Beating Japan 5-4 was miracle of manaus – Siasia

Nigeria U-23 national team coach Samson Siasia has described his side’s breathtaking 5-4 victory over Japan in their Rio 2016 Olympic Games opener in Manaus as a miracle.

Siasia’s team put up a spirited performance on Thursday (Friday in Nigeria), as they overcame a well-relaxed Japanese side in a nine-goal thriller to climb to top of Group B after Sweden and Colombia played out a 2-2 draw.

Oghenekaro Etebo netted four goals with AS Roma’s Sadiq Umar grabbing the opener as the latecomers cruised past their Asian opponents.

The African champions- who had a torrid time preparing for the Games- landed in Manaus few hours to the tie after flight hitches and incompetence on the part of sports ministry officials left them stranded at their training camp in Atlanta but shrugged off jetlag to romp to the top of their group table.

On getting to the venue of the game, the wrong anthem was played for the team by the organisers, with insinuations that the confusion may have been arisen due to the late arrival of the Nigerian team.

Siasia described their triumph as a miracle, ascribing it to the mental toughness of his players.

“I just can’t describe what happened today. My boys defied science to win this game; what gave us this game was the mental toughness of the boys. For a team not to train for two days and put up this type of performance is a miracle,” Siasia said.

“When players are tired they tend to lose focus. That is why we conceded four goals. For now, all I can say is I just want to go and savour this victory with my players.”

The coach said the team’s focus was on their next game against Sweden on Sunday after Japan had pushed his team to the limit.

He said, “We just won a game, we can’t and won’t allow this victory get into our heads. Our target here is to win the gold and this is just the first step of us achieving that aim. No two games are the same, for me this hurdle is over, when I wake up tomorrow I will then think of my next game.

“The team (Japan) we defeated are a good side; I respect them for pushing my boys to the limit. I knew that towards the end of the game my boys were tired and barely managed to hang on. I will not blame any one of them for the goals we conceded. We have put this match behind us. I hope my team sustain this great form and even step up a gear in our subsequent matches.”

Four-goal hero Oghenekaro Etebo has dedicated his goals to God after an amazing performance from the Feirense man. But he insists they still have to up better performances against their next group opponents Sweden, who they play on Sunday, and Colombia.

“I just want to thank God for the goals but we still have to play two games to qualify, so it’s not over yet,” the former Warri Wolves forward said.

Former captain of the team Okechukwu Azubuike said they will now have to work on their defensive lapses after conceding four goals against the Asians.

“We lost concentration and we paid for it; we gave away goals. So, we need to work on that.”

Controversies trailed the U-23 team’s preparations while in America, with their coach Siasia, who led the side to a silver medal finish at Beijing 2008, saying they had to resort to begging to make ends meet. Reports also had it that they played friendly games wearing different jersey brands.

But the Rio-bound team were left to rue their fate after sports minister Solomon Dalung distanced himself from their Olympic preparations, refusing to render financial assistance to them.

The athletes were in high spirit following the National U-23 team’s 5-4 victory over Japan in their opening game.

Meanwhile, our correspondent learnt that Team Nigeria are in high spirits following the U-23 team’s amazing win. Sports minister, Solomon Dalung, who visited the team on Friday at the Olympic Games Village in Rio, charged the athletes to be of good behaviour and shun acts capable of disgracing the country.

Team Nigeria’s assistant captain and flag bearer at the opening ceremony Funke Oshonaike will begin her quest for a medal in the women’s singles table tennis event on Saturday (today) as well as Segun Toriola who is making a seventh appearance at the Olympics and teammate Aruna Quadri in the men’s singles.