Nigeria Content Online

After
a lot of suspense and intrigue, the new board of the Nigeria Football
Federation chose Samson Siasia ahead of Stephen Keshi on Thursday as
the new coach of the senior national team, the Super Eagles.

Firstly, the new
board has to be commended at the speed with which they laid down their
plans and the also the speed of execution. Lars Lagerback went AWOL
after the 2-2 draw with South Korea in Durban on June 22 and since
then, Augustine Eguavoen has been interim handler with a record of two
losses and one win but the team now have a new coach and the 14th local
handler of the national team.

The board had to choose between the former U-20 and Olympic coach and Stephen Keshi, a former captain and coach of the team.

Before the
interview, football fans, former players and even past coaches had been
divided over who was best suited for the job. While the likes of Tijani
Babangida and David Ngodigha chose Keshi because of his experience in
helping Togo qualify for the 2006 World Cup and leading Mali to the
last Nations Cup in Angola, fans were more in tune with a Siasia –
because of his antecedents with junior players. That may be linked with
the clamour for an infusion of younger players into the national team.

After the appointment

Samson Siasia was quick to state the criteria that will be used to make up the national team.

“We can’t change
the team overnight, but we have to make sure that there is competition
for places,” he said. “I will undertake a scouting trip very soon, and
only players who are playing regularly for their clubs will be part of
the national team.

“Any player, who is
not doing so, will have to show exceptional reason for not playing, and
we will see if we can help to resolve those issues.”

Siasia also promised that the Super Eagles will be re-constructed to play more offensively.

“The manner of team
you will see on the field of play would be offensive minded, free
flowing football. There will be a difference.”

But all this will be on the back of gradual changes to the personnel in the squad.

“During my
interview with the NFF Technical Committee, I told them my short and
long term visions for the Super Eagles as well as the 2012 Africa
Nations Cup.

“I also told them
that we have to look at the areas we have to inject new players. We
don’t want to say we are going to ask all the old players to leave. But
we have to look at the areas we think we have to inject new players.

“We all know the
nature of the team right now. The team is not in a very good shape. The
next friendly we have on November 17 against Iran will help us assess
the team we have right now.”

Siasia is expected
to follow the team to Iran on November 17, when interim coach,
Augustine Eguavoen will handle the team for the last time.

“That will be when
I watch their matches again and also go around scouting for other
players that I think I have to put in there.”

The way forward

Germany was in a
similar dilemma in 2004 after a woeful European Championship in
Portugal. They did not win a single match and the German football
federation had to take drastic actions. They did so and boldly, by
appointing a relative coaching novice in former national team striker,
Jurgen Klinnsman, a man living in the USA and involved in grassroots
soccer development (a story akin to Siasia’s own). The first thing he
did was to try and foist a new identity – an attack-minded one – on the
team.

Germany has since
recovered from the 2004 slump with a final appearance at Euro 2008 and
two third placed finishes in the 2006 and 2010 World Cups.

Football pundit,
Sola Aiyepeku said, Siasia needs all the help he can get; both form the
administrators and the coaches of clubs in the NPL. He continued with
the example of Klinnsman.

“Klinnsman sought
the help of every Bundesliga coach through the DFB’s backing to
influence and imbibe the attacking playing style,” he said.

“I advocate the
same for Nigeria based on our history, strength, skills and physique.
That decision is reaping great benefits today from greatly increased
Bundesliga television rights value and stadium attendances because fans
attend matches expecting to see attacking football and goals; they are
not disappointed and the Bundesliga is again popular on television. If
this success can be repeated here, it will contribute a great deal to
the NFF’s financial independence from government.

“Siasia must show
great character, savvy, pedigree, desire for attacking football and
experience to implement the task and take the Super Eagles out of the
doldrums the team currently resides in.

“Siasia has the
right mix of these qualities never mind his recent club management
experience which I think he has learnt valuable lessons from and will
be a popular choice. We wait and see in expectation of a significant
positive change in Nigeria football.”

Popular choice

On a lot of radio
programmes monitored in Lagos and a lot of responses on websites show
that Siasia is being seen as the messiah of the game in Nigeria maybe
because of his exploits with the U-20 team in 2005, where he led the
team to the finals and they were only defeated by the Lionel Messi-led
Argentine team.

He also coached the U-23 team to the final of the 2008 Olympic football tournament, where his team was also beaten by Argentina.

