29th April, 2013
Some football fans in Lagos on Sunday hailed the efforts of the Golden Eaglets in placing second at the CAF U-17 Cup in Morocco which ended on Saturday.
The Eaglets lost 4-5 on penalties to the Young Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire.
The enthusiasts said the Eaglets had raised the bar through their sterling performance at the competition, but that luck was not on their side.
They urged the Manu Garba-led team to go back to the drawing board and work on modalities for them to win future competitions.
Paul Hamilton, a former Super Falcons coach, said that the second position for the team was not a bad one.
He said the team performed well as they put in all their efforts in the game, adding that luck was not on their side.
“Well, the boys have tried their best; everyone will attest to this, they lost to their opponents not because of laxity but that luck ran against them,’’ Hamilton told News Agency of Nigeria, NAN.
Fatai Amao, a former Super Eagles Assistant Coach, said that the Eaglets were determined in their quest to win the cup.
He, however, said that the Young Elephants were more determined because they had vowed to spoil the show for Nigeria.
“The Elephants were spoilers because the Eaglets were determined but you know penalties cannot be predicted but in all, they did well,’’ Amao said.
Fanny Amun, a 1993 U-17 World Cup winning coach, said that the Eaglets displayed high technical abilities and regretted that their efforts were not crowned.
“The technical crew of the team did a good job only that their efforts were not crowned,’’ Amun said.
Seyi Akinwunmi, Chairman, Lagos State Football Association, praised football lovers for supporting the Eaglets throughout the competition.
He urged the technical crew to go back to the drawing board for the team to perform better in future engagements.
Tayo Balogun, a sports analyst, said the team should not be overhauled since many of the players were promising, adding that their proficiency would help them to get contracts in foreign clubs.