Naija Ratels head coach, Bankole Olowookeere has leaped to the defence of his players following thier away loss to Delta Queens as he bemoans referee’s woeful decisions in the course of the game.
Bankole revealed that it was a very beautiful game despite the defeat and that the two sides played very well but the referee in charge of the encounter wasn’t tactical enough to allow the game flow.
“They didn’t allow the two ladies to play football. These are two sides that’s supposed to play good, explosive football but she was just killing it, to me, I’m not happy,” he lamented in his post match reactions.
“I’m not bothered about the final score, they scored beautiful goals but the game should have been enjoyed if both teams were allowed to play thier game.”
On singling out a player for criticism, Bankole countered back immediately saying that’s not his style, “I don’t like criticizing players or killing them, we need to encourage them to come up.”
“Even with the scoreline, Mercy contributed more to the game, she did well, terrorized the defense and opened way for her teammate to score.”
On the way forward for them after strings of woeful results, “we are working seriously on our away chances because if you look at the loss now, they are all away with just one home. We want to try as much as possible even if it’s draw away, it will go a long way for us.”
“I know the caliber of players that I have, upcoming players so I need to take them bit by bit. I didn’t expect too much from them maybe because of my pedigree as National team coach, they are expecting more from the team but I tell you, Rome wasn’t built in a day, it’s a gradual process.”
“I need to lift up the game to expectations because I know that many Nigerians will be expecting this team to be placed first or second, I understand that but I don’t want to put this players under pressure,” he explained.
“My management didn’t put me under pressure so there’s no need to put them there. We will just take the game bit by bit, gradually maintaining the way we are moving,” Bankole concluded.
