CHAN 2018: Pinnick Confident Eagles Can Still Qualify, Blames Ref For Cotonou Defeat

Nigeria Football Federation President Amaju Pinnick has blamed the home-based Super Eagles’ defeat to Benin Republic in the first leg of their 2018 CHAN qualifier in Cotonou to poor officiating.

Benin Republic secured a slim 1-0 win over Nigeria in the first leg CHAN qualifier played in Cotonou on Sunday evening.

CHAN Eagles’ Afeez Aremu committed a foul in the 89th minute. That gifted Benin Republic a late penalty which they converted to beat Nigeria by a lone goal in the first leg clash.

Pinnick, who was present inside the Stade de l’amite with League Management Company Chairman Shehu Dikko, stated that he has taken up the issue with the appropriate body following the manner Algerian referee Mustapha Ghorbal handled the game.

He however expressed confidence that the home-based Eagles will still qualify for the 2018 CHAN despite the setback.

“I believe we will do our best on the second leg in Kano,” Pinnick said after the game. “But I can say emphatically that the officiating was very poor and the turf too affected our game but we will be able to overcome those two challenges in the next game and qualify. By God’s grace we are going to work hard to make sure we qualify.

“The officiating was very poor and I have notified the authorities concerning it.”

The NFF Boss however admitted that the Nigerian side’s performance was poor and did not deserve to win in Cotonou.

“I wasn’t really impressed with our players. I don’t know what happened. They all very highly rated players, some of the best in our league but to me they didn’t live up to expectations.

“Some of those factors like the officiating must have affected them. But like I said, we will do everything possible in the second leg to make sure we qualify for CHAN,” he added.

The home-based Super Eagles will depart Benin Republic for Nigeria on Monday.

According to the official, the players and coaching crew will head back to Lagos by road before connecting a flight to Kano where they will prepare for the second leg of the 2018 CHAN qualifier against Benin Republic.

A win with two goals or more in the second leg in Kano in a week time, will see the CHAN Super Eagles qualify for the 2018 CHAN in Kenya.

The African Nations Championship (CHAN) is restricted to footballers playing in their country of birth and matches carry full international status and ranking points.