Nigeria coach Sunday Oliseh has claimed that his team’s first half shaky performance was as a result of the fact that tmost of his players were playing on the international scene for the first time.
The Super Eagles were held to a goalless draw by the Menas in the first half but things changed in the second half with Osas Okoro breaking the deadlock as Chisom Chikatara scored thrice in Nigeria’s 4-1 win.
“In the first half we were very poor. We didn’t do things right and failed to play to our strength. We had a gameplan which we did not follow and it reflected in our overall performance on the pitch,” Oliseh was quoted by CompleteSports.
“To be fair on the players, it was the first big tournament some of them will be participating in and it affected their performance in the first 45 minutes.
“But I think towards the end of the first half, I mean the last 15 minutes, we improved a little bit and continued from there after the break.”
Coach Sunday Oliseh also congratulated his super substitute Chisom Chikatara who came off the bench to score three goals in the second half. He praised the positive spirit of the players in ensuring they got their first win in the first game.
“We are happy for him. He is a good lad who has a bright future ahead of him. We hope he keeps improving and score more goals in the competition,” he continued.
“The other substitutes (Kalu Orji and Usman Mohammed) did well too. All the players were determined to start the competition on a positive note and I want to congratulate them for the victory.
Oliseh dismissed claims that his men are favourites to lift the CHAN trophy after their victory against Niger admitting the team has hurdles to overcome on their way to CHAN success.
“At the moment, it won’t be right for me to say we are going to lift the trophy just after one game. We still have a long way to go and we take it one game at a time.
“Right now, I don’t want to talk about that. What is important now is for us to savour this victory and rest a little bit, then we can start thinking about the next game,” he concluded.
