Super Eagles to iron out problems in private after draw – coach
Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi said he remained satisfied with his charges while adding that the Super Eagles would iron out their problems in private.
Keshi – the legendary skipper who lifted his country’s last Africa Cup of Nations trophy in 1994 – said that he expected his team to play with better rhythm than they did in the 1-1 draw against Burkina Faso yesterday.
The Super Eagles led at the interval courtesy of an Emmanuel Emenike first-half goal before Alain Traore levelled matters in the 90th minute because of a lapse in concentration in their backline.
“I’m not going to let anything bring us down,” Keshi said. “These boys have been together in camp for 25 days so this was our first game as a collective team.”
Some also felt that Efe Ambrose’s dismissal for a second bookable offence that reduced Nigeria to 10 men in the second half, proved costly to their defence.
“Right now I want to build this team and let everything die down from tonight,” said Keshi. “And then if I have to, I will go and have a chat with some individuals.”
Their dejected captain, Joseph Yobo, said after the encounter: “We gave the match everything, and wanted to win it.”
The Nigerians missed the injured Victor Moses, who hurt his hamstring in their final camp in Portugal shortly before departing for South Africa.
However, the England-based forward is expected to be fit for the Zambia clash on Friday.
Meanwhile, the Burkinabe now prepare for Ethiopia.
The physically imposing West Africans have targeted victory over Ethiopia to enhance their chances of making it through to a milestone knockout stages spot.
The Stallions’ coach, Paul Put, said: “If we succeed against Ethiopia then we will get better as a team.
“We showed how good we can be against the Nigerians, which is good for us.”
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