Friday 14 June 2013

watchout

Something big is about to happen on the site...a total break away from the norms...sportspadal will blow your mind as we go full flight...be on the watch

Sunday 9 June 2013

Sarata and 5 female youthful footballers destine for greatness

As a NIGERIAN football writer, the question that everybody always wants to ask you never changes: who is the next big star of the Female Football game? 


Still in Nigeria and young, Desire Oparanozie is already a veteran in the eyes of many. She is now old news.


People are already wanting to look beyond the youngster and, if you like.


There are, of course, plenty of candidates. Some will doubtless make it to the top of the game.


So, let's take a look at six teenage players tipped for the top in future years.


There are too many to mention!


6. Amirat Adebisi


A safe choice for the list, Adebisi has been tipped for the top for some time now and was the star of Robo Queens U13.


A diminutive attacking midfielder, Adebisi operates at the point of the midfield, looking to open up defences for her team's attacking players.


Also an excellent free-kick taker, the player has a taste for goals and is often found making late runs into the area to finish off attacking moves that she may very well have instigated. 


The talent is there, but the step up to star at first-team level is perhaps the greatest challenge a No. 10 will face in their career.


5. Monday Gift 


Having played as a wide forward at Under-10 and Under-12 level, it was recently that she began to be used as a central striker. It was in this position that her game began to evolve from one of just electric pace, to now being regarded as a fine all-around attacking player. 


Gift's progress is being carefully monitored by many in high places—she will soon have the chance to prove herself at Under-17 and Under-20 level.


4. Sarata Bello 


Bello is just one of a rising double-act making waves at Methodist High School. She is leading the way for the team's much-hyped next generation.


Blessed with great speed, Bello is blessed with grit and determination.


The youngster has excellent close control and has shown herself to be a fine finisher when presented with chances.


3. Barakat Olaiya


Attacking midfielder Olaiya is just one of a handful of promising talents currently emerging at Bayelsa Queens.


A rapid dribbler with the ball, the No. 10 has proven herself to possess the technical attributes needed to both beat defenders and pick a key pass to her teammates. She has also built a reputation as a consistent goalscorer at youth levels.


2. Rofiat Sule 


Often praised for her down-to-earth attitude, Sule is a surprisingly mature player for her age. She is quick and well-built, but relies primarily on her technical ability and footballing intelligence to shine. 


Rofiat Sule is a natural goal poacher. 


1. Rasheedat Ajibade


Renowned for her intelligent positioning, ability to beat opponents and, of course, her finishing, she is already being quietly compared in style to Desire Oparanozie and the legendary Perpetual Nkwocha.


Such is the talent of Ajibade that she scored a screamer for FC Robo Queens against Confluence Queens on 17th May 2013.

Thursday 11 April 2013

CAF U17 CHAMPIONSHIO: ALL THE FIXTURES AS GOLDEN EAGLETS REMAIN CLEAR FAVORITES

The 2013 African U-17 Championship is a football competition organized by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament will take place in Morrocco between 13th – 27th of  April, 2013.
The competition will be hosted by the two beautiful cities of casablanca and marrakech
The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria are the overwhelming favorites to win the championship as they were ruthless on the way to the championship.
The Nigerians capped off their impressive qualification campaign which saw them let in just a goal and scoring 21times which saw the Golden Eaglets, make a bold return at the continental fiesta after failing to qualify for the last two editions; 2009 (Algeria) and 2011 (Rwanda).

The tiki taka style of play of the team was a delight to watch at the Aspire training ground in Qatar,(where the team had their training camp for morrocco 2013 )  as the team combined sublime skills with great attacking flair to despatch an Aspire selected side 7 - 1 and their sexy football against As saad fc (a squad which have the great Raul of real madrid in their fold) made many to fall in love with the team which many observers of the game are already tipping  to emulate the feat of class of 1985,1993 and 2007 by winning the FIFA U17 World cup in United Arab Emirates in october.

Other teams that one have to watch out for are host Morrocco which have over ten of the young boys playing thier football abroad also the black starlets of Ghana cannot be written off when it comes to age grade competitions.

 The top four teams will qualify for the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

GROUP A                                                          GROUP B
MORROCCO                                                   NIGERIA
GABON                                                             GHANA  
TUNISIA                                                            COTE D IVORE
BOTSWANA                                                    CONGO

    ALL THE FIXTURES


13 April 2013
15:00
    Morocco      v      Gabon     Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca
       
13 April 2013
18:00
    Tunisia      v      Botswana     Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca
       
16 April 2013
15:30
    Gabon      v      Tunisia     Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca
       
16 April 2013
18:30
    Botswana      v      Morocco     Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca
       
19 April 2013
18:30
    Morocco      v      Tunisia     Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca
       
19 April 2013
18:30
    Gabon      v      Botswana     Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech
   
14 April 2013
15:00
    Congo      v      Côte d'Ivoire     Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech
       
14 April 2013
18:00
    Nigeria      v      Ghana     Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech
       
17 April 2013
15:30
    Côte d'Ivoire      v      Nigeria     Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech
       
17 April 2013
18:30
    Ghana      v      Congo     Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech
       
20 April 2013
15:00
    Congo      v      Nigeria     Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech
       
20 April 2013
15:00
    Côte d'Ivoire      v      Ghana     Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca
Semi-finals
23 April 2013
15:00
    Winner Group A     v     Runner-up Group B     Stade Mohamed V, Casablanca
       
