Daniel Amokachi Speaks On Why Ikorodu City Defeated Lobi Stars In Lagos
Coach Daniel Amokachi led his new club, Lobi Stars to the Onikan stadium in Lagos to face Ikorodu City and were heavily punished in front of a jubilant Oga Boys fans.
Daniel Amokachi, who became the coach of the struggling Lobi Stars earlier this month, was expected to inspire the team to defeat Ikorodu City, who are just picking up their form in the league. Unfortunately, the reverse was the case. The Oga Boys defeated them 4-2 on a hot Monday afternoon, October 21.
Salau Yusuf scored the match opener for Ikorodu City in the second minute of the encounter and Emmanuel Solomon doubled the lead for the hosts in the 19th minute.
Interestingly, Daniel Amokachi’s boys were able to turn things around in the injury time of the encounter. Ifeanyi Assurance scored two goals within two minutes of the seven additional minutes to grab the equalizer for the visitors.
In the second half, Lobi Stars were able to maintain the tempo allowing Ikorodu City to venture forward and create more goalscoring opportunities for themselves. Solomon restored Oga Boys’ lead in the 56th minute, and Rivio Ayemwenre sealed the 4-2 victory in the 58th minute.
After the defeat, Daniel Amokachi told Naija News that his team is currently struggling because he has not had enough time with them.
Amokachi explained, “Like I always say, is a work in progress. [I am] just two weeks old with the team. When I came in I had just four sessions and then three straight games in a row within a week. The good things are there, things that we need to work on… You can see that there’s quality in the team, it’s just the mentality and the tactical display that we need to work on.”
On his reliance on experienced players, the former Super Eagles of Nigeria star noted, “We cannot have youthful [players] throughout your team. You know we have experience, and with those experiences, we know what we need to come into play. They are doing what they need to do on the field and off the pitch, and you know they will continue doing more because it’s football. You know the season is long… We will just keep encouraging them to keep going.”
On what he is doing to improve his struggling team, Daniel Amokachi said, “As I said, I just had 4 sessions and then 3 games in one week, but we just need to work on the movement and the tactical display that they want to play…
“I cannot say we struggle. You know I’ve scored 5 goals or considered 7… Like I said, it’s a work in progress, and you know the most beautiful thing about football is if you have a team that knows its flaws, it’s easy to work on… I can see the reaction when we went into the half; you know, the flaws that showed, and they acknowledged that it happened, and that is something.
“What happened is that they scored 2 goals, that’s what happened. You know, I was talking about the lapses… You know it was quick 2 goals in consensus, and you know they went to sleep, and when that happens, you get punished.”
