Chigozie Agbim, the home-based Super Eagles’ first choice
goalkeeper, on Thursday pleaded with Nigerians to forgive his lackluster
display so far at the ongoing Championship of African Nations.
According
to the statement issued by Ben Alaiya, the Super Eagles Media Officer,
Agbim promised to do better in subsequent encounters if given the chance
to continue as the first choice goalkeeper.
Agbim reportedly had
not been at his best as the Super Eagles lost its first game 2-1 to the
Eagles of Mali at the championship being hosted by South Africa.
The
goalkeeper was also a shadow of himself, conceding two cheap goals as
the Eagles defeated Mozambique 4-2 in its second group game.
“No
goalkeeper in the world will be happy to concede cheap goals. For a
keeper of my calibre, I am most disappointed than anyone else but that
is football and I can’t dwell in the past. I have to forget and plead
with fans of the game to understand and forgive so that we can jointly
forge ahead. I
promise to do better next time and it’s a promise I wish
to keep,” the statement quoted Agbim as saying.
The head coach, Stephen Keshi, was defending Agbim in the statement. He was quoted saying:
“It’s
a team work and we cannot single out one individual for blame. We had a
situation in the game against Mozambique when a player had an empty net
and yet could not slot the ball in until the opposing defender cleared
it. I have worked with Agbim now for two years plus and if he was not
good, he will not be here. We must learn to understand our players and
forgive errors, especially as he is the last man in the defence and his
own errors are easily seen by all,” Keshi was quoted in the statement as saying.
The Super Eagles are to play South Africa on Sunday in a make or break encounter at the CHAN.
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