The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Tahiti

  • Keshi ‘relieved’ after Tahiti thrashing

    Keshi ‘relieved’ after Tahiti thrashing

    Nigeria coach Stephen Keshi said he was relieved his side had avoided any further injuries after Monday’s thrashing of minnows Tahiti 6-1 in their opening game at the Confederations Cup in Belo Horizonte.

    Forwards Victor Moses, Kalu Uche and Emmanuel Emenike were all ruled out by injury before the tournament, while midfielder Ogenyi Onazi missed Monday’s game with a knee problem.

    MTNFootball.com reports that Keshi hopes the Lazio player will be available for Thursday’s encounter with Uruguay, which is likely to play a significant role in determining whether or not Nigeria progress from Group B.

    “There are no (new) injuries to the players, because I’ve already lost four players,” he said.

    “With all this journey we’ve been having, arriving yesterday (Sunday) morning at four o’clock, I’m just happy there’s no major problems concerning injuries.”

    Nigeria’s preparations were disrupted by a dispute over bonus payments that meant the squad did not arrive until 36 hours before the first game.

    Speaking ahead of the game, Captain Vincent Enyeama had revealed that the disagreement remained unresolved, but Keshi said that was not the case.

    “The issue of the bonuses has been settled. Nothing is holding us back anymore and all we need to do now is play football,” he said.

    Nnamdi Oduamadi, who scored a hat-trick for the African champions at Estadio Mineirao, said the players had put the dispute behind them.

     

     

  • Nigeria crush Tahiti 6-1

    Nigeria crush Tahiti 6-1

    2013 AFCON Champions Nigeria started their 2013 Confederations Cup campaign on a great note with an emphatic 6-1 victory over Tahiti yesterday at the Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto.

    A first half brace by Nnamdi Oduamadi in the 10th and 26th minutes after the 5th minute opener through an own goal by the Tahitian skipper put the Super Eagles in front. Jonathan Tehau however reduced the deficit nine minutes after the break to set the stadium on fire, before sloppy defending restored the three-goal lead for the AFCON champions in the 68th minute with an own goal by Tehau.

    Oduamadi grabbed his third on the night in the 76th minute to pave the way for Echiejile’s 80th minute strike to complete the rout.

     

  • Nigeria crush Tahiti 6-1

    Nigeria crush Tahiti 6-1

    2013 AFCON Champions Nigeria started their 2013 Confederations Cup campaign on a great note with an emphatic 6-1 victory over Tahiti yesterday at the Estádio Governador Magalhães Pinto.

    A first half brace by Nnamdi Oduamadi in the 10th and 26th minutes after the 5th minute opener through an own goal by the Tahitian skipper put the Super Eagles in front. Jonathan Tehau however reduced the deficit nine minutes after the break to set the stadium on fire, before sloppy defending restored the three-goal lead for the AFCON champions in the 68th minute with an own goal by Tehau.

    Oduamadi grabbed his third on the night in the 76th minute to pave way for Echiejile’s 80th minute strike to complete the rout.

    After a sloppy beginning that saw Tahiti making the most meaningful start, Elderson Echiejile put Nigeria in front with a deflected shot off the Tahitian skipper Vallar to take a one goal lead.

    Tahiti came close to equalising with a long range effort just after the opening goal but were denied by a finger to the ball by Vincent Enyeama.

    Oduamadi made it two for Nigeria in the tenth minute after getting onto a ball from Ahmed Musa inside the area, and in the 15th minute Musa went close to making it three but too many touches on the ball by the pacey forward denied him the chance to go on the score sheet.

    The Eagles’ dominance in the game produced yet another result when Oduamadi set up Musa for a long chase to hit in a pass into the area. It met Oduamadi who had just the goal keeper to beat to record his second and Nigeria’s third on the night.

    The second half resumed with the Tahitians looking the determined side and were rewarded for their hardwork just nine minutes after the break when Jonathan rose above Efe Ambrose to head home his side’s first on the night.

    49th minute substitute Brown Ideye missed another great chance to restore the three-goal lead for the Nigerians after getting onto a pass from Ahmed Musa with just the goal keeper to beat.

    A lovely drive onto the area by Oduamadi created problems for Tahiti defender Tehau who turned in the striker’s goal-bound shot to put Nigeria in a comfortable 4-1 lead in the 68th minute.

    Oduamadi grabbed his hat-trick of the night to record Nigeria’s fifth after being set up by Brown Ideye in the 76th minute, before Echiejile got his name on the score sheet to record Nigeria’s sixth ten minutes from normal time.

    The Nigeria and Braga full-back went close to scoring again in the 86th minute but was denied by the bar to end the game at 6-1, putting the Eagles on top of group B with three points and a five-goal difference.

    Nigeria’s next match in the competition is against Uruguay on Thursday.

  • Confeds Cup: Nigeria defeats Tahiti 6-1

    Nigeria Super Eagles on Monday night defeated Tahiti 6-1 at the end of the first half in the ongoing FIFA Confederations Cup in Brazil.

    Uwa Echejiele opened the scoring in the fifth when his shot took a slight deflection off a Tahitian defender.

    Nnamdi Oduamadi doubled the scoring minute after he rounded off a sleek team work in the 10th minute.

    He added his second of the night when he slotted home Ahmed Musa’s pull out in 26th minute.

    The Tahitian put up a spirited fight, but lack of experience at this level proved their greatest undoing.

    The Polynesia Island nation pulled a goal back through Jonathan Tehau in the 54 th minute, while three further goals through Oduamadi, Echiejile and Tehau’s own goal completed the rout.