Head coach of the Sudanese team that defeated Nigeria 4-0 at the ongoing CHAN Championship has explained how his team overcame the Nigerians at the tournament.
Defender Leonard Ngenge, culpable for his infamous walking pace while Senegal sped forward to score their only goal in Nigeria’s first match on Tuesday last week, scored an own goal against his team in the 23rd minute, setting the stage for a rout that left ball fans aghast across the land.
Sudan raced to 2-0 up just before half-time when the same Ngenge, who plays for Ikorodu City in the Nigeria Premier Football League, clumsily touched the ball with his hand in an aerial contest, and Daiyeen made no mistake from the spot against the hapless Lawal Mustapha.
Only 10 minutes into the second period, it was 3-0 as Yagoub Omer finished with a flourish after the Sudanese turned the Nigeria defence inside out, and there was no meaningful effort by all of five defenders to checkmate the marauding Falcons of Jediane.
It got worse seven minutes later, when Sudan poured forward again, and Omer showed audacious technique to blast the ball onto the underside of the crossbar and watch it drop into the net behind a beleaguered Mustapha.
While admitting that the 4-0 scoreline was flattering , a result which effectively knocked Nigeria out of the tournament as they also lost their first game of the tournament.
The coach however revealed that they got the win because of the poor tactics employed by the coach of the Nigerian team Eric Chelle, who was drafted to the team to replace the duo of Fidelis Ikechukwu and Daniel Ogunmodede, who were in charge during the qualifiers.
“ I wasn’t expecting that scoreline. I knew we could beat Nigeria but not by that scoreline (4-0). The Nigerian team is not that bad. They just need some tactical improvement.” – Sudan coach Kwesi Appiah revealed.
