By Andy Emephia
Ex Super Eagles international , Peter Nieketien, has described the performance of his colleagues at the just concluded African Cup of Nations ( AFCON) in Morocco , as “creditable”.
He however picked holes in their semi finals encounter with hosts Morocco, saying it was their worst display, as the team played continuously to the advantage of the Moroccans , as there was little or no good combination from the midfield to the strikers.
Said Nieketien : “Let’s admit that the referees were partial in their officiating , but the Super Eagles continuously played to the advantage of the Moroccan team. There was little or no good combination from the midfielders to the strikers, apart from the early fifteen minutes of the first half that Lukmon took that shot at goal”.
The former attacking midfielder famous for his adorning the Super Eagles NO 8 jersey , gave kudos to the Super Eagles defence line up of Calvin Bassey and others but noted that “although our Captain Wilfred Ndidi was absent, we really didn’t have a plan B to outplay the Moroccan team. After surviving the pressure , the attitude and ways the penalties were taken wasn’t encouraging . But at least, we got the Bronze as compensation for a good outing”.
Nieketien said the third place match with the Pharaohs of Egypt “wasn’t too bad”, saying that the approach to the challenge and execution of the penalties were different, unlike that of the semi finals with hosts Morocco.
Peter Nieketien in his playing days with the Super Eagles won a silver medal at the CAF championship in Morocco 1998, as well as a trophy at the Supreme Council of Sports in Africa ( SCSA) , in Ethiopia, in 1989.
