Some football enthusiasts in Nsukka, Enugu State, have expressed displeasure over Sunday’s 2-0 defeat of Nigeria’s Super Eagles by the Barea of Madagascar, in the ongoing Africa Cup Nations in Egypt.
The fans, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Nsukka, expressed shock at the Super Eagles loss in Alexandria by one of the AFCON debutantes, Madagascar.
Tony Ugwu, a former Council Chairman of Nsukka Local Government Area, said the Super Eagles lost the match because they underrated their opponents.
“In football, when you relax and underrate any team, what you get as a reward is a defeat.
“Nigeria lost to Madagascar because the Super Eagles were complacent,” he said.
Ugwu urged the coach and the technical crew to guard against the loopholes in that match in Nigeria’s remaining matches at the event.
“Coach Gernot Rohr and the technical crew should correct the many mistakes in that match before Nigeria’s Round of 16 matches.
“The players should be made to understand that they disappointed millions of football enthusiasts in the country by losing to Madagascar.
“Nigerians expect nothing less than the trophy from the Eagles at the end of the tournament,” he said.
Ken Ade, a student at the Department of Economics, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, said, “I feel like crying that Madagascar that was featuring for the first time in AFCON trashed Nigeria 2-0.
“It is still like a dream to me how Super Eagles allowed the Madagascar to humiliate with 2-0.
“I know Nigeria have qualified for the knock out stage of the competition but that is not enough reason for Sunday’s poor outing in Egypt,” he said.
Mr George Akubue, a Lecturer at the Institute of African Studies, UNN, said the Eagles started well in the Group B’s first two matches in Egypt, but ended poorly in the last match of the group on Sunday.
“I will not believe it if am in a dream and somebody tells me that Madagascar will score twice against Nigeria.”
He said that Madagascar did not only defeat the Super Eagles, but were in complete control of the match.
“The coach and his technical crew should go back to the drawing board to correct Sunday’s mistakes, so that they do not occur in the Round of 16, as the tournament enters the knock out stage,” he said.
(NAN)
