    Super Eagles striker Bright Dike got a little over an hour of action as his MLS side Toronto FC couldn’t replicate last week’s dominating four-goal performance but instead, the team conceded a stoppage-time goal in Saturday night’s 1-0 loss to the playoff hopeful Philadelphia Union.

    It was a familiar story for Ryan Nelsen’s team, which defended well and created scoring chances for the full 90 minutes.

    The late goal, scored on a Kleberson free kick, sent Toronto home empty-handed after the Reds played with a man advantage for the final 15 minutes of the game.

  • Nigeria 0 – 1 Cote d’Ivoire: Manu: Loss an act of God

    Nigeria 0 – 1 Cote d’Ivoire: Manu: Loss an act of God

    Coach Manu Garba (MFR) has described the 1-0 loss to the Junior Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire as an act of God.

    It was the team’s first loss since they were assembled over a year ago but Garba, a pious Muslim, said during the post match conference that the loss would be a rude awakening to the team.

    ” All praise belongs to Allah,” Garba said.” Yes, we lost but I belief that was what destiny had in store for us.

    “This was our first loss and it was painful to us as a team because we played our usual game but our opponents just refused to play.”

    Going forward into the crucial game on Saturday against Congo, Garba said matter-of-factly: “We have no option again. Our backs are now against the wall and you should expect that we are going to react in a positive way.

    ” I don’t want to go into any permutations, we just have to win our last game.”

    Saliu Ali-Baba,the former national Under-15 captain was equally philosophical, describing the despondent in team’s dressing room as unpalatable.

    ” It’s a shame that we lost today (Wednesday) and it is very hard on us because we have not lost a game before now,” he said.” We are all very sad but we have accepted the defeat in good faith.

    ” Our coaches would tell us what to do in our next game and Insha Allah, we are going to qualify for the World Cup,” he stated.

  • AFCON 2013 FALLOUT: Gervinho: Nigeria’s loss gives me bad memories

    AFCON 2013 FALLOUT: Gervinho: Nigeria’s loss gives me bad memories

    Arsenal forward Gervinho is confident Ivory Coast can move on from their Africa Cup of Nations heartache and build their success on an “excellent generation” of new players.

    The Elephants, who have not lifted the Afcon title since doing so for the first time in their history in 1992, lost 2-1 to Nigeria at the quarter-final stage of the 2013 edition of the tournament in South Africa.

    But the 25-year-old is remaining optimistic about the future, and feels his country are on the cusp of great things thanks to their emerging talents.

    “I have bad memories about losing to Nigeria,” Gervinho told Arsenal’s official website. “It was one of the worst games the team played, we were not in it. It was a bad match and Nigeria deserved the trophy.

    “This one is very painful because we never thought we would get knocked out in the quarter finals. Each year we get disappointed but we learn at the same time.

    “I don’t have any worries about Ivory Coast football, we have many players playing for big clubs, in big tournaments.

    “There are new recruits with lots of skill, they just need to be trusted. There is a new excellent generation coming and I am not worried about it.”

  • Ayo Ojo miffed at loss

    Ayo Ojo miffed at loss

    Crown FC goalkeeper, Ayo Ojo has described his side’s Matchday 10 game in the Nigeria National League (NNL) against Apa United as the team’s worst game in the 10-week old season.

    The Ogbomoso-based side fell 0-2 to their Makurdi-based counterparts on Monday at the Emmanuel Atongo Stadium, Katsina-Ala.

    The defeat has confined Crown FC to the second spot on 18 points one point adrift of NNL Division B leaders, Remo Stars who were gifted with a walkover at Divine Warriors in Yenagoa on Saturday.

    Ojo said the bitter experience is now history as they have decided to forge ahead with their campaign for promotion.

    “Everything was wrong with the match from biased officiating to poor pitch. I palmed away a penalty still the referee ruled it a good goal for Apa United. I’ve never witnessed such officiating in my entire football career. It’s the worst game we’ve played so far in the season.

    “We’ve decided to put the bitter experience behind us. We won’t allow it to disturb or derail our ambition for promotion. It has come and gone, we can’t reverse it. We’ve shifted our focus to picking a convincing win in the next match so as to climb back to the top spot,” said the Crown FC shot-stopper to supersport.com.

    The Ogbomoso-based side will welcome Bendel Insurance on Matchday 11 and Ayo said his side will take their pound of flesh on the Benin Arsenal in Ogbomoso.

    “Insurance are coming to Ogbomoso for a baptism of fire, we’ll pour our full venom of the sad defeat at Apa on them. It’s three points or nothing,” he said.