By John Egbokhan, Abuja
Golden Eaglets coach, John Obuh, has said that he is battling to ensure that his players overcome the nightmarish start against Germany, when they confront Honduras in today’s match.
The match is slated to hold at 7pm, and Obuh, whose side, battled the European champions to a 3-3 draw on Saturday, told Sports Vanguard that he has set his sights on scooping all three points in tonight’s tricky tie.
“After surviving a massive scare against Germany, we know that we just have to beat Honduras to improve our chances of qualifying from this group. Germany were a tough nut to crack, so we had to settle for a draw, which was a fair result in the end.
“But we have to raise the tempo and be more accurate in front of goal because part of the problems we had in our first match was that our opponents scored their first two goals after we failed to take our own.
“That is why, we the coaches have been working on the psychology of the players, all along and we have told them to feel relaxed and make things happen on the field”, added Obuh, who has enough respect for Honduras.
“Every team here deserve to be where they are and I respect the Hondurans because they are a good side. But we need victory and that is what we would strive to get, said the former Niger Tornadoes gaffer.Honduras were beaten 1-0 by Argentina in their first match, to stay bottom of the group log.
John,
I’m glad you know about psychology in football. They lacked it in the match against the sleeky Germans. It is clear that your boys are eager to succeed but it this requires discipline, character, concentration and focus. You have players with dribbling skills like Stanley Okoro, Ojabu, Azeez and Egbedi. Strikers are highly protected in the the Age-grade tournaments by the referees and their assistants.
Tell your players to run deep with the ball into the opponents vital area and you will be amazed at the results. They look like a team that would go far in the tournament but tactical discipline is key. Tell your defenders to stop showing any form of respect to opposing attackers. It will scuttle their ambitions. good luck guys!!!!!