Ogude was one of three players handed their first Super Eagles start by Siasia, and after a commendable first half performance in midfield, he was detailed to stay on Lionel Messi in the second half. The Valerenga midfielder did such an excellent job that Messi was practically invisible for most of the second half. Siasia, and his staff, were purring for the multi-talented player. "Fengor was awesome, outstanding. Having been bringing him to camp all these days, we knew his potential, and he actually showed us how good he is. He'll still improve, but he can only get better," the coach said. Another player who earned his stripes on his senior debut was Brown Ideye, whose excellent hold up and link-up play in the lone striker role had Siasia impressed. "Brown did very well, I was surprised. he was very energetic. Kept the ball like he was supposed to, just as we discussed. He did very well, even though he didn’t get the opportunity to create a chance for himself to shoot at goal. The way he played, I was impressed. I think we have a lot of good strikers we can depend on." There were a few more performers in Chinedu Obasi and Emmanuel Ekpo, but Solomon Okoronkwo appears to have made it hard for the coach to justify picking him in the next squad. "Obasi was wonderful. He’s a good player, but sometimes he has to be more purposeful in his dribbles because he does a little too much. If he cuts out the excess, he'll be even better. But I was also very impressed with him. "Ekpo also showed in the few minutes that he was on, that we will have a problem selecting midfielders for the team. He also impressed me. I have known him since the Olympics and I know what he can do. What he needs to do now is build his confidence and understand the way we want the team to play," Siasia said. "Solomon didn’t play a good game. I don’t know why he shut down. He was talking about how he had to fall back to help Chibuzor defend. Sometimes in a big game like this, you have to show yourself and he didn’t. But it wasn't his day. He’s still a good player and this is just one game. I'm sure he'll bounce back."
Your comments on this story...
RICHARD KINGS,JHB SOUTH AFRICA
Our Defence cant be changed that much its too risky!! We should also plan without Ayila and Taiwo. Yobo,Efe,Elderson,Chubzor O. are I think all good defenders. The fact that they are now getting used to eachother shows that they can make it!! To play against Messi is not easy at all lets dont forget that. They did their Job against Madagascar.
We must win this match!!
As for Nsofor, agreed he played well, but needs to improve on his decision making and vision. There are times when he should have released a pass than to take a long range shot. Ahmed Musa also needs to learn to tee up others to score after he makes one of his blistering runs. I wonder what role Emenike is called up to play. A support striker or the main striker? I felt he should have played him and Ideye upfront and dropped Okoronkwo to the bench. Okoronkwo has shown that in big games, he does not show up, but you cannot fault his commitment on the pitch, at least he put in his best defensively.
I mean Anichebe wont be fit before the 8th of October. Offcourse he is better than Obagoal as a creater!!
This is my rating out of 10
Dele Aiyenugba;5. not a bad outing, need to improve on his back line organisation, cant displace enyeama for now
C.Okoronkwo:2. very awkward display, poor link up play and recovery, reason why d right side was not effective for 90misnot SE material, needs to be replaced by Anyanwu or Adejoh
Echiejele:3, needs to improve on his marking skills, still 2nd to Taiwo
Dele Adeleye 3; a poor first half but improved in second half..Yobo is still better
Efe Ambrose 3; needs to improve on his defensive technique..Ayila/Emeruo could be better
Joel Obi;2, was not effective,needs to watch how haruna played against this team at a bigger stage, not yet ripe for SE (honestly we need Haruna)
Mikel Obi;8, A great display, 2nd to world best on the pitch.. played with freedom, his best match so far for SE
Fengor Ogude 7: the X factor of the game, commanding display, he was a marvel to watch, see him becoming a regular soon
S.Okoronkwo;2, am not disappointed cuz i feel Musa/Oduamandi
Obinna Nsofor 6; not a bad display but needs to stop being selfish, reason why Ideye never had a chance at goal, Osaze is better
Brown Ideye 6.5; good team player, never selfish, will shine with great supply
Ogbuke 7; the talisman is back
Musa;6 shows why he is a big match player, reason why i think Emeruo can be our joker at the backline
Ekpo; 5; average game, is he better than Nosa Igiebor?
Ik Uche;4; a quiet game
Colins Udoh! You have fragments in your article. Check paragraph 8 and 10.
Peace! God bless 9ja, God bless SE and we Nigerians!!
OK I think Siasia is doing a good job bringing in new players and blending them with the experienced ones (something Amodu didn’t really do much of). It doesn't matter too much if they are not yet playing for great clubs (The bull, Iroha, even Finidi were quite unknown before Westerhof discovered them) the important thing is that you get committed, disciplined, players who will purposefully run for 90mins.
Our defence was also a problem on our journey to Tunisia and USA in '94. That is why Nnwanu and Emelano came in at the last minute. After trying different systems the coaching crew found a fine system, which integrated the midfield as a shield for the defence and a link…in fact the starting point for our once legendary lightning fast attack, but it all took time. This saw the rise of Olise as a midfield general, Siasia himself was part of this team. So I'm saying it is a good thing we are discovering so many good players now, give it time (even if we lose a few games) and we will have a fine team that will do well.
As for the defence, I only wish Siasia and co will find a way of infusing in them the discipline of modern football...in which you do not give your opponent time on the ball, you close down whoever has the ball quickly before they think who to pass it to This means a lot of running and working hard for one another, and as soon as you win the ball you share it purposefully in a forward moving way, rather than aimless dribbling runs which the crowd will enjoy, but will only give the opposition time to regroup and finally force one to take low percentage shorts which will not result in a goal. We are getting there.
Peace.
OK I think Siasia is doing a good job bringing in new players and blending them with the experienced ones (something Amodu didn’t really do much of). It doesn't matter too much if they are not yet playing for great clubs (The bull, Iroha, even Finidi were quite unknown before Westerhof discovered them) the important thing is that you get committed, disciplined, players who will purposefully run for 90mins.
Our defence was also a problem on our journey to Tunisia and USA in '94. That is why Nnwanu and Emelano came in at the last minute. After trying different systems the coaching crew found a fine system, which integrated the midfield as a shield for the defence and a link…in fact the starting point for our once legendary lightning fast attack, but it all took time. This saw the rise of Olise as a midfield general, Siasia himself was part of this team. So I'm saying it is a good thing we are discovering so many good players now, give it time (even if we lose a few games) and we will have a fine team that will do well.
As for the defence, I only wish Siasia and co will find a way of infusing in them the discipline of modern football...in which you do not give your opponent time on the ball, you close down whoever has the ball quickly before they think who to pass it to This means a lot of running and working hard for one another, and as soon as you win the ball you share it purposefully in a forward moving way, rather than aimless dribbling runs which the crowd will enjoy, but will only give the opposition time to regroup and finally force one to take low percentage shorts which will not result in a goal. We are getting there.
Peace.