NIGERIA 1 SENEGAL 1

BY AYODELE ODUMADE AT THE HIVE, LONDON

Nigerian Super Eagle’s Coach Gernot Rohr has given his reaction to Nigeria’s 1-1 draw against Senegal in a highly contested friendly match at Barnet FC’s ground in front of 2013 fans.  He said: “We learnt a lot. You see Senegal is a strong team, they are stronger than us but we will work on that. They worked together for six weeks and did not lose any games during the last African Cup of Nations. For me it is one of the best teams in African. As for us we did not work for four months. We could not do anything.  We did not have our players so it a new start and a new beginning. But I think the players are getting better and better with time.”  On the game he said: At the beginning of the game we could have scored two goals. I am happy about the players’ aggressiveness in a friendly atmosphere.  We did not have a keeper for training so we were searching for one.” 

Nigeria had to draft in Tope Okeowo from Peckham FC who are a seventh tier team in the English League. Daniel Akpeyi who played in goal only arrived from South African in the morning.

Rohr chose Senegal due to the similarity of the physical style to that of Cameroon whom they face in double-header World Cup qualifiers in August, which will go a long way to determine who would qualify from a tough group, which also includes Algeria and Zambia.  With regards to the up coming games against Cameroon he said: “Now they are African Champions and they will be confident. But for us it is a bigger challenge to be the first in the group. When we beat them at home it would be a decisive step the World Cup next year.”

Speaking about Cameroon’s success at the Cup of Nations Rohr said:  “They were a team of no stars and it shows you don’t necessarily need big players like Aubameyang.”

Former Premiership Player Aliou Cisse who is the Senegal coach said: “Both teams had chances to win the game. A draw was a fair result but it was not important.  With regards to the World Cup qualifiers we needed to play against a big team and Nigeria is a big team.  People have seen a good game today. A few days ago Mohammed Diame announced his retirement. The coach said, “I am surprised by this as we have a good relationship.  He is a good young player but he has made a decision and I respect that.”

He went on further:” The Nigerian team is a good team and Nigeria is a football country. Everybody knows that.  They have a lot of good players. A few years ago I played with the likes of Jay Jay Okocha. We respect this team. They did not qualify for the last African Cup of Nations but it is a young team and I think they have a future. Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon and Algeria have good teams and I think this is the future for Africa. “

Moussa Sow scored for Senegal when Akpeyi failed to punch the ball clear.  Kelechi Iheanacho equalized for Nigeria after he was brought down and scored from the resultant penalty.