Skip to main content

Kadiri Ikhana Blames Kano Pillars Crash to Abia Warriors on Carelessness

Kadiri Ikhana is a man of many record when it comes to the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL). He Kano Pillars to a back to back win of the NPFL title and at Enyimba he became the first coach to lead a Nigerian club to win the CAF Champions League. Ikhana is also known to have been among the few coaches who have won the NPFL with different clubs and last Sunday, he created another minor first; being the first coach to lead Kano Pillars to a defeat by Abia Warriors.

What shocked pundits perhaps was the margin of defeat which was a huge as 3-0 score line with chairman of Abia Warriors, Chief Emeka Inyama gloating that it would have been higher but for squandered opportunities. But Ikhana was forthright in admitting that his side had themselves to blame for the thrashing and attributed that defeat to carelessness on the side his players.

Ikanna spoke to www.npfl.ng and also suggested that his players may have underrated Abia Warriors going into the game.

"We lost to carelessness from my players. We should have got a result here (in Umuahia) but my players, felt Abia Warriors were not going to hurt them. Maybe for some of them, they felt because previous trips to Umuahia have seen Pillars getting good results. You could see the manner we conceded the goals, we played well, but I think it was the second goal that killed the game after a defensive blunder. Abia Warriors took their chances when it came, and scored three goals past us," were the summations Ikhana who departed from the usual style of coaches looking to match officials to blame for their defeats.

Interestingly, many coaches and their players point to the Umuahia Township Stadium ground as not good for good football and often heap the blame for their defeat on the playing surface. That too was dismissed by Ikhana as he insisted that any good side can win on any turf.

"I cannot attribute the loss to the playing turf in Umuahia. Yes the pitch may not be that good, but we've seen teams get results in Umuahia this season. The football league is a game played home and away, so a team can win anywhere. If we had converted the chances that came our way, who would have been talking about the playing turf?"

An own goal from Pillars Cameroonian defender Joel Djondang, and goals from Abia Warriors pair of Bashir Sherif and Sunday Adetunji saw off the former champions in the Matchday 15 fixture in Umuahia and lifted Abia Warriors to 6th spot on the log.

Source: npfl
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Juventus Manager Allegri Signs Contract Extension Untill 2020

Massimiliano Allegri has signed a new contract with Juventus, keeping him with the Serie A side until 2020, the Turin outfit have confirmed. The 49-year-old will remain at Juventus Stadium for another three seasons, having guided the Old Lady to a third successive domestic double. Allegri helped Juve win the Serie A and Copa Italia titles this season, and guided them to the Champions League final. Since taking over at Juventus Stadium in 2014, he has won the domestic double each season and has a 69 per cent winning rate. The former midfielder had been linked with a move to Arsenal before Arsene Wenger agreed a new two-year deal, but will now remain in Turin until the end of the 2019-20 season. In a statement, Juventus said: "Juventus is pleased to announce that Massimiliano Allegri has signed a contract renewal at the club until 2020. "Today's agreement extends a working relationship that has seen the Bianconeri consolidate their position as Italy's...
Post a Comment
Read more

Zlatan Ibrahimovic Could Make Man United Return this Year, Says Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho is confident Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be available for Manchester United before the end of the year. The Swedish striker - who has been regularly updating his Instagram followers of his rehabilitation from a knee injury - has this week begun doing some very light ball work with the club's coaching staff at Carrington. Ibrahimovic signed a new one-year deal at United on August 24 after the first serious injury of his career cut short a stellar first season at Old Trafford earlier this year. The player's doctor Freddie Fu has warned against rushing his return and United boss Jose Mourinho had previously suggested he will not play for the club in January but has reassessed that prediction. "(Paul) Pogba is not here I don't know when he will be back," he said. "Zlatan is working under our control here as I would expect. He is working so, so hard but he won't be back in the next week or the next couple of weeks. "He nee...
Post a Comment
Read more

Barcelona Summer Signing Ousmane Dembele Suffers Fresh Injury Blow

Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele is set to be on the sidelines for around "three to four weeks" after suffering a fresh hamstring injury during the Catalan's 4-2 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday. The 20-year-old winger moved to the Nou Camp from Borussia Dortmund during the summer transfer window in deal worth £93.4m  plus €40m in add-ons. The Frenchman spent more than three months on the sidelines as a result before returning to action during Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Celta Vigo in La Liga on 4 January.Earlier on September Dembele was indeed forced to undergo a surgery after rupturing the "tendon in his femoral bicep in his left thigh" during a clash with Getafe when he was only making his third appearance for the club. Dembele has since made three more appearances, playing 25 minutes during the win over Real Sociedad after replacing Paulinho in the second half. But the Frenchman will miss the upcoming games after Barcelona revealed that th...
Post a Comment
Read more