Nigeria and Ghana on Friday qualified for the final of the ongoing 3rd Milo U-13 Africa Football Championship at the Campos Square, Lagos.
Nigeria defeated South Africa 4-1, while Ghana thrashed Kenya 5-0 to qualify for the final.
Four teams are taking part in the biennial tournament.
In the match between Nigeria and South Africa, the South African lads took the lead in the first half of the game when Feature Zulu netted the ball in the 5th minute.
Nigeria staged a comeback in the second half, scoring all its goals with John Emmanuel equalising in the fifth minute, while Ajao Afeez gave the team their lead four minutes later.
Bishop Makaringe of South Africa lost an opportunity to equalise through a penalty.
Sodiq Suleman of Nigeria increased the scoreline in the 27th minute of the second half to three, while Mustaph Adam-Agba scored the winner in the 29th minute of that half.
Seyi Oyinloye, the coach of the Nigerian side, said after the match that he was confident that his boys would win the game in spite of the one goal deficit in the first half.
“No team would want an opponent to score first. However, it is normal for tension to arise. During the half time break, I just reminded my boys to be focused.
“I had to do a whole lot of convincing and I had to psyche them up to believe in themselves that they can still win the match which they did in the long run,’’ he said.
Oyinloye said the team was ready for the final against Ghana on Saturday.
“There will be a different tactical approach for our match against Ghana. We will not play the way we did with the South Africans.
“We will opt for a different approach because they might have studied the way we played against South Africa.
“I know Nigeria and Ghana are rivals in football but we will ensure a good outing and win the championship convincingly.
“ We have the experience and quality players who can make it happen, we are also the host of the tournament and this could work to our advantage,’’ Oyinloye said.
Felix Okugbe, a grassroots sports administrator, lauded the efforts of the organisers.
He said the tournament was genuinely making good attempt to raise and groom football talents.
“I am excited that this is happening and the organisers took it higher across the shores of the country.
“It is only people with passion and drive that make things happen, I am happy to be identified with such championship. I wish that this initiative grows bigger in the next edition,’’ he said.
The first edition of the championship was held in South Africa in 2010, while Ghana hosted the second edition in 2012.
Source: vanguardngr.com
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