Golden Eaglets shock Raul's Al-Sadd 1-0

The Golden Eaglets on Friday continued their superb form en route to the 10th CAN Under-17 Championship by beaten Qatar Star League  side , Al Sadd  of Doha at Jassim Bin Hamad Stadium otherwise courtesy of a goal by Ifeanyi Matthew.

Unlike their previous friendly matches, the stake was higher against Al-Sadd which paraded legendary Spanish star, Raul Gonzalez.

But the Nigerian budding stars did not give the former Real Madrid captain any
breathing space.

Rather, it was the young Nigerian boys that dominated the game and was unlucky not to have scored on at least two good occasions. 

Striker Alhassan Ibrahim nearly scored with the last kick of the first half with only the opposing goalkeeper to beat but his shot shockingly hit the side net.

The second half was fast and furious with the Golden Eaglets enjoying more of the possession but they failed to convert some glaring chances but it was always going to be a question of time.

Midfielder, Ifeanyi Matthew who missed a penalty kick in the 60th minute redeemed himself when he scored the only goal of the match in the 72nd minute after collecting a pocket pass from new entrant, Taiwo Awoniyi.

Coach Manu Garba described the performance of the players as inch-perfect judging  by the calibre of team his wards played against:" It was a good performance from the boys today and without
any doubt, one of our best games  since we assembled these players last year," he said.

Meanwhile, the players have dedicated today's victory to Mr. Tayo Egbaiyelo of the NFF, the Team Secretary whose birthday coincided with Friday's match.

 The players noted that Dazzler as Tayo is fondly called is their ather figure hence the affection.
“Today is special to us for so many reasons," defender Izu Omego said."

Apart from the fact that we beat Al-Sadd which is a major boost towards our preparation for the Under-17 Championship.

“This is a victory for our team secretary who has been so nice to all of us. He along with other officials has helped us but today's victory is for him."