Relieved Ugbade promises better outing in quarterfinals

Golden Eaglets coach, Nduka Ugbade, has promised to present a better team in the quarterfinals of the ongoing African U-17 Cup of Nations in Algeria.

Ugbade, who expressed relief after his side’s 3-2 defeat of South Africa, which gave Nigeria passage to the quarterfinals at the Mohamed Hamlaoui Stadium in Constantine, on Saturday, acknowledged that there would be no margin for errors in the knockout stage.

Saturday’s victory saw the Golden Eaglets finish second in Group B and earn an available automatic qualification slot.
“It was a really tough match because South Africa is a really good team and they gave us a tough time. They have three players that are really good, Mabena (Siyabonga), Mkhawana (Vicky) and Dokunmu (Michael). They are very talented players and I was honestly scared of them at first,” Ugbade told cafonline.com.

He expressed delight that his side is finally firing well to score three goals, having struggled to find the back of the net in their first two games despite creating so many chances.

“This victory has restored the boys’ confidence. We needed such a win going into the knockout rounds and it is our belief that we can handle the pressure there.

“The loss to Morocco was also a good lesson for us. When you’re at a championship, you need a winning mentality, but also a match that provides good lessons along the way. Both factors make for a very strong and ready squad.”

“We worked a bit in training and we did some corrections. We realised that it was purely psychological and we talked to the players and we saw an improvement today. We might have conceded two but I am glad we scored three,” he added.

Nigeria will now face Burkina Faso in the quarterfinals on Wednesday in their quest to quench a 16-year wait for the title and earn a record-extending third crown.

South Africa finished third on three points and were anxiously waiting for yesterday’s results from Group C to see whether they can squeeze in to the last eight as one of two best third-placed teams.

The Amajimbos had a brilliant start and got into the lead after six minutes when Vicky Mkhawana shot low into the net after Waylon Renecke’s header from Gabriel Amato’s corner came off the post.

But, Nigeria constantly camped in South Africa’s half, forcing them to defend deep as they sought an equalizer. Abdullahi placed the ball marginally wide one on one with the keeper, while Charles Agada had a goal disallowed for offside.

The pressure finally bore fruit in the 33rd minute when Agada equalised with a header after a corner was brushed to his path unmarked at the back post.

At the stroke of halftime, South Africa keeper Gennaro Johnson made a good save with his foot to deny Abdullahi one on one with a volley inside the box.

In the second minute of added time, South Africa retook the lead with some brilliant piece of individual brilliance from Siyabonga Mabena.

The Mamelodi Sundowns man picked the ball on the left before taking on two markers and unleashing a belter of a shot that came off the underside of the bar and beyond the line.

Nonetheless, the Nigerians drew level once again just seconds into the second half when Light Eke tapped home inside the box after a cross from Agada off a good run on the right found him well-placed.

They scored the winner in the 65th minute when Abdullahi sneaked in between the two central defenders to extend a foot and direct Emmanuel Michael’s cross into the net.