By Samm Etuk
Nigerian U-17 Coach, John Obuh is excited with his team’s tactical progress saying that it’s the only thing that will keep them in the competition till the final. The Eaglets were on rampage against their New Zealand opponents with their 5-0 thrashing of the new comers.
The result did not really excite the Eaglets coach like their improvement in the game and teamwork which he has been working on in the past two days prior to the round of 16 game. The Eaglets will now meet Korea in the quarter-finals at the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calalabar next Monday.
“We’re going home, where the game began in this part of the World, I’m happy with the progress of my team. We came together late and have progressed with every match which is what I was actually banking on. Also, we played with cohesion as a team. Going to Clabar for the next match is great because football is going home,” Obuh told africansportsdigest.com immediately after the match.
From the kick off, Nigeria left nobody in doubt about their attacking formation which was directed at ensuring that their opponents were kept in their own half while the two lead strikers go for goals.
Two goals hero, Edafe Egbedi opened scores in the 14 minutes when his sizzling strike from the left foot beat Coey Turip, the New Zealand goalkeeper. He has Terry Envoh to thank too for their find combination which led to the opener.
As the new comers were contemplating how to checkmate the Nigeria’s attacking onslaught which resulted in the early strike, mesmerizing Stanley Okoro, who was the Eaglets lead scorer prior to the tournament slammed home from a spilled ball by the goalkeeper to make it 2-0.
Four minutes later, Egbedi tucked home his second for the day, after receiving a thorough pass inside the 18 yard box, before homing in a left-footed culler for the third. Then there were no stopping the humming Eaglets attack as their torrential raids in the area confused the Kiwis, who became a little bit rough until a red card was issued to Cameron Lindsay. No goals were scored in this half again.
The second stanza still witnessed Nigeria’s flying attack, but with New Zealand trying to fight back. But the inclusion of Sani Emmanuel and Kayode in this half emboldened the attack the more. Emmanuel went ahead to grab two goals in the 74 and 79 minutes with Okoro supplying the passes.
Emmanuel’s last goal was impressive as he swerved the goalkeeper aside before curling home the ball.