Eaglets Secure Ticket In Grand Style

Golden Eaglets have secured a ticket to the 2013 African Under-17 Championship following a 2-0  win  over Mali on Sunday at the Mamadou Konate Stadium in Bamako.

The self-styled New Nigerian Golden Eaglets consolidated on their 2-0 win a fortnight ago with identical win after Isaac Success and Bernard Bulbwa grabbed the goals in the 23rd and 55th minutes  to qualify on 4-0 aggregate.

The victory means that the Golden Eaglets completed the series with a 100 percent record scoring 21 goals and conceding just one.The goals against the Junior Eagles of Mali could have been more but Guinean referee, Ahmed Toure was a kill joy as he disallowed an earlier goalin the 12th minute but the Eaglets responded  well as they took command of the game.

Nigeria failed to qualify for the last two editions of the African Under-17 Championship hosted by Algeria and Rwanda but would be favourites when they returned to the continental cadet fiesta in
Morocco after recording the best results in all the qualifiers.

The Golden Eaglets turned the Stade Mamadou Konate to a party ground as the Malian fans hailed the team’s extraordinary performance against the Junior Eagles.

Coach Manu Garba (MFR) said the achievement of the team was not a mean feat particularly in Sunday’s final round of qualifier against a strong Malian side.

" First and foremost we give God all the glory and we are dedicating this qualification  ticket to all Nigerians  ," a visibly happy Garba who incidentally  assisted late Yemi Tella when Nigeria won the 2007 continental cadet competition in Cotonou as well as the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Korea."We are proud of these boys who have endured so much to secure this ticket."

With the ticket to Maroc 2013 ticket secured, coach Garba said the team would be beefed in order to present a strong force at the tournament:" Of course, we have more work to do to win the trophy in
Morocco but now, we want to enjoy this moment.

“We thank Nigerians for all the support they gave to us and Insha Allah, we would do well in Morocco, “he added.