Power supply threatens Nigeria, Zambia duel

Posted by admin Headlines Monday, November 14th, 2011

N igeria/Zambia friendly fixed for 5pm today in Kaduna is threatened as generating set to supply power to the stadium failed five times during evening training. Zambians were disappointed last night as they trained in the dark when the power supply to the Kaduna Stadium failed.

Meanwhile, Coach Stephen Keshi will try all his best to make the Super Eagles the victorious side today in Kaduna against Zambia after a barren draw with Botswana last weekend in Benin.

“Zambia is a good team and we will approach the game with the right attitude,” promised Keshi.
“We won’t be complacent in our approach to this game. I know what our people want and we will definitely not disappoint them.”

Nosa Igiebor, who made his full international debut against Botswana in his hometown of Benin City, said the Eagles aimed to win on Tuesday.
“We won’t settle for a draw against Zambia even though we reckon they are a better team than Botswana,” Igiebor said.
“We were unlucky not to have scored from the many chances we created and also our opponents’ game plan was not to concede any goal.”
Assistant coach Daniel Amokachi insisted on carrying on last weekend despite a personal bereavement when his nephew was killed by armed robbers Friday.

“It is a big tragedy for me, but I had to get myself together and focus on helping the chief coach in his first match,” said Amokachi.
“It is a sacrifice I have to make for my country.”
Defenders Ugo Ukah and Gege Soriola and NPL leading scorer, Jude Aneke, could well make their debuts against the Chipolopolo after warming the bench against Botswana.

“Keshi was satisfied with the overall team’s performance against the Zebras, but he also knows that he will continue to draw comparisons with his predecessor, Samson Siasia, who got off to a flying start when he took over the team last year”.
Zambia’s Coach, Herve Renard, whose return to the team has not received wide acceptance, it was learnt, will equally be under pressure to win back the hearts and minds of fans back home with a result in Kaduna.

Renard’s departure in April 2010 to take up a lucrative but short-lived deal with Angola didn’t go down quite well with fans and his personal view last September on Zambian local politics too left a very sour taste in the mouth.
Furthermore, Renard’s decision to femulate his predecessor, Dario Bonetti’s, approach not to recall Jonas Sakuwaha to the team despite the striker’s good form with 18 goals in Sudan with the league leader, Al Merreikh, has been unpopular.
The Frenchman has been greeted at stadia to chorus of “Sakuwaha! Sakuwaha!” The French coach said he expected a tough match against Nigeria.

“Nigeria is a good opposition, it will be very good for me to see the players and how they are responding.
They (Nigeria) are a good side and playing them at home will be difficult,” Renard offered.
However, Renard will be without Dutch-based striker, Jacob Mulenga, of FC Utrecht, who is out for, at least, six months after undergoing knee surgery last Wednesday. And so Renard will be banking on his China-based duo of captain and striker Christopher Katongo and James Chamanga to lead in attack.

The friendly will also give striker Collins Mbesuma of Golden Arrows in South Africa an opportunity to win Renard’s favour after spending much of his time on the bench in the Frenchman’s first term as he battled fitness problems.
Another player hoping to impress in this friendly will be Felix Katongo of Green Buffaloes.
The livewire midfielder has suffered from fitness problems throughout this year and the Eagles clash should give an insight of how Katongo is faring in his battle to be fit for in time for the Africa Cup.

Renard has returned to also find his former protégé Emmanuel Mayuka blossomed.
It will also be interesting to see whether Switzerland-based hotshot Mayuka, who has 11 goals this season for his club, will be chosen ahead of Mbesuma in this match.

Rainford Kalaba returns from suspension to the team hopefully to give it some much-needed bite in midfield after a disjointed display by Zambia in his absence against Libya on October 8 in Chingola in a game that ended scoreless.
The last time Nigeria and Zambia clashed in a friendly was on January 6, 2010 in Durban.
The match ended scoreless before meeting again in the 2010 Africa Cup quarterfinal meeting, which also ended 0-0, before the Super Eagles advanced to the semi-finals on post-match penalties.

-Sunwp_posts