Delta Queens blame early exit on poor officiating, sophisticated facilities

The Head Coach of Delta Queens hockey team, Richard Adeoye, has blamed poor officiating for their early exit at the ongoing African Cup for Club Hockey Championships in Egypt.

Delta Queens lost 1-3 to Ghana Revenue Authority on Wednesday evening in the Egyptian city of Ismailia to wave goodbye to the championships.

The Asaba-based team had defeated one of the favourite sides, El Sharkia of Egypt 2-0 after walking over Kampala Girls of Uganda, who could not arrive on time due to flight related Issues.

The team’s ambition of picking a quarterfinal ticket on Wednesday evening was cut short by Ghana Revenue Authority.

Speaking with The Guardian yesterday, Adeoye alleged that the Egyptian referees played a key role in their elimination from the championships.

“We came to Egypt well motivated by the state government, particularly top officials of the Sports Commission,” Adeoye said. “The officiating in our match against Ghana on Wednesday evening was beyond our imagination. The referee acted as if she was sent to practically stop us from making progress in the championships. She used the power of her whistle to stop every move made by my players.

”At a point, virtually everyone inside the stadium became suspicious of the referee (umpire) due to the way she was using the whistle to truncate every move by my players. Though the weather was not too friendly, but overall, we gave a good account of ourselves in the championship.”

Also speaking on their exit, the assistant coach, Sunny Ogodogo, stated that the difference between the facilities they used in training for the championships and the ones used at the competition venue was another major problem.

“Yes, the weather affected our girls, but I can say that the facilities we used in training back home for this championship are not up to the standard of the ones that we saw here in Egypt. There is big difference, which in a way, affected our girls,” Ogodogo stated.

It was not clear yesterday if facilities at the Hockey Stadium in Okpanam, which was commissioned last year ahead of the National Youth Games hosted in Asaba, has suddenly deteriorated.

The 1-3 defeat to Ghana, last Wednesday was the second loss suffered by Delta Queens in the championships, having lost 0-2 to fellow Nigerian team, Kada Queens on February 1.

Over 20 other African countries are in Egypt for the championships.

The Nigerians are expected to return home tomorrow.