|
|
Nigeria/Burkina Faso: Home-Based Eagles Fly Over Stallions
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
This Day (Lagos)
5 May 2008
Posted to the web 5 May 2008
Ernest Chinwo
Calabar
Nigeria's home-based Eagles started their campaign in the newly introduced CAF African Nations Championship (CHAN) on a promising note as they beat Stallions of Burkina Faso 2-0 yesterday at the U.J Esuene Stadium, Calabar.
Bello Kofarmata put Nigeria in the lead when he scored from the left flank in the 29th minute of the game while Eze Otorogu made it two in the 61st minute through a goal-mouth scramble.
Though the match ended in favour of the hosts, the Burkinabes gave a good account of themselves as they on many occasions created anxious moments for Nigeria.
Speaking with newsmen at the end of the match, Coach Okey Emordi expressed satisfaction with the performance of his team.
He said the match had exposed some of the weaknesses of the Eagles and said the observed lapses would be corrected before the team's away tie in Ouagadougou.
Cross River State Governor, Senator Liyel Imoke who was in the Stadium to watch the match also expressed satisfaction with team.
Addressing the players at the end of the match, Imoke urged them to realize the challenges ahead of them and work towards winning the first edition of the Championship.
He said that as a state, Cross River would be willing to host any of their matches and pledged the preparedness of his government to partner with other agencies and bodies to ensure the success of the team.
In some other matches played, DR Congo moved a step closer to the final qualifying round of African Nations Championship after beating neighbours Congo 3-0 yesterday.
The Simbas got off to a bright start with striker Yve Diba opening the scoring in the first minute of the first round, first leg game.
The home side doubled their lead nine minutes later through Mputu Mabi Tresor before Kabangu Mulondo wrapped up the win on 71 minutes.
The emphatic victory for the Simbas means Congo has an uphill task in the second-leg in two weeks' time.
Angola secured a vital away draw in Mozambique also yesterday when the game finished 1-1 in Beira.
The visitors took the lead through Arsenio 'Love' Cabungula on 24 minutes but the home sides rallied to draw level on the half hour mark thanks to a strike by Soniko.
Tanzania also boosted their chances of reaching the ultimate qualifying round of thanks to their 2-0 win over Uganda on Saturday.
Goals from Emmanuel Gabriel and Shaaban Nditi in the first round, first leg game in Mwanza secured the victory for the home side.
Gabriel opened the scoring for the Taifa Stars on 12 minutes when he fired home a cross from Mrisho Ngasa.
Tanzania doubled their lead on the hour mark through Nditi, who toe-poked the ball into the net after a goal-mouth scramble.
The Cranes had their fair share in chances but the home goalkeeper kept them at bay with some good saves.
The two sides will meet in the second leg in two weeks' time and the winner of the tie will qualify for the ultimate round.
Also seeking a place in the final round is Botswana who beat Zambia 1-0 in their first round, first-leg game in Gaborone on Friday.
|
Libya and South Africa have qualified to the final round following the withdrawals of their opponents.
The second leg matches has been scheduled for 16-18 May.
Cote d'Ivoire will host the maiden edition from the February next year.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
