Flying Eagles’ first leg blunder

Flying Eagles’ first leg blunder

By Clem Oluwole

Last Saturday, our junior national soccer squad, the Flying Eagles, blundered to a 3 – 2 defeat in the first leg of the final round of the African chapter of the Junior World Cup qualifying race.

I had the opportunity of watching the live coverage on my television set. It was still a case of us not knowing how to deal with teams from the French-speaking countries of this continent.

Before I go into the factors which contributed to our defeat last Saturday, I will like to refresh the memories of my readers about what happened in the previous Junior World Cup races vis-à-vis our Flying Eagles.

In September, 1978, we were drawn against the same Cameroonian side. In the first leg played in Lagos, the Junior Eagles forced the invaders to a 1 – 1 draw. The visitors grabbed their lone goal in the 10th minute of the match. However, the Nigerians went to Cameroon and turned the tables there. We won by 1 – 0 to move to the next round.

Then in January, 1979, the Junior Eagles, led by Sylvanus Okpala, lost 0 – 1 to their Guinean counterparts in the first leg in Lagos. But to the amazement of the Guinean and Nigerian soccer disciples, the Junior Eagles went to Conakry and grabbed a 1 – 1 draw when the hosts should have had a massacre day, though the Guineans qualified for the final round on account of their 1 – 0 victory in Lagos.

Back to last Saturday’s defeat. What largely contributed to the Flying Eagles’ misfortune was not their late return to the camp as it is being argued in certain quarters. The first point is that we simply met our masters at least on that day. In fact, the visitors got the curtain raiser at the time one least expected. If anything, I was confident that the Flying Eagles would score first. I missed the first goal but the commentator attributed it to a defensive error. The two other goals scored by the visitors resulted from defensive errors as well.

Those who watched the match will agree with me that the second goal came through a badly timed sliding tackle by an Eagles’ defender. The attacker took off like a Jumbo Jet after avoiding the tackle. Another Eagles’ defender confronted him but the attacker had no problem getting rid of him. The attacker approached our eighteen and headed for the goal line. The Eagles’ goalkeeper covered the angle and as such, he expected a pull out. But the shrewd attacker put the ball into the net through the very angle covered by the goalkeeper.

Here, one must give full marks to the Eagles’ ace midfielder Henry Nwosu who cancelled the two goals in a manner that amazed me. And so one felt that if anything, the match had better end in a 2 – 2 draw. But the Eagles threw every man into attack. Or so it seemed. Or the Cameroonians lured the Eagles into doing so, knowing fully well that the midfield, where a match is won or lost, was theirs. Then suddenly, there was a computerized thorough pass from the midfield. Eagles’ last man in the defence, Skipper Franklin Howard, was standing side by side with a Cameroonian target man. This is where I praise the visitors’ superb sense of anticipation. For, before our man knew that his prisoner had escaped, he (the target man) had covered a safe distance. Howard rolled up his pants and gave him a hot chase but it was a case of shutting the stable door after the horse had bolted away. Poor goalkeeper Mike Ekpeyong rushed out to make a save but the well tutored attacker, who possessed an assassin’s instinct in front of goal, simply lifted the ball over the goalkeeper’s head for the vital decider.

Like the saying goes, it is no use crying over spilled milk. It is not impossible that the Flying Eagles can go to Cameroon and beat their conquerors like they did in 1978. But they will have to score two goals, conceding none to be able to qualify for the finals proper to be held in Australia in August. Their handlers will have to work extra hard. There is the tendency that the hosts will play with an air of over-confidence. Besides, they will police Henry Nwosu so heavily and by so doing, there will be room for others in the Eagles’ attack to cause the havoc.

I suggest that Lukman Oshun and Sunday Daniel should be fielded from the beginning. Oshun missed playing in the first leg because of the red card he earned in the match against the Tunisian side in the return leg played in Tunisia. Something has to be done in the midfield where Alfred Keyede, Stephen Keshi and Idris Musa failed to control for 90 minutes.

Good luck.

Obisia needs help

In his first post-victory press conference, Obisia Nwakpa, the World Super Lightweight title aspirant, confirmed the fears of many boxing fans that if the Argentinean invader had kept his cool and delivered a good, solid punch, he would have been knocked out in the very last round.

What kept him going, he said, was his great love for this nation. In other words, if the fight had not taken place here, one could have been telling a different story since last week.

In the final analysis, the title chaser appealed to the federal government to come to his aid. For, according to him, it was Mr. Isaac Akioye, Director of Sports, National Sports Commission, who helped in settling his expenses in London where he went to prepare for the fight. Although Obisia is in the paid rank, his victory as a world champion will be a pride to this nation which has been starved of world titles since the days of Hogan Kid Bassey and Dick Tiger of blessed memories. Here is appealing to the Federal Minister for Sports, Chief Paulinus Amadike, to answer this clarion call for moral and financial aid to Obisia. This is our chance and we cannot afford to miss it. After all, Chief Amadike will only be remembered for the laurels won by this country during his tenure and not as a Federal Minister for Sports.

Lest I forget, the Human Atomic Bomb, Hogan Jimoh, is yet to hold his first post-defeat press conference declaring his stand on hanging his gloves for losing a second time to Zimbabwean Langton Tinago. The silence we are witnessing now can be interpreted to mean that the Atomic Bomb is changing or has changed his mind. He has kept those of us who admire the way he bombed his way to winning the Commonwealth crown before he lost it, in suspense. Methinks there is nothing wrong in one’s style of fighting provided it is yielding victories and is allowed by the rules of the game. Jimoh should not feel ashamed to declare his stand. After all, ring wizards like Muhammad Ali and George Foreman have eaten their words several times. For, it appears the poor guy, now 26, is at sea over what next to turn to for livelihood besides throwing bombs in the ring.

Akioye to note

Last week, an announcement was made that Mr. Isaac Akioye has been made the Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC). There is nothing new in this appointment. As far back as 1978, Mr. Akioye has been the director-general of the NSC. Ask Major-General Henry Adefope who was the Federal Commissioner for Sports at that time.

I reliably learnt that Mr. Akioye was sent on compulsory leave for reasons not made public. One is only left with a guess. And the Moscow Olympic sex scandal springs to mind every now and then as the main reason.

Mr. Akioye’s trouble began in September, 1977, when the then Federal Commissioner for Sports, Mr. Dandason Isokrari, fired him with a suspension letter for going to Yugoslavia to talk back ‘Father Tiko’ in the wake of the Green Eagles’ preparation for the 1978 World Cup qualifying race. We all know the story. There was a nationwide condemnation of Isokrari’s action. And that was when Akioye was enjoying a unique popularity.

Having been recalled, the best thing for the director-general to do is to quit the stage. Personally, I admire Mr. Akioye for the immense contributions he has made to Nigerian sports since 1975, whatever might be his shortcomings. After all, he is a human being and we are all susceptible to mistakes. But as the saying goes, if you are not wanted in a town, and you propose a tune, nobody will sing after you.

Surely, Mr. Akioye can return to his lecture room and count his blessings. Unfolding results after leaving the stage will prove, for once, whether or not he has been a failure.

(Culled from Saturday Commentary, first published on March 21, 1981).