New Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi has hailed the performance of Inter Milan midfielder Joel Obi in Saturday’s goalless draw with Botswana.
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He also singled out skipper Joseph Yobo, Taye Taiwo as well as Dickson Etuhu and Fengor Ogude for special praise.
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“Joel Obi (was outstanding), mostly in the second half. Yobo was a rock. Reminded me of when I was playing. Taye Taiwo did well and even Efe (Ambrose) did good at right back and the two central midfielders (Dickson Etuhu, Fengor Ogude),” remarked Keshi.
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Fulham midfielder Etuhu was voted the man of the match by the journalists who covered the match.
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Despite not starting off on a winning note as Eagles new coach, Keshi said he will take away a lot of positives from his first match in charge.
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“We had plenty of positives. The pressure level to win the ball quickly when we lose it, and communication between the players. And they were playing for each other. There was this communication going on and I need to build more on that,” said Keshi, who also revealed that the players were able to adapt to the various systems he tried out during the match.
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“We picked up after the first 15 minutes and started playing the way we want. And in the last 15 minutes the level and the intensity came up, which is what I want to see.
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“In the second half it was much better. I am happy, it’s just that we had a lot of chances but didn’t get to score. But the performance of the boys after three training sessions is something I hope we can build on.”
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He added: “I was disappointed that we didn’t score, but not that much. If you look at the way they played especially in the second half, it would have been great for them to get the goals.?