11th July, 2013
Chief Coach of Alausa United, Chidi Nwaigwe has posited that his team deserve to win the Ikeja Soccer Challenge tagged ‘Golden Chance Cup’ which was concluded at the weekend.
Alausa United defeated Watson Football 2-1 on penalty shoot-out after the tie ended one goal apiece in regulation time.
Nwaigwe attributed their victory to the support of their teeming fans told P.M.NEWS Grassroots soccer Guide that winning the trophy was well deserved and commended his players for playing to instructions. He said his players raised their game in the final because they had lost 0-2 to Watson FC in the group stage.
‘‘It was a sweet victory for my team because nobody gave us a chance, when the competition started a week ago, I am happy today (Saturday) that we were able to silence our critics and avenged the defeat we suffered in the hands of our opponents in the group stage,’’ said Nwaigwe.
In his reaction, coach of Watson, Awala Dennis congratulated the eventual winners for the victory. He admitted that both teams played good football but the better side won the match. He said his players lost concentration in the second half which cost their defeat.
‘’We played badly in the second half and allowed our opponents to get the equaliser. It was so painful but we need to go back home and prepare for another tournament,’’ he said.
Chairman Organising Committee, Tayo Aderinola expressed satisfaction over the performance of the finalists. He noted that this year’s edition was better organised and the standard of play by participating teams was quite impressive.
Aderinola, who is the Executive Director of Adsense Media Services explained that the objective of the tournament is to discover talents at the grassroots, harness and develop the potentials of youths within Lagos State and its environs.
Meanwhile,in the final game,Candy Augustine drew the first blood for Watson FC in the 12th minute to end the first half 1-0. Alausa United piled pressure on their opponents in the early part of the second half before their efforts was rewarded when Nasiru Yusuf got the equaliser in the 75th minute to drag the encounter to penalty shoot-outs.
Stanley Abazie of Alausa United was the match hero during as he saved two penalty kicks to seal victory for his team.