Former Super Eagles
technical adviser, Johannes Bonfrere said Samson Siasia deserved to be
named as the Eagles’ coach even before the interviews were conducted on
Thursday.

“If the Nigeria
Football Federation has decided to go for a local coach and have indeed
shortlisted the duo of Siasia and Keshi for the job, then I think they
should not waste much time in giving Siasia the job.

“Siasia is a better choice. The NFF should never give it to Keshi because he is not what people think he is.”

Frank Ilaboya,
former president of the Sport Writers Association of Nigeria, Lagos
chapter, said: “It is clear today that Siasia is the people’s choice.
Because football is a game of the people, why not go with the people
and give the job to Siasia. After all it is said, the voice of the
people is the voice of God.

Earnestly between
Siasia and Keshi, there is nothing one can point to that makes Keshi a
superior candidate to Siasia. Siasia has the good will of the people”.

The process

Majority of the
countries that did badly at the 2010 World Cup already have new
helms-men and the surprise in the Nigerian case was that it had to take
such a long time to choose a new coach. Argentina, France, South Korea,
etc have all had a change of coach.

The Nigeria
Football Federation called both Samson Siasia and Stephen Keshi to be
interviewed for the vacant post and also said that the new coach will
be unveiled on November 8, 2010.

Meanwhile Keshi has
come out to express his dismay over not getting the job. He spoke to
reporters in Abuja shortly after the announcement of Siasia as the new
coach.

“Honestly, the
result was surprising to me and it’s a shame that this has happened.
Siasia still remains my brother and friend no matter what but one
question I would like the Technical Committee to answer is, ‘what
criteria did they used for his selection?’” he asked.

The head of the
technical committee, Chris Green had said: “The interview process will
be recorded and it is strictly meant for reference purposes. We have
made a pledge to be transparent but the tape will only be made
available on account of contention by any aggrieved party.”

After the
interviews and the choice of Siasia made known, Green said: “The
decision to choose Siasia is in the best interest of Nigerian
football.”

But Keshi insisted that his interview ‘went well’.

“I must admit again
that it’s still shocking to me but this is Nigeria for you, anything
can happen. I would move on from this. This issue would make me rethink
on so many issues I must confess to you but there’s no problem. I will
move on from this,” the Big Boss said.

Siasia is expected
to work with two assistant coaches and one goalkeeper trainer. In the
terms of the contract, he is allowed to choose the first assistant
coach.

One NFF official gave the details of the contract.

“We agreed at the
interview that he will select the first assistant coach, while the NFF
will pick the second assistant and the goalkeeper trainer. The NFF also
approved the addition of a specialist physical trainer for the Super
Eagles squad.

“We have noticed
that a lot of players lack physical fitness when they come to the
national team. We need to address that, and we will be appointing a
physical trainer for the team in due course.”

Samson Siasia, will sign a four-year contract and is expected to earn N5 million as his monthly wage.

Liverpool’s fall from grace has been so extreme in the past year that it seems almost inconceivable that as recently as 2009 they and Chelsea were battling for Champions League supremacy on an annual basis.
Since a 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge in April 2009 in the quarter-finals the clubs have veered off in different orbits to such an extent that when they meet at Anfield on Sunday, Chelsea will boast a five-point lead in the Premier League while Liverpool are just glad to be out of the bottom three.

Scratchy wins at home to Blackburn Rovers and away to Bolton Wanderers represent a step forward for Roy Hodgson but Liverpool’s wily manager will know more about his side’s current health after the visit of Carlo Ancelotti’s rampant side.
Likewise new owner John Henry will also get a first hand look at how much work, and investment, his new project needs before Liverpool can
return to challenge for the title as they did two seasons ago under Rafael Benitez.

The problem for Hodgson is that, whatever Benitez claimed during a midweek rant, the squad he inherited was mediocre and he has so far had little financial muscle in the transfer market. That may change in January but until then he must hope that Fernando Torres rediscovers some form and that Joe Cole, who is ruled out of Sunday’s clash, begins to resemble the player he was at Chelsea.
Maxi can be Liverpool’s joker With Dirk Kuyt injured, it was left to Maxi Rodriguez, a Benitez signing, to snatch the points at Bolton and Hodgson hopes that the Argentine will benefit from a run in the team.
“Maxi is a quiet man and his English isn’t as good as some of the players, so it’s not easy to have a long conversation with him,” Hodgson told Liverpool’s website. “But he’s picked up very quickly on what we want him to do and how we want him to play. In the games he’s played
recently he’s been very good.”
Chelsea will be buoyed by a 4-1 victory over Spartak Moscow on Wednesday that guaranteed their place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
John Terry and Michael Essien will be fresh for the trip to Merseyside having being rested against Spartak, although in-form Florent Malouda is out with an ankle knock.

