Nigeria coach accused lvorian referees for defeat to Meteors

CHIEF Coach of the Dream team V, Austin Eguavoen has acknowledged that his team played badly in Kumasi, which resulted in the 0-2 defeat in the hands of the Black Meteors of Ghana. The ex-international, speaking in Lagos, noted that officiating was equally responsible for the Dream Team's shock defeat in Ghana. "What we wanted to do was to score first and put the Ghanaians under more pressure. We did that for just seven minutes and we had two chances, one from Olaitan Otubanjo and the other from Nnamdi Oduamadi, but we failed to utilise them. They had a free kick which was well-taken and nobody could dispute the goal. "One of my players moved away from the wall of defence and the ball went through the space left open.
"I'm not somebody who always complain about officiating but in the second half, there was an obvious foul on my player who was attacking. Everybody thought the referee would spot the foul but he allowed the game to continue, that was not fair enough," said the man who coached the Super Eagles to claim the bronze at the 2006 Nations Cup in Egypt. Meanwhile, President-General of the Nigeria Football Supporters Club, Dr Rafiu Ladipo, noted that the tactical approach of the Dream Team was a bit faulty.
"The players did their best but it was not good enough. The Ghanaians were more hungrier for victory but our players all the time were playing defensive," Ladipo said. It will be recalled that the Dream Team last Sunday missed the 2011 All Africa Games soccer ticket on away goal rule, after the two-legged game ended in a 3-3 draw.