Coach Samson Siasia has blamed the Nigeria
U-23 team’s embarrassing 6-2 defeat by
Denmark at the Suwon Invitational
Tournament on Saturday on several
mistakes by his boys that were ruthlessly
punished by the Danes. Siasia said this
much at the post match conference after the
game played at the Goyang Sports Complex.
“We got it wrong from the blast of the
referee’s whistle; we made so many
mistakes; we didn’t play like we were
meant to. The Danes did not play so well in
their first game but they were tactically
sound and we simply did not know how to
defend against them.
“There were too many blunders on our side.
We allowed them to control and pass the
ball, and that’s how we got killed. It’s so
embarrassing. I have never lost by six goals
anywhere since I started my coaching
career. All the same, that’s why we are
here, to look at the guys that can play, and
the ones that we can take to the Olympics.
“It is very embarrassing, not because we
lost, but the way we lost. Now, we have to
snap out of it. We still have one more game
to play; we will work hard to see that one
turns out differently.”
Siasia said his biggest problem is the
defence, as well as the inability of the
strikers to convert the goal-scoring
opportunities that have come their way at
the tournament, beginning with the 1-0 loss
to host South Korea on Thursday.
The Dream Team lost 6-2 to Denmark in its
second game at the 4-Nation Suwon
Invitational Football Tournament, conceding
the first goal in the 26th minute after
central defender Erhun Obanor nodded the
ball past a stranded goalkeeper Daniel. This
came after Daniel had saved a 7th minute
penalty after Obanor handled the ball.
After the first goal, the Danes were all over
Nigeria and in the 34th minute scored the
second goal through Emil Larsen, who went
on to bag a hat-trick by scoring in the 38th
and 54th minutes. Patrick Da Silva scored
the fifth in the 62nd minute and Emiliano
Marcondes scored the sixth in the 75th
minute. The Dream Team pulled two goals
back in the 85th and 88th minutes through
Taiwo Abdulrahman.
The Nigeria U-23 will play its last game at
the tournament against Honduras on
Monday at the 35,000-capacity Bucheon
Sports Complex, starting from 3.30pm local
time, which is 7.30am in Nigeria.
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