The head coach of the senior national team of Angola Pedro Gonçalves has explained why his team were beaten 1-0 by the senior national team of Nigeria in the quarter final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, OwnGoalNigeria.com reports.
Ademola Lookman got the only goal of the game off a fantastic assist from Moses Simon to hand Nigeria a spot in the semi final in a game that saw both teams go all out in search of a win.
Explaining why his team fell short, the coach lamented the fact that his team has travelled around Ivory Coast for the tournament, hence suffering from fatigue unlike the Super Eagles who have been in the capital city of Abidjan since the start of the tournament.
“Nigeria have never left Abidjan since the start of the tournament, but we (Angola) have played in about three cities. Truthfully, fatigue also played a path in our performance but it still no excuse. Let’s just commend ourselves for getting this far”, he said at the post match conference.
“I would like to congratulate the Nigerian team. They have a very strong squad. It was a demanding game Trying to mourn about this defeat is not a good attitude to have. Our strikers didn’t perform. Nigeria were more efficient.”
He went further to praise the quality in the Nigerian side saying their quality played a huge role in determining the outcome of the game.
“It’s not like my players were scared or star struck at the Nigerian players. But when you’re faced with reality, you must accept it.”
“Which players are you playing against? What are their qualities? Nigeria has quality, and it showed.”
Mohammed Mowiz Suleiman