Tag: upbeat

Super Eagles left back, Chima Akas has said he remains upbeat his club Sharks will escape relegation from the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

Sharks are currently placed 18 on the league table with 30 points from 28 games. But Akas said the Port Harcourt team are good enough to escape the drop and believes more commitment and hard work from the players will do the magic.

“Nothing much to say about it. It’s the league and any team could find itself where we are. Nothing is impossible, all we need do is to continue working hard and I believe with the players’ commitment, we will escape relegation,” said Akas.

The Nigeria national female basketball team, (D’Tigeress) 0n Thursday won with a slim victory (70-69) against their Malian counterpart at the ongoing 11th African games in Congo Brazzaville.

It was an explosive encounter, which  saw both side jostling for points till the final moments of the game played at the Makelekele Stadium in Brazzaville.

The Malian took the control of the game, winning the first quarter 21-19 and the second quarter 35-32 point.

The D’Tigeress struggle to contain the taller and well-built Malians, who used their height and physique to their advantage. The Nigerian team took the lead in the third quarter by 53-42 points. But the team failed to take advantage of the rebound throughout the game.

Point guard, Sarah Ogoke led the floor with 20 points to inspire the team to victory.

The coach of the team, Scott Nnaji told SportingLife that he was satisfied with the outcome of the match despite his team’s shortcomings in the game.

“We led with four point at the begining of the game, but the Malian took over and dominated the game in the first and second quarters.

“But at the end of the game, we had a great game and a great win against one of the continent power house in female basketball.

“The team will settle down as the games progress,” Nnaji said.

He said that the team inability to utilised rebound will be work on.

“We played tall and better physique players who used their height to their advantage, is was not good enough to allow an opponent to have advantage of more the five rebound under your rims,”

The coach, however, expressed optimism over his team’s ability to win  winning a medal at the end of the competitions. Helen Ogunjimi said the games was tough, but the team is ready to claim the gold at the end the Games.

The Nigeria team will take on Mozambique today.

Warri Wolves are upbeat ahead of today’s Confederation Cup return leg match against RC Bobo from Burkina Faso.

The Nigerian club won the first leg 1-0 in Burkina Faso and dynamic defender Oke Ogagate, who has declared that the players are battle ready for the second leg at the Warri City Stadium today.

The diminutive defender, who was on the bench in Bobo Dioulasso but may likely get a starting shirt today, said they hope to win again.

“We are battle ready for this match. We have worked hard and what the management has done in terms of meeting our demands has really worked” said the former Sunshine Stars defender.

“We are focused towards dismantling them on Saturday.Our fans should come out and support us the way it is done in Europe. We need them to succeed and by the Grace of God, we will not let them down.”

Chelsea star Victor Moses and new invitee John Ogu have said they are ready for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Kenya.

Moses was a late arrival in training camp in Calabar because of flight connection problems, but he expressed confidence of a good outing against the Harambee Stars.

“Training camp in Calabar getting ready for big game this weekend #nigeria,” Moses tweeted.

The former Crystal Palace and Wigan winger saw action on Sunday in Chelsea 2-0 win over West Ham United.

He was an impact player at South Africa 2013, where Nigeria won AFCON after a 19-year wait.

Academica de Coimbra of Portugal midfielder John Ogu, on the other hand, told MTNFootball.com that he was excited to undergo his first training with the Eagles on Tuesday in Calabar.

Ogu, who arrived the training camp Tuesday to beat coach Stephen Keshi’s deadline, told MTNFootball.com that he is delighted to be in company of great players.

“Having my first training with the Super Eagles was a nice experience for me. Everything in camp is okay. Honestly, I feel good to be among these chosen ones. I will do my best in the game come Saturday if I get the coach’s nod,” said the former Almeria of Spain player, who was a surprise call-up for the Kenya game.

Eagles stars led by Mikel Obi have promised a good AFCON outing after they drew champions Zambia and Burkina Faso in the first round.

On Wednesday, Nigeria were drawn in Group C in Nelspruit, along with Ethiopia also.

Chelsea midfielder Mikel Obi said it was a favourable draw for Nigeria.

“The draw favours us even though I am not saying we will just run over the other teams, but looking at the opposition, it is a group we should have upper hand,” said Mikel.

“We just have to take all the teams in the group seriously and we will be okay. I think the draw favours us.”

“It is a very good first round group for us. I am sure no team there can stop us and so we will make it out of this group,” added Russia-based Ahmed Musa, who is set to make his Nations Cup debut in South Africa.

However, Celtic defender Efe Ambrose warned that even though Nigeria will be fancied to go past this first round, they will need to prepare well to ensure they live up to expectations.

“It’s a good draw. But I will not say it would be an easy walk for the Eagles. When something looks very easy on the surface, it may not be the same in the inside. So, we must prepare very well because there are no longer small teams in Africa,” cautioned Ambrose.

The Eagles will begin their quest for a third Nations Cup title on January 21 against fellow West Africans Burkina Faso, who they last clashed with at the 1978 tournament in Ghana.

Nigeria won that game 4-2 against the Burkinabes, who were then known as Upper Volta.