Sports
Falcons Fall 2-0 To Japan In Friendly
Nigeria’s Super Falcons
were beaten 2-0 by Japan in the first of a two-game friendly series in Nagasaki on Sunday.
Chelsea forward Ogimi Yuki scored the opener in the 36th minute and Kawasumi Nahomi added a second in the 53rd minute.
Playing before a crowd of 15,206 at the Track and Field Stadium in Nagasaki Prefectural Sports and Recreational Park, Nadeshiko boss Sasaki Norio welcomed back veteran forward Homare Sawa for the first time in seven matches.
But the coach also threw on two debutants in centre back against a Nigerian team that looked short of full conditioning after a long trip.
Sawa teamed up with Miyama Aya in midfield and helped dictate the pace.
In the early part of the game, the new-look backline was tested by the visitors as the Nigerians went on the attack. Nigeria came close three minutes into the game when Esther Sunday hit from the edge of the box. In the 17th minute, the 21-year-old attacker hit the bar from mid-range.
The Nadeshiko ladies responded well to enjoy the greater possession, and with Nakajima Emi coming off the bench midway through the half, the home players found a better rhythm in attack.
Forward Takase Megumi came close with a back-heeled attempt in the 29th minute, while Nakajima hit a shot in the 35th minute that was kept out by Nigeria goalkeeper Ibubeleye Whyte.
But Japan’s efforts paid off a minute later as Ogimi took a Miyama pass and slotted home.
Japan went on to attack after the break, with Maruyama Karina coming off the bench for Ogimi at halftime. Sawa, Maruyama and Kamionobe made good attempts before Kawasumi reacted well to a Maruyama rebound in the area to make it 2-0 for Japan in the 53rd minute.
Nigeria lost their momentum but gave the home side a scare in the 68th minute when tall forward Uchechi Sunday attacked on a counter and cut into the area. But 17-year-old Nadeshiko newcomer Miyake came to the rescue with a good interception.
The Nigerians tried to rally late in the second half and Blessing Edoho dribbled inside to hit from the edge of the box three minutes from time, but Kaihiro Ayumi made no mistake in goal.
The second game of the series will be held tomorrow night at Fukuda Denshi Arena in Chiba.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor