“We Gave Them Too Much Room to Operate” – Tornadoes Coach After Narrow Loss To Sporting Lagos
Niger Tornadoes head coach, Hamza Abara says his team gave Sporting Lagos too much room to operate in the first half which led to their 2-1 loss at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena on Sunday night.
Abara in a post match mortem told FreekickNaija.com.ng that the result was not the through reflection of the game despite not taking their chances.
The highly anticipated showdown was a game of two halves as Sporting dominated the first half while the visitors took control of the second half.
“Football is all about repetition of mistakes for you as a team to adjust and take the day or your opponent,” said Abara.
“Sporting Lagos capitalized on our mistakes and got their two goals, we tried to come back in the second half but we couldn’t take our chances.
“As a team you have to map out your strategy before every game. We came with our game plan, but unfortunately we failed to execute it appropriately, that’s why during the break we had to check our lapses.”
The Noisy Lagosian took the lead in the 30th minute when Jonathan Alukwu reacted quickly to struck home from close range.
Junior Lokosa double their advantage in the 45th minute before the break while Yahuza Bala half the deficit in the 67th minute.
The visitors thought they had level score in the 80th minute when Yahuza Bala beautifully looped the ball over the Christian Nwoke in goal for Sporting Lagos but the goal chalked off by the assistant referee for an offside.
The former Elkanemi Warriors gaffer continued: “We gave them too much room to operate in the first half but we were able to curtailed that in the second half.
“The result was the consequency of our mistakes like I said earlier, we will go back to drawing board and correct our mistakes before the next game,” Abara maintained.
When asked about his plans for the next game, He replied: “We don’t have to reveal our plans for the next game, that is left for me and my technical crew. Be sure that we are going back to drawing board and the aim is to win our next game.”
