Former Super Eagles captain, Joseph Ikpo Yobo has faulted the quality of defending the Nigerian team put up against South Africa in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier.
Although the Eagles escaped with a 1-1 draw and sealed an early ticket to AFCON 2019 in Cameroun, footballlive.ng reports that Yobo was not happy with the manner in which the defenders gave away the hosts’ lone goal.
Yobo said as a pitch side analyst for the game at FNB Stadium, Johannesburg that the Eagles gave too much space to South Africa forward, Percy Tau and allowed him to shine in setting up the goal that helped Bafana Bafana equalize and force the draw.
Tau set up the goal for South Africa with a lovely turn, which took out Nigeria’s back-three defence line of William Troost-Ekong, Leon Aderemi Balogun and Kenneth Omeruo in one swoop, thereby setting him up for the day’s biggest individual prize.
Yobo, who captained Nigeria to AFCON glory in South Africa in 2013, conceded that Tau deserved to be voted man of the match, but stressed it was simply because the Nigerian defenders allowed him to outwit them.
The former Everton of England and Fernebahce of Turkey defender added that it would have been a lot harder for the 24-year-old had he been marked closely on and off the ball.Yobo opined: “Tau did very well and he deserves to win the man of the match award but you have to question the space he was given by the defence of Nigeria.“Maybe it would have been a lot different if he had little or no time when he is on the ball.”
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