Head coach of the Nigerian Under-20 football team, John Obuh wants his team to bounce back from their opening day 0-1 defeat to Mali at the 2013 African Youth Championship in Algeria.
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An excellent strike from Adama Niane on 13 minutes condemned the defending champions to defeat at the Stade Ahmed Zabane, Oran on Sunday.
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Obuh has now warned his charges in the strongest possible terms that they cannot afford to feel sorry for themselves ahead of their second game against Gabon on Wednesday.
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"We can't afford to dwell on the defeat by Mali. We just must be strong mentally for our next game against Gabon so that we win and stay alive in the competition," Obuh explained.
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"It was unfortunate we lost as we did not plan to do so. We knew they will come out strongly against us, but we must now look to our next game."
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The gaffer bemoaned his team's poor finishing in a game they bossed from start to finish.
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"We had every opportunity to win this match, but we lost a lot of chances," he lamented.
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"We just needed to score one goal and we would have gone on to win this match.
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"We were too much in a hurry in front of goal, but I believe we will correct this problem before Wednesday."
They better respond in a fierce manner if they want to remain in the competition. The team need to improve
In my opinion, they need more than fierce responce to bounce back in this competition. They are in a tight corner now