Nigeria U23 side, the Olympic Eagles, defeated Ikenne-based side Grassrunners 3-1 in their final warm-up game at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne on Friday, www.aclsports.com reports.
Following a goalless affair with Remo Stars in their first preparatory game, the Olympic Eagles were too much to handle for the third division side as Abdulmuiz Adeleke, Habila Simeon, and Eventus Itowo scored in what was not an easy match.
Assistant coach Deniran Ortega stood on the touchline, while Eric Chelle was in the stands to monitor proceedings. The starting XI from the previous game remained relatively the same, except for the introduction of Wonah Williams for Chimobi Igwilo and Salihu Batunba for Eventus Itowo.
It was a relatively calm start to the contest under the hot conditions at the Remo Stars Stadium, with the national team side showing their superiority. After a couple of missed chances, the Eagles went in front through Abdulmuiz Adeleke, who headed home a teasing cross from Aliyu Sugau midway through the contest.
At the other end, Grassrunners threatened a few times but the defensive pair of Gift Subi and Alfred Odinaka did well to thwart the danger. However, the Olympic Eagles took the lead into the break.
Before the restart, Chelle made several changes to the squad with the introduction of Timothy Zachariah, Alex Oweilayefa, Chibueze Oputa, Eventus Owono, Habila Simeon, and Freedom Marvelous for Wonah Williams, Abdulmuiz Adeleke, Aliyu Sugau, Salihu Batunba, Aderemi Adeoye, and Lucky Oraro, respectively.
Just minutes short of the hour-mark, Prince Oche, who replaced the injured Gafar Olaniyan in the first half, placed a wonderful pass to substitute Habila Simeon to calmly double the lead for the Eagles. Moments later, it became 3-0 to the U23 side when Eventus Itowo’s well-struck long-range effort flew past the goalkeeper into the net. Fadel Adeola’s late penalty goal served as a consolation for the Ikenne side, who threatened to score more goals in the final quarter of the game.
Eric Chelle and the boys will now continue their preparation in Ijebu Ode/Ikenne for the U23 AFCON qualifiers against DR Congo, with the first leg scheduled for next Friday in Lubumbashi.