Tightly bunched

Such is the small spread of points below the top three that were Liverpool to pull off a surprise win on Sunday they could suddenly find themselves on the fringes of the top four.
Manchester City are fourth behind Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United but suddenly look vulnerable after successive defeats – most worryingly a 2-1 reverse against Wolverhampton Wanderers last week.
City face sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion on Sunday when another defeat would leave their hopes of a serious title tilt in tatters and Roberto Mancini’s future as coach in jeopardy.
Talk of dressing room unrest and player squabbles have helped create a sense of growing crisis at Eastlands and West Brom, who almost
earned a point at Blackpool on Monday despite having two players sent off, will be keen to add to it.
Manchester United can close Chelsea’s gap to two points when they host Wolves on Saturday although they will be hampered by injuries to Darren Fletcher and Nani.
“We’ve a couple of injuries. Nani has hurt his groin and will definitely be out for Saturday. Darren will also be out,” manager Alex Ferguson said after United’s 3-0 win against Turkish side Bursaspor in the Champions League. Tottenham Hotspur’s man
of the moment Gareth Bale will be in action on Saturday against Bolton as the London side hope to avoid any hangover after their pulsating 3-1 victory over Champions League winners Inter Milan on Tuesday.

Arsenal, whose 100 percent record in the Champions League was ended by defeat against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, face in-form Newcastle United at the Emirates on Sunday when Cesc Fabregas should return after missing the trip to Ukraine.

Arguably
one of the most successful clubs in the country, Enyimba International
of Aba will today begin their quest for a record seventh League title
as the 2010/11 Nigeria Premier League (NPL) season finally gets
underway.

The Peoples’
Elephant will be up against Ocean Boys of Yenegoa in one of today’s
interesting fixtures and for Coach Okey Emordi, his team cannot afford
to start on a wrong footing.

“First and
foremost, I must say I am very glad that the league has finally begun
after suffering series of postponement. For us every match is important
and that is why we will be taking today’s match very serious. We have a
target of doing well in all the competitions that we will be playing in
this season and we are ready to meet that target,” he said.

Emordi is one of
the coaches who have won several laurels for Enyimba with the peak
performance being a CAF Champions League crown in 2004, which in turn
fetched him the continent’s best coach award.

Gunning for the treble

Enyimba will be
campaigning on three fronts; the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), the
Federations’ Cup and the CAF Champions’ League, this season.

Already the club
has shown signs of what to expect this season after adding the 2010
Charity Cup title to its growing list of honours recently. Enyimba
defeated Federation Cup Champions, Kaduna United, 4-2 on penalties, to
lift the season’s opening trophy.

Aware of the
daunting task ahead, the head, media and publicity of Enyimba, Tonnex
Chukwu, said the team has beefed up its squad with both young and
experienced players to continue the tradition of winning trophies.

“Enyimba has a
tradition of getting the best legs in the country. At the end of each
season, we beef up the squad and make the necessary changes in the
perceived areas of weakness and this season was no different.

“We have made a
number of signings who will help us continue our tradition of winning
titles and trophies. The season is a long one and we know we need a
very solid squad to effectively challenge for honours in the coming
season,” he said.

A better finish

Ocean Boys on their
part will be attempting to better their 14th place finish last season
in the league. Their last visit to Aba ended in a 2-1 defeat.

Already, one of the
clubs’ new signing, Andrew Michael has been picked as one of the ten
players to look out for in the new season. Michael, 19, is strong and
speedy on and off the ball and can also shoot with both feet. League
experts have predicted that he could finally break the duck at Ocean
Boys this season.

South West Derby

In other matches,
the ancient city of Ibadan will be aglow with action as local rivals,
Shooting Stars of Ibadan and Sunshine Stars of Akure go head to head in
the South West derby at the Liberty Stadium.

