Confluence Queens of Lokoja coach, Sabo Okala has declared that his team is still ‘150%’ in the race to be crowned winners of the Nigeran Women Football League (NWFL) at the end of the ongoing Super-6 contest in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State.
Okala opted to stay defiant despite his side suffering a damaging 5-1 loss to Edo Queens of Benin City in the competition’s opening match at Samson Siasia Stadium on Saturday.
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Rather than concede defeat and accept that his team is down, Okala insisted that they remain firmly in the race to be crowned winners of the 2024 NWFL Super-6.
He fingered his goalkeeper and defenders as major culprits for Saturday’s humiliating defeat, but stressed that his duty is to psyche his players and prepare them for a revival in their next match.
Okala retorted, “I think one department that didn’t measure up and led to the heavy defeat was my goalkeeper, but that’s football at times.
“It’s just for us to go back to the drawing board, and we can make corrections. I also saw some lapses in my defence, but I think, with some pep talk, we’ll be able to come out better in the next match.”
The ebullient tactician then addressed insinuations that his squad is downcast, psychologically and emotionally depleted, which could make them vulnerable to another loss in their next game on Monday.
“We can never be down,” Okala fired back vehemently. “I am a psychologist, and I know one thing about psyching people who have lost a match like this.
“It’s just for you to try as much as possible to motivate them and never allow them to feel down. We have to be up and doing, then be ready for the next match.
“We are coming out good, and, hopefully, we’ll come out with victory. We are still in the race 100%.”
