Nigeria U23 side, the Olympic Eagles, were held to a goalless draw by NNL side Remo Stars at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne on Saturday, www.aclsports.com reports.
In the team’s first warm-up game in preparation for the U23 AFCON Qualifiers next month, Eric Chelle’s team, composed of players based in Nigeria, were tested as the game finished in a goalless draw.
The tactician went with Michael Atata in goal, while Aderemi Adeoye of Ikorodu City, who recently made his debut in the friendly against Russia, started as captain. Meanwhile, former U17 star Abdulmuiz Adeleke was selected to lead the line, and he was flanked by Sporting Lagos star Gafar Olaniyan and Rangers’ Chimobi Igwilo.
The game started quite well, with both teams sizing each other up in the early exchanges. Despite Remo Stars’ strong organization in the opening half, they barely tested goalkeeper Atata.
At the other end, Emmanuel Olisa made a big stop to deny Adeleke from opening the scoring on one occasion, while defender Stanley Joseph made a vital block to prevent the striker from getting his effort on goal. Jude Eventus then fired a free-kick wide of the mark moments later. The first half ended goalless with the contest evenly balanced.
Chelle made a couple of changes to his squad, introducing Rangers duo of Chibueze Oputa and Kenneth Igboke for Aliyu Sugau (Barau FC) and Ochobi Elias (Rivers United). Timothy Zachariah also replaced Igwilo.
The changes added some bite to the attack, but Remo Stars were still largely untested, as both sides continued to cancel each other out.
Remo Stars midfielder Taiwo Cole then saw his long-range effort pushed out for a corner by Atata as the clock started winding down. At the other end, Remo Stars goalkeeper Olisa also denied Adeleke once more to keep the game goalless. In the end, the two teams had to settle for a stalemate.
Eric Chelle and the boys will continue their preparation in Ijebu Ode/Ikenne for the U23 AFCON qualifiers against DR Congo next month. Meanwhile, the head coach is expected to name a list of foreign pros before the fixture.