Already, both teams
have a score to settle as the Akure based team edged out 3SC 1-0 in a
pre-season tournament held last week in Ijebu Ode and the Sunshine Boys
went on to lift the trophy at stake.

While 3SC coach,
Fatai Amoo has played down the defeat in Ijebu Ode, he said his boys
have learned from their mistakes and will be all out for the three
points today. 3SC defeated Sunshine 2-0 in the corresponding fixture
last season.

Hence, Amoo
reaffirmed his confidence in the ability of the Oluyole Warriors not
only to repeat the feat but to also clinch at least a continental
ticket at the end of this season.

“The club’s
preparation for the season have been thorough and painstaking, the
frequent postponements of the league have also helped us to play many
grade ‘A’ friendly matches like the South West tourney that just ended,
which gave us the ample opportunity to test new players during the
screening exercise. I can assure our fans that Shooting will favourably
compete with all top teams in the Premier League and come out with good
results,” the former assistant Super Eagles coach said.

Last time out in
the league, it was contrasting fortunes for both teams; while the going
was good for Sunshine Stars who finished third in the league, earning
their first continental ticket to the Confederations Cup competition,
Shooting Stars were battling relegation for the better part of the
season with Amoo coming in to finally rescue the team.

This time around the chairman of the club, Joseph Ladipo, has promised the teeming fans of the club a good outing.

Ladipo commended
the efforts and cooperation of the Oyo State Governor, Adebayo
Alao-Akala, towards the club, describing him as number one supporter of
Shooting Stars.

League newcomers

In other fixtures,
Premier League newcomers, Bukola Babes of Kwara, Crown FC of Ogbomoso
and JUTH FC will be hoping to get their campaign in the top flight off
to fine starts.

Of the lot, only
Bukola Babes will be playing at home as they host Zamfara United at the
newly approved Offa Township Stadium. Bukola Babes have revealed that
they will get their Nigerian Premier League debut underway with 29
players.

“We are aware that
the NPL rules guarantees each team a maximum of 35 players but we just
want to be modest and careful about it all.” the Manager of the newly
promoted side, Alloy Chukwuemeka, said.

“That is why we
want to start off with 29 players whose registration formalities we
have completed. We will make up the required number as the season goes
on, and by the time the tear and wear sets in.”

Not just making up numbers

The Bukola Babes
team manager added that the club is not in the top flight to make the
numbers. “That we are new in the Premier League does not make us
inferior or less ambitious.

“We are not here
just to make up the number. We really mean business as the only
privately owned and sponsored club in the Premier League,” he said.

Other matches

In the other games,
JUTH FC will be away to Port-Harcourt to face Sharks FC, The Plateau
State-based team is returning to the top-flight division in Nigeria
after they were relegated two seasons ago. The team has retained 21
players from the squad that helped it gain promotion last season. It
signed twelve more players to beef up the squad.

The last of the
newly promoted sides; Crown of Ogbomosho will travel to Minna to face,
Niger Tornadoes in another newly approved stadium; Bako Kotangora
Stadium in Minna.

Though the league
is starting out without a title sponsor, the new NPL board has promised
that tremendous improvements will be seen in the league this year. The
board said it will not condone any act of hooliganisms while reassuring
players that their welfare will be adequately protected.

According to the fixtures released by the NPL, the season is meant to be concluded on June 12, 2011.

Hoping
for a flawless run towards regaining the Africa title they relinquished
last time out, the Super Falcons will today try to consolidate on their
fine form at the ongoing Africa Women’s Championships in South Africa
when they confront the Twiga Stars of Tanzania in their last group game.

The match is billed
for the Makhulong Stadium and kick-off time is 2.30pm (local time)
While the Nigerian ladies have a semi-final ticket already in their
hands all thanks to the two victories recorded in their previous games,
the Twiga Stars only have a return ticket home after failing to get any
point from their last two matches.

Though this is a
debut appearance for the Twigs, many had expected a better performance
from the team which had embarked on a two week “intensive” training in
the United States before heading to South Africa for the biannual women
championships.

With a place
already secured in the semi final, Nigeria’s coach, Eucharia Uche, is
expected to try out some of the untested legs in the Super Falcons team
which many has described as a fine blend of youthfulness and experience.

The coach, who has continually said that her goal is to win the trophy back for Nigeria, said the team is on course.

“We will take it
easy against Tanzania, but the three points will be for us, I remain
confident in my team and their ability to win here in South Africa,”
Uche said.

A victory for
Nigeria will see her topping Group A. That will mean a tie with the
runners-up in Group B which has the likes of Ghana, Cameroun and
Equatorial Guinea; all seeking qualification from the group regarded as
the group of death.

Perpetua target

Meanwhile, Super
Falcons prolific striker, Perpetua Nkwocha is expected to continue her
chase for a record 15 goals at the championship.

Nkwocha had told reporters in Johannesburg that the 15-goal mark was set for her by friends.

“My friends told me before I came for the tournament that I have to score 15 goals,” said the Sweden-based player.

She admitted that she will work hard to meet the target as she was determined not to disappoint her friends.

“I have started it in our first game so I believe I can continue. I believe I will do it again, that is my prayer,” she said.

“Let’s see what will happen at the end of the day but I believe I can do it.”

Nwokocha is
currently leading the goal scorers chart with five goals after scoring
the two goals for the Falcons in their last match against South Africa
and needs to score ten more to meet her set target.

On her own part,
captain of the Super Falcons, Precious Dede, has also maintained that
no team in the ongoing African Women’s Championship (AWC) can stop her
team from winning the competition.

“I believe we are
on our way to the final of the competition and no team can stop us from
winning this trophy this time. Neither Cameroun nor Ghana can stop us.

I am not boasting
but we believe in ourselves that we can emerge the African champions
again with this victory over Banyana Banyana on their back yard,” Dede
said.

Other match

In the other match of the day, host South Africa will be up against Mali in a game with higher stakes.

While the South
Africans have their hearts in their mouth, Mali go into today’s match
in high spirits after defeating minnows Tanzania 3-2 in their last
Group A match.

Banyana Banyana
coach, Augustine Makalakalane, is aware that his girls must avoid
defeat if they hope to progress in the championships.

According to
Makalakalane, the performance against Nigeria in the last match was not
too bad while hoping for a better display today.

“The Banyana
Banyana girls did not disgrace themselves or their country against
Nigeria and I am so very proud of the determination and commitment that
they showed on the field,” said Makalakalane.

“These Banyana
Banyana players can go far in football based on their approach to the
game and I know they will take the positive aspects out of today’s
(Thursday) performance and look to get the all-important win when the
team plays against Mali on Sunday.”

For South Africa Striker, Noko Matlou, her team will be going all out from the blast of the whistle to get the desired result.

“We are going for the kill against Mali; we cannot afford to disappoint the country.

We are the hosts and we must win this tournament,” she said.

The top two teams out of the two groups of four teams each will
progress to the semi-final stage – with the prize awaiting the
finalists being the chance to represent Africa at the 2011 FIFA women’s
World Cup in Germany next year.

Tiger Woods again came up short in his fourth attempt at winning
the HSBC Champions over the weekend but his trip to Shanghai could still have a
silver lining in the shape of new sponsorship deals in China.

The former world number one is open to new backers after several
main sponsors — including AT&T, Accenture and Gatorade — turned their
back on Team Tiger earlier this year following the damaging revelations about
his private life.

“We’re certainly considering Chinese companies as they are
certainly considering (me),” he told reporters during his hit-and-miss performance
at the $7 million WGC event.

“We’re looking at, and are considering all opportunities as we
always do. That hasn’t changed.

“It’s just a matter of finding the right fit and believing in
the company and making sure that I can help them and we see eye-to-eye in that
regard,” he added.

Woods appeared to be on a charm offensive in Shanghai after his
former clean-cut image in the family-orientated country was tainted by
headlines about his extra marital affairs.

He made an effort to sign autographs over the four-day
tournament and to interact with the thousands who turned out to see if the
14-times major winner could regain the top ranking a week after being deposed
by Briton Lee Westwood.

Many fans were also hoping the American would come full circle
in Shanghai and end his annus horribilis, which started a fortnight after he
imploded in a final-round duel with Phil Mickelson at the Sheshan Golf Course.

Tiger’s Mojo

“It seemed clear to me Tiger had lost what the Chinese call
‘Tien Ming’, his ‘Heaven Luck’, or his mojo,” American golf writer Peter
Andreas told Reuters.

“Then, two weeks later, his world exploded. And now, despite
flashes of brilliance,

Tiger no longer sustains ‘play the zone’, or goes low,” added
the author of ‘The Secret of the Inner-Swing: Golf Qi-Gong’.

Woods, who finished with a share of sixth, seemed to be aware he
had lost much “face” in conservative China and was keen to inform Chinese
reporters how he “works each and every day on prayers and meditation.” The mood
of the former world one, however, oscillated both on and off the course over
the weekend.

Woods was seen sporadically swearing and kicking his clubs after
poor shots and skipped a news conference after a poor second round.

“I’d follow Tiger if he was still winning. He’s a bit old,
though. I think the younger players are better. I’m following Rory Mcllroy,”
nine-year-old Joshua Liu from Shanghai told Reuters.

Pull quote – We’re certainly considering Chinese companies as they are
certainly considering me

The
local organising committee for the annual Obudu International Mountain
Race has confirmed 69 foreign athletes and 122 local athletes for the
6th edition of the race which holds later this month at the Obudu Ranch
Resort in Obudu, Cross River state.

Top on the list of
athletes confirmed for the November 27 race are the women’s defending
champion, Mamitu Daska from Ethiopia; reigning World Mountain running
champion, Andrea Mayr of Austria who won the women’s title in 2008; and
another former champion, Rehima Kedir of Ethiopia.

Also confirmed for the race is the reigning European mountain running champion, Ahmet Arslan of Turkey.

William Archibong,
chairman of the LOC for the race revealed at the weekend in Calabar
that registration for the event has also been closed except for African
countries wishing to participate in the second African Nations Mountain
Running championship, which will take place alongside the Obudu
international mountain race on November 27.

Pruning to get the best

“Registration for
the 6th Obudu international mountain race has closed. We have been able
to register 122 local athletes and 69 foreign athletes out of the over
1,500 entries we received,” said Archibong.

“It was not easy
to prune the number down to 69 for the foreign athletes but we had to
do it because we wanted a number we can conveniently cope with bearing
in mind that registration for the African Nations mountain running
championships is still on with the Athletic Federation of Nigeria,” he
said adding that the LOC registered the best mountain runners in the
world for the race.

“The cast we will
have in Obudu come November 27 is the best you can find in any mountain
race anywhere in the world. This is not just the highest paying
mountain race in the world, it is also one where the quality of
participants is unrivalled.”

The race

The Obudu Mountain
Race covers a distance of 11 kilometres uphill, to an altitude of 1,575
metres above sea level. The Race is the highest paying Mountain Race in
the world, with star prize of $50,000 for both men and women.

Champions
and Premier League leaders, Chelsea, suffered their second defeat of
the season as Fernando Torres scored twice to guide resurgent Liverpool
to a deserved 2-0 victory at Anfield on Sunday.

The Spaniard was
back to his predatory best with two well-taken goals in the first half,
inspiring Liverpool to their best performance of the season and their
third successive league win. Arsenal failed to take advantage of the
leaders’ slip, however, as they were beaten 1-0 at home by Newcastle
United courtesy of Andy Carroll’s header at the end of the first half.
Manchester City did gain ground, with Italian striker Mario Balotelli,
scoring both goals in a comfortable 2-0 win at West Bromwich Albion,
before being sent off in the second half.

The results
squeezed the top of the standings with Chelsea still top on 25 points,
two ahead of Manchester United, who beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 on
Saturday. Arsenal and Man City have 20, with Newcastle up to fifth on
17 points. Liverpool, in the bottom three a week ago, jumped to ninth
on 15. Arsenal suffered their second home defeat by a promoted side
this season when they were beaten 1-0 by a Newcastle United team who
climbed into the Premier League’s top four on the back of their victory
on Sunday. Andy Carroll headed the only goal at the end of the first
half to give Newcastle their third successive win. Arsenal, beaten by
Shakhtar Donetsk in their midweek Champions League game, quickly
imposed their usual dominance with some neat passing in midfield. Cesc
Fabregas hit the bar with a deflected free kick after 13 minutes, while
Newcastle keeper Tim Krul made a great one-handed save to keep out a
Samir Nasri shot after 39.