24 Aprl 2013
18:30
    Winner Group B     v     Runner-up Group A     Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech
       
Third place match
27 April 2013
    Loser Semi-final 1     v     Loser Semi-final 2     Stade de Marrakech, Marrakech
       

Sunday 31 March 2013

AYC U 20 ALGERIA 2013 : ALL THE RESULTS FOR THE RECORDS



March 16    17:30    Algeria    0     vs     Benin 0    Stade  Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchen                     March 16    20:30    Ghana     1     vs       Egypt 2    Stade   Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchent

March  17   17:30     Nigeria     0     vs      Mali  1     Stade  Ahmed Zabana, Oran      

March 17    20:30     Congo DR  0   vs      Gabon 0       Stade   Ahmed Zabana, Oran

March 19   17:30     Ghana       1      vs      Benin 0     Stade    Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchent

March 19   20:30      Algeria     0     vs       Egypt 1      Stade    Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchent

March 20  17:30      Mali          2       vs     Congo DR 1        Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran

March 20  20:30      Gabon      0       vs      Nigeria    1          Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran

March 22  17:30      Algeria     0         vs     Ghana  2               Stade Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchent

March 22  17:30      Benin      0          vs     Egypt  1                Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran

March 23 20:30      Nigeria     3           vs    Congo DR       1       Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran

March 23 20:30      Mali            0         vs           Gabon      2              Stade  Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchen

                                      SEMI FINALS    FIXTURES

17:00      EGYPT  2 VS  NIGERIA  0                         Stade  Omar Oucief, Aïn Témouchen  SF 1

17:00      MALI 2 (0)  VS  GHANA (0) 4 AET                         Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran                 SF 2

                                                  THIRD PLACE FINAL

         MARCH 29 17:30        NIGERIA   2   VS     MALI   1    Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran

                                                         FINAL

       MARCH 30  17:30         EGYPT 1 VS    GHANA  1( 5-4) AET Stade Ahmed Zabana, Oran

EGPPT 1 VS GHANA 1 EGYPT 5 VS GHANA 4 AET THE MATCH REPORT : Egypt crowned AYC champions



Egypt won their fourth CAF U-20 Championship title on Saturday after a 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory over Ghana in the final played at Ahmed Zabana stadium in Oran on Saturday. The two sides had played a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
Converting penalties for Egypt were Saleh Gomaa, Ahmed Samir, Ahmed ElSayed, Mahmoud Monem and Hossam Mohamed while Ramy Rabie missed and for Ghana were Richmond Nketiah, Jeremiah Arkorful, Lawrence Lartey, Ebenezer Ofori while Attama Joseph and Moses Odjer missed.

The 12th Orange CAF Youth Championship final opened with two early goals, the first coming after only three minutes when Ghanaian defender Richmond Nketiah brought down left winger Mahmoud Monem in the box. Up stepped Saleh Gomaa to convert the spot kick and the Young Pharaohs went in front. Two minutes later at the other end Ahmed Samir went for a kick clearance and fouled Moses Odjer who was first to the ball with his head resulting in the second penalty of the game. Jeremiah Arkorful sent keeper Mossad Awad the wrong way and with 7 minutes on the clock it was 1-1.

The quick goals seemed to have helped the two sides settled down into the game and flowing passing football befitting a final was soon on show. Ghana were productive attacking from the right flank where Nketiah, Odjer and Ebenezer Assifuah were combining well. Egypt on the other hand were channeling the bulk of the play via the left wing looking to use Monem who was a constant threat to the Ghanaian defenders with his silky skills each time he was on the ball. The game brought out some interesting tassels in the midfield as Gomaa, Hossam Mohamed and Mahmoud Ahmed for the Egyptians wrestled with Clifford Aboagye, Ebenezer Ofori and Salifu Seidu in a bid to control and influence the game. 

On 30th minute Arkorful almost doubled the Black Satellites’ score with a delightful free-kick that cannoned off the cross bar and bounced back into play to be cleared by the Egyptians. The first half ended 1-1 and the game maintained its tempo upon resumption. The evenly balanced contest continued with action swing from one end to the other much to the delight of a good appreciative crowd that came to Ahmed Zabana stadium.   

Nketiah was in the mood to shoot and on 60th minute he warmed Awad ‘s palms with a rasping shot and not long after Arkorful saw his free-kick sail centimeters wide as Ghana accumulated a few free kick around the edge of the Egyptian box. Egypt’s response was swift, captain Ramy Rabia started a run from half-way and found Omar Bassam with a pass but his progress towards goal was well checked by outstanding Ghanaian captain Lawrence Lartey who was at the hearty of most of his side’s fine defending.

