Onochie Anibeze
18 August 2008
Nigeria's Under-23 coach, Samson Siasia has described Nigeria's quarter-final win over Ivory Coast as their best performance so far in the Olympics.
Speaking after Nigeria won 2-0, Siasia said he was happy because his boys played to instruction.
"Today, for one of the first times my players played to instruction and I'm actually very pleased with them. I'm glad we won and I'm glad we're going to the semi-finals. This was the best game we've played so far.
"Tactically we've been uncertain, we've been continually unsure, but today (Saturday) we looked good. We talked about how we'd play against the Ivorians and the players followed the plan", Siasia added.
On his part, Ivorian coach, Gerard Gili, conceded that the better side won. "It was a very close match between two hard working sides. Both teams had a lot of opportunities, but they took their chances and we didn't. Nigeria are a good side, a mature side and a physical side that wins a lot of battles. This was our first Olympics and we were a little excited and maybe that caused us to switch off for the goals.
"Only one of us could go through to the semis - and unfortunately for us it was Nigeria. Hopefully, we can qualify for South Africa 2010 and perhaps you might see several of these players in the squad", added the Frenchman. Also speaking, Nigerian captain and scorer of the second goal, Victor Obinna Nsofor, said the pressure is now on Nigeria to win the gold medal.
"Yes, there is pressure back in Nigeria to win the gold, but that's normal, we're used to it. Back home they know exactly what this team is capable of and with us winning the gold medal in 1996, they are desperate for us to do it again. "However, we're not there yet. We have to play Belgium and they will be a tough side to beat. We hope that we win the game - and if we do what the coach asks us to do, I think we'll do it", he added.
In his own reaction, Emmanuel Kone, Côte d'Ivoire midfielder, said "It has been a great experience both for myself and all the players. It's my first experience of the Olympics Games, so from now on I'm going to work even harder to make the squad for future events with my team-mates".
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