Different proposition

However, Newcastle,
on a high after last week’s 5-1 thrashing of Sunderland, were a very
different proposition both in personnel and attitude than that on show
when they were beaten 4-0 at home by Arsenal in the League Cup last
month. Arsenal goalkeeper, Lukasz Fabianski, had been a virtual
spectator but when he was called into action in the last minute of the
first half he needlessly tried to punch a Kevin Nolan free kick box but
was out jumped by Carroll whose header looped into the empty net.
Arsenal resumed their territorial control in the second half with Theo
Walcott rattling the bar again soon after the restart. However,
Newcastle worked tirelessly to keep them at long range and the home
threat gradually petered out.

Arsenal’s bad day was completed when defender Laurent Koscielny was
shown a straight red card for a last-man foul on substitute Nile Ranger
in stoppage time. “These are big weeks for us and what we have is a
group of players who are all in this together fighting together,
supporting each other and I think that showed in the performance,”
Newcastle manager Chris Hughton told Sky Sports. Captain Nolan, who
scored a hat-trick against Sunderland, added: “We were quite confident
we would come here and get a result and I felt we could win. It’s just
fantastic to come here against such a great footballing side and get a
great result.”

Nigeria’s
Super Falcons yesterday continued their march to re-capture the title
they lost in 2008 to Equatorial Guinea. The Falcons faced the Twiga
Stars of Tanzania with a chance to cement top spot in the group. And it
was another great performance from Perpetua Nkwocha as she confirmed
the Nigerian team’s superiority and inched closer to achieving her
target of scoring 15 goals in the championship.

The match was
largely played in the half of the Twig Stars, who tried to defend their
goal with two banks of five players but Nigeria was on the front foot
as early as the first minute when Francisca Ordega was caught offside
marginally. A minute later, Ordega went on another rampaging run down
the left flank and earned a corner kick.

Two minutes later,
Nkwocha crossed from the right with Ebere Orji lurking to score. It
caused the goalkeeper to panic and palm the ball across the goal. A
header from Ordega followed but it went wide.

The Falcons did not
play with a lot of imagination and wide players were squeezing into the
middle with Nkwocha dropping off the front to join a congested midfield.

Nkwocha’s sixth and seventh goals

But they got the
first goal in the 10th minute, when a cross by Ulunma Jerome was
squeezed into goal from a tight angle to give the Falcons the lead.
That was the sixth goal for master poacher, Nkwocha.

The match then
sparked to life and in the 21st minute, Jerome’s cross cum shot hit the
cross bar and out of play. The Tanzanian team were now really working
hard to deny the Falcons any more scoring chances.

Nonetheless,
Nkwocha scored the second goal of the match and her seventh in the 32nd
minute when a defensive error involving Twiga Stars’ captain Sophie
Mwaskili presented the Nigerian striker with a sight on goal – and she
duly converted the chance.

The Twiga Stars tried to cut the lead with long range shots but Precious Dede easily gathered the efforts.

The first half
should have ended with a third goal for the Falcons but Ordega was in
an offside position when she took the ball off Orji’s toes after she
had dribbled the keeper and was ready to score.

The second half was
very disjointed with the Stars raising their game through Aisha Sada,
who was changing from the right to the left flanks throughout the game.

The half witnessed
another barrage of shots from distance with Sada hitting the cross bar
in the 55th minute and Dede getting injured in the process of making
the save. Gloria Akpa came on for Jerome and Desire Oparanozie came in
for Nkwocha. The changes disrupted the Falcons game but the team
finally scored the third goal in the 82nd minute when a spilled shot by
the Tanzanian keeper was tapped in by Oparanozie – it was her first
goal of the championship.

In yesterday’s other match, South Africa walloped the Malian team
4-0 to join the Falcons in the semi-finals. Their likely opponents will
be defending champions, Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, who have four
points each in Group B.

Osaze Odemwingie returned to action for the first time in over a
month when he came off the bench to feature for West Bromwich Albion in last
Sunday’s Premier League loss to Manchester City.

And his return couldn’t have been better timed as the Baggies
get set to prosecute two games over the next five days.

The last time the Nigerian international appeared for the
Baggies was in their 1-1 draw with Bolton Wanderers back at the start of
October but he picked a knee injury late in the tie and was subsequently
consigned to the treatment table.

As a result, he was withdrawn from international duty and missed
Nigeria’s 2012 Cup of Nations qualifier against Guinea (which the Super Eagles
lost 1-0).

