Enyimba of Aba winger, Wasiu Alalade has expressed dismay that he and his colleagues in the under-20 national team, Flying Eagles settled for a golalless draw against Niger Republic in their first match at the WAFU Cup.
Speaking to sports247.ng in the wake of Sunday’s match in Lome, Togo, Alalade, who played as Nigeria’s top striker in the game, reckoned that his side should have done better.
Although he acknowledged that the opponents had earlier shocked Ghana in their first match of the competition, from which the fourth group team, Benin Republic withdrew before kick-off, Alalade insists the Flying Eagles were not at their best.
Alalade said he was sad they had to settle for a goalless draw against The Junior Mena and admits his side struggled to gain their normal form at Stade Municipal on Sunday.
He admitted that the Nigerian players were hoping to start the tourney on a sound footing, but could not capitalize on long spells of possession in the second stanza.
Anieqeme Okon pulled the strings in midfield while Wasiu Alalade was deployed as a striker.
On his part, Alalade could not reproduce the form that saw him become the show master for Nigeria in the African U20 Cup of Nations qualifiers.
The intensity of the match grew in the second half, but several rash challenges forced the game to be continually stopped.
Nigeria saw a lot of the ball on the right side but, with Niger defending in numbers, the Eagles’ attacks came to naught.
The Flying Eagles will now hope to do better on Wednesday in their next match, which is a potentially explosive encounter against Ghana, but Alalade believes Paul Aigbogun’s team will do better subsequently.
Alalade confessed: “It was painful to settle for a draw in our first match, but I believe we still have what it takes to qualify for the semi finals.”
