Lagos — Glo Premier League campaigners, Heartland of Owerri have reacted to Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) board member, Taiwo Ogunjobi's criticism that the club played below par when they engaged Flying Eagles in a friendly encounter.

The match was meant to assess Flying Eagles preparedness before they travelled to Rwanda for Africa Youth Championship but Ogunjobi suggested that Heartland did not give their best against them. He spoke with kickoffnigeria website in an interview posted on the website.

"It was disappointing to see the way they played. And they are supposed to be the team at the top of the League. It is a problem that affects the whole league, and the reason is that we do not have proper coaching structures at the grassroots and youth levels so that young players can learn the basic of the game at an early level," Ogunjobi was quoted.

While Heartland said the experience of the former Nigeria Football Association (NFA) scribe is respected, the club media officer Cajetan Nkwopara submitted that he must have been misquoted by the media.

"I don't think Chief Taiwo Oguinjobi said that. After the match, he came to us and commended us for good display. What would have changed his mind? We outplayed the Flying Eagles and put behind our mind that they are going for a competition. Injury at that stage would have been bad, so what would we benefit by going into tough tackles with a Nigerian team on the eve of a competition? We focussed on tactical display against them and we achieved that even though we lost by 1-0. The fans were angry that two penalties were not awarded to us. If those were granted, we would have won, but like I said, the result did not matter to us. If for anything the Flying Eagles needed it to retain the nation's confidence in them.

"As for Ogunjobi's criticism, people are entitled to their opinion. He is a respected fellow in Nigerian football and here at Heartland, we hold him in high esteem. We are not bothered because he might have been misquoted in the context. We are top Premier league club and Nigeria's representatives in this year's CAF champions league. Our display against Flying Eagles is not a reflection of what to expect when Champions league kicks off next month. We are ready and our position on the table speaks for us."