Lagos SWAN, others say Eagles’ defeat of Squirrels exciting

The Lagos chapter of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and other stakeholders on Saturday congratulated the Super Eagles for their 1-0 win over the Squirrels of Republic of Benin.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that substitute Paul Onuachu scored in added time to give the Eagles victory at Stade Charles de Gaulle in Porto Novo.

Commenting on the victory, Chairman of Lagos SWAN, Debo Oshundun, commended the efforts of the team and described it as brilliant.

“It is a good thing that we won against the Benin team, although we have already qualified judging from the result from the Lesotho versus Sierra-Leone match.

“The fact that we are able to defeat a team that had not lost in front of their home fans for eight years is quite commendable, and it will serve as a morale-booster.

“The team now have enough confidence to face Lesotho.

“We are also excited because the Super Eagles will be playing in Lagos after almost 20 years of not playing in Lagos.

“The result means that the team is coming back to Lagos with a lot of good tidings and we are looking forward to receiving them,’’ he said.

Oshundun also said all hands were on deck for the successful outing of the Super Eagles against Lesotho on Tuesday.

“We are much happy for Tuesday’s match, and the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and others are well prepared for the match.

“We want the Eagles to cap it all with a resounding victory against Lesotho and they should not be complacent because beating Benin is not a reason to be complacent.

“Every match is important, because if Lesotho comes to Lagos to pick a point off us, it will put a dent on our reputation and FIFA ranking.

“The Lesotho match should also be an opportunity for the coach to test new players as well,’’ he said.

The Secretary of Lagos SWAN, Bunmi Ogunyale, also commended the team for a good outing against the Squirrels, adding that the win would improve the team’s FIFA ranking.

“I want to believe that the team did a very good job because it was not easy breaking the jinx in Porto Novo after eight years of an unbeaten streak.

“The win will help the Super Eagles’ ranking in the next FIFA rankings and by the time we also win against Lesotho, more points would have been gained.

“We know that FIFA rankings now decide the draws for the World Cup qualifiers. So, we need more points in order to avoid the top teams in the qualifiers,’’ he said.

Former Super Eagles’ Media Officer, Toyin Ibitoye, on his part said that the win was a big one.

He said it could bring more positive results for the Super Eagles in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers and the AFCON.

“The win in Benin is a big one indeed and a morale-booster for Nigeria, especially being the first loss to the visiting team in a long run of eight years.

“We need to commend Gernot Rohr for the changes he made which are perfect. We also need to commend the goalscorer, Paul Onuachu, for the winning goal.

“We have qualified for AFCON and we are looking ahead for a good game on Tuesday, and also looking for a good outing in AFCON next year which we pray will be better than that of 2019.

“We are also looking ahead to the World Cup qualifiers in June. This team comes with a lot of promise and they can do the nation proud,’’ he said.(NAN)

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