Going into the last fifteen minutes it was Ghana who close to adding to the score line and a combination of keeper Awad’s reflexes and solid defending from Mahmoud Elmetwaly and Yasser Ahmed kept the Satellites at bay. Some substitutions revived Egypt’s attacking play in particular the contribution of pacey substitute Ahmed ElSayed. The last five minutes both sides seemed resigned to play extra time, as they pass the ball round not too keen to concede at this late stage.Extra time could not separate the sides and it was left to a penalty shoot-out to decide the winner.

Friday 29 March 2013

EGYPT VS GHANA IN AYC FINAL SHOWDOWN AS NIGERIA DEFEATED MALI 2-1 NIGERIA,MALI KNOW WORLD CUP FOES IN FRESH WORLD CUP DRAW


EGYPT VS GHANA IN  AYC FINAL SHOWDOWN
AS NIGERIA DEFEATED MALI 2-1
NIGERIA,MALI KNOW WORLD CUP FOES IN FRESH WORLD CUP DRAW


 


Egypt and Ghana will play in the final of the 2013 Orange CAF U-20 Championship on Saturday at Ahmed Zabana stadium in Oran, Algeria. The Young Pharaohs go into the match as favourites after notching four straight wins including an opening 2-1 victory over same opponents, Ghana two weeks ago.

Ghana coach Sellas Tetteh was at pains dispelling the suggestions that the Black Satellites will be seeking revenge.  “ It worries me when l hear such talk about being motivated by revenge, and wanting to get back at Egypt for that loss in the first game. That match is in the past and our approach to the final is not based on a need to even things or any such intention. We are in a final and will play to win, regardless of what has happened before. “ said Tetteh
Tetteh’s counterpart, Rabie Yassine said he would be expecting a challenging encounter with Ghana but he too will not be dwelling on the result from their last meeting. “First of all, we have a lot of respect for Ghana and their football but we are ready to face them on Saturday and l have been working on my team and concentrating on what we need to do to win.  We want to make our own history, we have our destiny in our own hands and I believe we can win this tournament. We are capable, we have what it takes to win,” Yassine said.


When the sides met last time Ghana created more scoring chances but Egypt were more efficient with theirs and thus carried the day. According to coach Yassine his side will strike a balance between offensive and defensive play but will definitely take the game to the opposition and continue with the style and combinations that has served the side well so far. “We have done our homework on Ghana and hopefully my boys will again execute the game plan the coaching staff will set like they have done so well so far. We will play our football on the pitch and yes after the match l will say more too and by then God willing l will talking as a winner then” concluded Yassine


Both coaches are hoping a have a clean bill of health but admitted they have some waiting to do on some key players currently nursing injuries. The Egyptian captain Rami Rabea will have to pass a late fitness test on his injured ankle but coach Yassine is hopeful he will have his captain on the field. Rabea scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against the host nation, Algeria and has been a vital cog in Egyptian side. 

Meanwhile coach Tetteh is hoping that Derrick Mensah will recover in time to be considered for selection.
Sellas Tetteh famously engineered Ghana U-20’s finest year in 2009 leading the side to the African Youth Championship in Rwanda before Ghana won the FIFA U-20 World Cup held in Egypt in 2009 to become the first African side to do so. “By God’s grace we shall see how the final goes but l believe this one is for us, they had theirs in the first game. We have come very far and we are looking forward to this match. These boys do need any more motivation than being in the final. That alone is self-motivation enough to have made it this far , so we are going to work very hard to overcome and we are in high spirits, so God willing we shall be victorious." Tetteh said


Both Ghana and Egypt currently have three African U-20 Championship titles each so the winner will move onto four (4) which is tow behind record holders Nigeria with six. The final match will be played at Ahmed Zabana stadium in Oran, Algeria and kick off is 17h30 local time


 AS FLYING EAGLES KNOW WORLCUP FOES AFTER ANOTHER FIFA DRAW


Meanwhile FIFA announces that a draw will be conducted  on 30th of March 2013 to determine  which groups the teams finishing second, third and fourth at the on-going 2013 African U-20 Youth Championship will be in for the FIFA U-20 World Cup,Turkey 2013.

After FIFA organized a draw in Turkey on March 25, 2013, for the final tournament of the World Championship the eventual African U-20 winners have been drawn in a group designated as  "African champion " and Saturday’s draw will be about placing the remaining three teams which have been designated as “CAF” after the draw on March 25,2013 into other groups.
The Flying Eagles of Nigeria defeated the young Eagles of mali by two goals to one to place third leaving the Malians at the fourth place in a match decided  friday evening in oran algiers  .

The draw will take place after the final match between Egypt and Ghana and the  medal ceremony on 30th  March 2013 at Ahmed Zabana Stadium in Oran, Algeria.