Rohr On Difficult Match Vs Seychelles, Uzoho's Howler, Finishing Top Of The Group

Published: March 22, 2019

Super Eagles were made to work hard before securing a 3-1 win in their final Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Seychelles on Friday, thanks to goals from Odion Ighalo, Henry Onyekuru and Moses Simon.

Speaking pitch-side to reporters after the game, Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr revealed that the players knew it was going to be a difficult match from the very beginning.

The Super Eagles struggled to get going in the first half and Ighalo saw his 35th minute goal cancelled out by Roddy Melanie on 41 minutes after a goalkeeping blunder from Francis Uzoho.

''We knew that it would be a difficult match because it was not the same team from Seychelles. They started preparations very early in March and seven new players were invited,'' said Rohr to reporters.

''The players knew that we have to expect a very difficult match, they only defended. It was attack, defense so we tried to come in from the wings.

''We scored the first goal through a penalty, then there was an individual mistake that can happen to anybody.

''In the second half, we scored two nice goals. They did the job, we wanted to win the game and finish top of the table which is very important for the FIFA ranking and be the head of the group at the AFCON.

''A lot of mistakes still in the construction of the game we have to improve, I could see some interesting players. It was good to see everybody again after four months.''

Nigeria will tackle 2019 AFCON hosts Egypt in their next international match at the Stephen Keshi Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel