Football fans have said that the ouster of the country’s representatives in the CAF Confederation Cup meant that they should go back to the drawing board and prepare better for future encounters.
The country’s flag bearers in the competition, FC IfeanyiUbah of Nnewi and Wikki Tourists of Bauchi crashed out of the tournament on Sunday.
The Anambra Warriors lost 0-3 on penalties after they tied 1-1 on aggregate against their Egyptian opponent, El-Masry
Wikki Tourists on the other hand, crashed out after failing to get the needed result against the club from Sierra Leone, RSLAF FC.
Some fans told newsmen on Monday in Lagos that the teams’ ouster from the tournament was unfortunate but it should get them back to the drawing board.
Dosu Joseph, a member of the Atlanta ‘96 Olympic gold medalists in football, told pressmen that penalty could have gone either way.
He said that the League Management Company (LMC) did the needful by ensuring that the league started early before the commencement of the championship.
“They started the league early enough for the teams to prepare for their continental engagements.
“Its just unfortunate that FC IfeanyiUbah played very well, but finished with a 1-1 aggregate and was ousted through penalties which is anybody’s game.
“As for Wikki tourist, they lost the game away and they allowed their opponents to score two, they just need to go back to the drawing board to get right next time,’’ Dosu said
Cyril Oriaku, a player in Kwara United FC, told NAN that Nigerian clubs so much believed that they needed to influence the match official to win.
“The CAF Champions League and Confederations Cup are not always business as usual; in our league here, match officials can be influenced, but over there, it’s not possible.
“In those days when you beat Enyimba away, they will make sure they grab all their points when you visit them at home, the reverse is the case now,’’ Oriaku said.
Ex-international Waidi Akanni said the clubs did their best even though, their best wasn’t enough.
“FC IfeanyiUbah tried; it’s just unfortunate that they could not make it to the next round.
“They now know what it takes to make it past the first round when the opportunity comes again,’’ Akanni said.
FC Ifeanyi Ubah had recorded a narrow 1-0 win in the first leg of the preliminaries in Nnewi and only needed to force a draw on their hosts to reach the next stage.
IfeayinUbah defeated Nassarawa United FC at the Federation Cup final to qualify for the CAF Confederation Cup, while Wikki Tourist finished among the first three in the 2015/2016 season.
IfeanyiUbah are currently 17th with seven points from six matches, while Wikki Tourist currently occupies the 18th position with seven points from 6 matches played so far in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).
Both clubs have three outstanding matches to play in the ongoing NPFL.
The post Fans say FC IfeanyiUbah, Wikki Tourists CAF Confederation Cup ouster unfortunate appeared first on Vanguard News.
Vía Vanguard News http://ift.tt/2kZTBEg
No comments:
Post a Comment