Speaking on behalf of his teammates, Skipper of the side, Chigozie Agbim, said all the players were very happy that they were not redundant in January, following the mishap of non-qualification for the ongoing Nations Cup championship in Equatorial Guinea
Browsing: Chigozie Agbim
The players said the mere fact that the team did not make it to the Equatorial Guinea 2015 Nations Cup was enough to demoralize the NFF, but the Executive Committee and the Secretariat of the body still thought it wise to arrange a January outing for the team, almost the same time the Nations Cup will be starting
Daniel Amokachi leads the technical crew in the absence of Stephen Keshi
The NYSC side actually drew the first blood in only the second minute of the match when number 10 shirted Nwowu Ikenna, sleek dribbles in the Eagles vital area ended on the legs of teammate, Omefe Ifeanyi, who did a ‘thank you very much’, by slotting home from close range
Assistant Coach, Dan ‘The Bull’ Amokachi, and Team Coordinator, Emmanuel Attah, moderated the interaction
All other players invited for the game are expected on Tuesday before dinner time
The first timers emerged with a bronze medal at the tourney, with skipper of the side, Chigozie Agbim, pleading with Nigerians for coming short of their expectations
Agbim told the News Agency of Nigeria in Bloemfontein, South Africa on Tuesday that the Eagles were training hard for the match
The Nigerian boys did the unthinkable on the stroke of time when the enterprising Ejike Uzoenyi hit a powerful shot with his unusual right leg to keep Nigeria in the game and forced it into extra time
Giving this assurance in a telephone chat on Tuesday, Shorunmu believed that the CHAN 2014 Eagles’ captain has since put behind his mistakes in their group stage of the competition and is focused on transforming the fortunes of the team
A sober Agbim, who spoke at the team’s Garden Court De Waal Hotel abode in Cape Town, said he was the most disappointed individual at the display and said that if given the chance to continue as the number one goalie of the national team, he will make up for past mistakes
The big boss noted that the keeper may have limitations like all goalkeepers in the world but the poor state of the Cape Town Stadium contributed greatly to his performance
It was Mozambique that drew the first blood in the 10th minute when a stunning free kick by the Mambas captain, Dioro Khan, caught goalkeeper Chigozie Agbim off his line and went straight into the net
Usual suspects Solomon Kwambe, Francis Benjamin, Kunle Odunlami, Umar Zango, Barnabas Imenger, Daniel Akpeyi and Ifeanyi Ede also made the list
Head Coach, Stephen Keshi, disclosed that there was little time left for the technical crew to prune down the present squad from 30 players to 23, hence the need to intensify training and get the best out of the players in camp
While Jordan will use the match to prepare for their 2014 FIFA World Cup play-off fixture against the fifth-placed team in the South American campaign (likely to be Uruguay), Keshi will have another look at his ammunition for the 2014 African Nations Championship taking place in South Africa in January
Agbim was reacting to reports in a section of the media, which quoted him as saying that he is a full Rangers player and owes his allegiance to the Enugu side
Agbim was joined by the likes of Godfrey Oboabona, Azubuike Egwuekwe, Benjamin Francis, Rabiu Ali and by dinner time almost all the 24 players invited for the crucial tie against the Ivorians had arrived
More were expected as training, which will be twice daily, commences on Monday morning at the training pitch of the National Stadium, Abuja
The Media Officer of Warri Wolves, Moses Etu, said in a statement on Saturday that the club was willing to let go of the two players