AYC: Obuh Slams F/Eagles Over Poor Finishing

Head coach of Nigeria’s U-20 team, Flying Eagles, John Obuh, has voiced his displeasure over his team’s poor finishing despite beating Gabon 1-0 at the 2013 African Youth Championship, AYC in Algeria last night.

Nigeria suffered a shock 0-1 loss to Mali in their opening game on Sunday, prompting Obuh to call for a swift reaction from his charges against Gabon in their second preliminary game.

Abduljelil Ajagun’s expertly-dispatched penalty in the 20th minute inspired the Flying Eagles to their first win of the tournament and Obuh was suitably impressed.

The trainer, however, lamented the consistent failure of his forwards to convert the many chances that came their way.

“We thank God for this victory, but we were again missing chances. Our problem of scoring goals gave Gabon the strength to fight back,” Obuh said after the game.

The former Sharks FC coach then revealed that he was surprised at the quality of Gabonese side conceding that: “they were better than we expected”.

“Also, we came up against a very different and better Gabon than the team we saw draw 0-0 with DR Congo on Sunday. They were better than we expected,” he said.

Meanwhile, striker Olanrewaju Kayode will miss Saturday’s AYC final Group B clash against DR Congo after he received his second booking of the competition.

The all-action striker was booked by the Tunisian referee Youssef Essreyaryi for ignoring his whistle by putting the ball into the net after he was blown offside.

His first booking was against Mali in the opening game versus Mali.

Even though he has yet to find the back of the net, Kayode has been the livewire of the Flying Eagles strike force with his persistence and speed.

The former Asec Mimosas of Abidjan star has impressed several scouts in Algeria for the U20 championship.

His likely replacements are Enugu Rangers front man Alhaji Gero, who was the team’s joint leading scorer in the qualifiers with four goals, and Umar Aminu, who plays as a second striker for Wikki Tourists in the Nigeria premier league.

Defending champions Nigeria need only a draw against DRC on Saturday afternoon in Oran to reach the semi-finals of the tournament and qualify for the FIFA U20 World Cup in Turkey in June.

With a draw, they will top closest rivals Gabon on the head-to-head rule having beaten them 1-0 on Wednesday even if the Junior Panthers get a cricket score in their final group game against group leaders Mali.

Yesterday’s Results

Gabon 0-1 Nigeria

DR Congo 1-2 Mali