Amuneke excited after Eaglet's 5-1 trouncing of local side

Golden
Eaglets’
Assistant Coach,
Emmanuel
Amuneke, has
expressed joy at
his team’s 5-1
spanking of
Diamond Stars
Academy FC in a
friendly at St
Patrick’s College,
Ikot Ansa,
Calabar on
Wednesday.
The national
U-17 team is
currently camped
in Calabar, ahead
of the 2013 CAF
U-17 qualifier
against Niger
Republic in
September, this
year.
The friendly
match against
Diamond Stars
was the Eaglets’
first training
match since
resumption last
week in Calabar,
for their second
closed camping.
Diamond Stars
won the Cross
River State
Governor’s Cup in
2010.
Amuneke said on
Wednesday after
the friendly that
although the
match, against a
grassroots team,
was part of
other friendlies
lined up to fine-
tune the Eaglets
for the qualifier.
“It is about time
the players begin
to assume
responsibilities on
the pitch and we
are encouraged
that they are
executing some
of the things we
are teaching
them.
“This is our first
game but the
players are
gradually getting
back into their
groove which is a
good thing to
see,’’ Amuneke,
the 1994 African
Footballer of the
Year, said.
Kelechi Iheanacho
was easily the
man-of-the-
match, which
was played under
the rain.
Iheanacho
combined
beautifully with
Isaac Success in
the attack as the
Eaglets scored
their opening goal
through Ifeanyi
Matthew in the
12th minute,
while Ahmed
Umar made it
two in the 27th
minute.
Undaunted,
Diamond Stars
later reduced the
tally through a
header by Peter
Hen in the 41st
minute to end
the first half.
In the second
half, Diamond
Stars squandered
another
opportunity of
scoring an
equalizer almost
immediately
after losing a
penalty.
Eaglets’ Wilfred
Ndidi headed
home a pin-point
corner kick from
Iheanacho in the
57th minute,
while Success
scored the fourth
off a pass from
Friday Njengo in
the 60th minute.
Both Gilmond
Lukman of Stoke
City and
Oluwaseun
Jegede of Aspire
Academy in
Qatar came in as
replacements for
Umar and
Iheanacho
respectively, in
the dying
minutes of the
second half.
Substitute
Jegede
completed the
routing as he
scrambled the
ball into the net
few minutes
towards
regulation time,
to end the match
at 5-1 in favour
of Golden Eaglets.
FIFA Grade 1
Referee, Akwa
Robbe, took
charge of the
match. (NAN)