His combativeness and high work rate, which endeared him to fans
of the Super Eagles was undoubtedly missed in the game against the Guineans but
he was even more sorely missed by West Brom fans, who saw their darling Baggies
plummet down the Premier League table in the absence of their newly acquired
Nigerian striker.

The Baggies have won just one game since the former Lokomotiv
Moscow forward picked up the injury. In Odemwingie’s absence, the Baggies have
added four points from a possible 12.

Although they defeated Leicester City 4-1 in the League Cup,
their only win in the Premier League this past month arrived in their 2-1 home
win against Fulham. The victory came a week after their impressive 2-2 draw
with Manchester United at Old Trafford – a game that was actually their first
without their talismanic Nigerian.

In his absence, they suffered back to back losses to Blackpool
and Manchester City, and dropped from the impressive 6th position they occupied
at the end of the tie with Bolton to 10th.

West Ham and Wigan beckon

Up next for the Baggies is an away game on Wednesday against
bottom of the table West Ham and manager Roberto Di Matteo will love to play
Odemwingie from the start especially going by the impressive 30 minute
performance he churned out in the 2-0 loss to Manchester City where had it not
been for a fine save from City goalkeeper Joe Hart, the Nigerian would have
increased his Premier League goals tally to four from seven matches.

Another seemingly easy game for the Baggies will then come up on
Saturday against 18th placed Wigan. But just like the tie against the Hammers,
this will also be an away game.

With the current poor form of their hosts these games present an
opportunity for West Brom to improve their league fortunes.

That is why they will be glad to have Odemwingie back in their fold
especially with the memories of his man of the match performance against
Arsenal still fresh in the mind.

After an interesting season opener on Saturday between Kaduna
United and Kano Pillars at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium – a game that ended in a
1-1 draw, nine other matches came up on Sunday with a total of 18 goals scored.

The best viewing, as far as goals were concerned, was at the
Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu where Rangers defeated visiting Lobi Stars 3-2.

Fred Okwara shot the home side into the lead in the 15th minute,
but 20 minutes later Kingsley Odoh restored parity for the visitors from
Makurdi with the first of his two goals on the evening.

Rangers however went into the half-time interval 2-1 up after
Ejike Uzoenyi, put them back in front with just a minute left on the clock. But
eight minutes after the restart, Odoh popped up yet again to draw Lobi Stars back
on level terms only for Brendan Ogbu to clinch a last gasp winner for the
Flying Antelopes in added time.

Gombe on top

The win shot Rangers to second spot on the league table behind
Gombe United, who ran out 2-0 winners over visiting Heartland of Owerri at the
Tafawa Balewa Stadium, Bauchi courtesy of second half strikes from the duo of
Rafiu Salawudeen and Ifeanyi Okoro.

It was not the sort of start new Super Eagles coach Samson
Siasia had wished for, heading into the encounter, but his counterpart, Bernard
Ogbe, was impressed with the display churned out by his Desert Scorpions.

“It was a really nice performance from the boys. I was impressed
especially with the way they kept fighting for every ball in the second half,”
said Ogbe. “Without taking anything away from Heartland, we deserved to win and
I look forward to a better performance in our next match.”

The game will come up on Saturday at the Rwang Pam Stadium, Jos,
against a JUTH side that played an impressive 1-1 draw against Sharks in Port
Harcourt courtesy of a goal in added time by the Jos side’s Ghanaian import
James Amankwei.

Sharks’ veteran forward, Victor Ezeji, had shot the home side
into the lead 15 minutes from the end.

Amankwei wasn’t the only Ghanaian to hit the back of the net in
the opening weekend of the Nigerian Premier League – his counterpart Owusu
Addae was on target for Dolphins of Port Harcourt in their 1-0 away win at
Plateau United.

At the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan, Shooting Stars defeated visiting
Sunshine Stars 2-1 courtesy of a brace from ex-Sunshine player Gbolahan Salami,
while John Chukwudi’s 35th minute goal was enough to see holders,

Enyimba overcome an Ocean Boys side inspired by some spectacular
goalkeeping heroics from former junior international Femi Thomas.

Emmanuel Omodiagbe was the star in Warri Wolves 1-0 win over
Kwara United while in Minna, Sule Adamu’s 15th minute strike earned maximum
points for Niger Tornadoes over visiting Crown.

The only game which failed to produce a goal was between Bukola Babes and
Zamfara United at the Offa Township Stadium.