Nigeria’s youth national team, Flying Eagles’ coach, Aliyu Zubairu is picking positives from his side’s 1-1 draw with Ghana on Thursday at the WAFU-B U20 Championship, as he reckoned that his boys were able to ‘rise to the occasion’ against their tough hosts.
Sports247 reports that it took a determined header by Mohammed Abdullahi off a corner kick to draw Nigeria level midway through the second half, after the Ghanaians shot into an early lead.
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While taking another look at the encounter, which was played at Ghanaman Soccer Centre of Excellence in Prampram, Zubairu further pointed out that the hosts resorted to physical tactics in order to turn the table against his side, who defeated them in last year’s final.
“Generally, it was a good match. The Ghanaians came all out, wanting to take revenge, and that made the game more physical. The boys rose to the occasion and performed better in the second half to get the equaliser.
“Generally, considering it was the first match, the boys still gave a good account of themselves,” Zubairu, who remained calm all through the game, pointed out.
He will now turn his focus fully on the next and last group match against Benin Republic this Sunday, knowing that victory in the game would take his side early into the semi-finals.
