The Abia State football team, Abia Warriors has blamed fatigue for their loss of the President Federation Cup to El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri on Saturday in Lagos.
According to the teams Head Coach, Bethel Orji, his team’s 0-2 loss to El-Kanemi Warriors of Maiduguri in Saturday’s finals of the President Federation Cup was due to fatigue.
Orji disclosed this in an interview on the sidelines of their defeat in the finals of the oldest Cup competition in Nigeria. The matched was played at the Mobolaji Johnson Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
The News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reports that the two-time winners of the old FA Cup, Desert Warriors, defeated the Aba Landlords.
The Warriors from the God’s Own State, Abia was silenced by the two goals from Nasiru Salihu of El-Kanemi.
Salihu scored in the 32nd minute of the first half and in the 69th minute.
The Abia Warriors Head Coach said, “The final was game of the Warriors in which one must emerge as champion. We were unfortunate that things did not go our way especially in the first half.
“Our footings were wrong and so was our possession, so we paid dearly for that. We had a rather bad game. Not because El-Kanemi watched our clips, we did not get it right.
“It may be because the players were carried away with the atmosphere of playing in the finals. But also, we did not play to our optimum,” he said.
The Head Coach, therefore, blamed his boys’ performance to fatigue. He said, “My players did not have enough rest before Saturday’s finals.
“In the past one month, we have been on the road playing our league matches and trying to survive relegation. And also playing the FA Cup.
“Thank God that we survived relegation to the 10th position to face the FA Cup. But towards the final we had a terrible journey around the country.
“We traveled to Gombe to honour our last league match. Then traveled to Abuja, thinking that the finals will be played there.
“We were shocked to be told that the finals would now be played in Lagos. So, we had to travel to Lagos on Wednesday night.
“Truly, fatigue had set in because for the past four weeks it has been terrible. And unfortunately, today we didn’t get a goal,” he bemoaned.
But his counterpart, the Coach of El-Kanemi Warriors, Ali Zubair, praised the vibrancy of his youthful team. He said the youthfulness of his team played a determining role in winning the match.
“I demanded for a group of young talents, ready for success. And ready to make a name for themselves.
“My intentions of gathering younger players to prosecute the season turned out to be positive.
“Because the team is young, the players have more perseverance and resilience to keep pushing no matter the odds.
“Although it was not easy. I knew because of their age advantage they will do well,” he said.
source: NAN
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