Re: 343 WAS A TOTAL BUST TODAY LIKE I SAID
Posted: Thu Feb 08, 2024 9:29 am
And a good dose of Lady Luck, whose bed chamber is a gauntlet run and frivolity won.
The Undisputed Number One Home for All Super Eagles Fans
https://forum.cybereagles.com/
That 343 wasn't going to be our bread and butter formation for long especially against a tactically astute coach like Hugo Boss, credit to the boys for at least fighting hard even with all the glaring limitations...airwolex wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 10:01 am The first half was indeed dire. The fact that they could turn it around in the 2nd speaks to the resilience of the team. We were lucky on this one for sure. They had a great chance in extra time to finish us off.
Two things surprised me. How easily they bossed the midfield and how we were unable to cope with the long balls which are usually bread and butter for Ekong and Ajayi. I think this may just boil down to the chemistry between Mokoena and Evidence.
Thank goodness Osimhen came to ball cos Lookman and Simon were off like National grid
QEDCoach wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 7:55 am The annals of antiquity are decorated with honours for the most ardent pragmatists. Greece conquered Europe averaging half a shot from open play and a Trojan horse from setpieces. Mourinho’s Inter gave Barcelona the house, as far possession is concerned, but kept the door keys.
As ugly as it may be, it’s been beautiful enough to get an average Nigeria side to the final. The tactic works well with the players at hand, a solid rearguard, a big galoot up top to occupy the centrebacks and all the argie-bargie needed in the middle.
At first there were many, now there are two. By hook, crook or a voodoo beyond Haiti’s wildest imagination in the case of CIV, the two most worthy warriors, the contests greatest gladiators arrive in the colosseum. To change the shape now for Cyberian brownie points would be utter madness. 3-4-3, 5-4-1, low block, high block, own goals, no shots, if they stumble over the line or salter, ‘tis only the name that graces the trophy no tale of how t’was won.
Chief they didn’t boss the midfield, they simply played a medium to low blockairwolex wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 10:01 am The first half was indeed dire. The fact that they could turn it around in the 2nd speaks to the resilience of the team. We were lucky on this one for sure. They had a great chance in extra time to finish us off.
Two things surprised me. How easily they bossed the midfield and how we were unable to cope with the long balls which are usually bread and butter for Ekong and Ajayi. I think this may just boil down to the chemistry between Mokoena and Evidence.
Thank goodness Osimhen came to ball cos Lookman and Simon were off like National grid
Don't mind the wimp.EMIR KONGI JAFFI JOFFA wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:41 amIs there anything you won’t complain about?vancity eagle wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 11:38 pm We can all celebrate, but we are lucky to get through.
The lottery that was PK's should have been completely avoided.
Peseiro was very poor today IMO. The man is a COWARD.
How on earth do you play 120 minutes of football in desperate search of a goal and you have 3 centrebacks on the pitch the entire time. Not once did this coward think to play a more expansive game and switch to a 433. Not once.
This clueless man tires out or ONLY creative midfielder by playing him as a DM in a 2 man setup. He then subs him off at 70 minutes because YOU MADE HIM DO DONKEY WORK.
Instead of playing Iwobi in an advanced position you tire him out doing the work of an Innocent Bonke. Absolute trash and rubish !!!!
HOW MANY CHANCES DID WE CREATE IN 120 MINUTES ?
Just 2. One was Lookman who was played through, the other being the Moffi break. Thats it. 2 chances in 120 minutes.
VERY VERY POOR.
I dont care that we won, this is absolute trash and cowardly football.
I don already shout "Goooooooalll!". Such was the quality of the lay off to Onyeka. Maann! As good as Bafana were, we could have easily won that game 3-1 or 4-1.Damunk wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 7:13 amVery embarrassing.Scipio Africanus wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 5:49 amDon’t forget the beautifully laid off ball to Onyeka at the top of the Bafana box. He had time to pick his spot but produced a comical shot that completely missed the targetmetalalloy wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 4:58 am1. Min 13:06: Cross from Aina into the box that Williams just got fingertips tovancity eagle wrote: ↑Wed Feb 07, 2024 11:38 pm We can all celebrate, but we are lucky to get through.
The lottery that was PK's should have been completely avoided.
Peseiro was very poor today IMO. The man is a COWARD.
How on earth do you play 120 minutes of football in desperate search of a goal and you have 3 centrebacks on the pitch the entire time. Not once did this coward think to play a more expansive game and switch to a 433. Not once.
This clueless man tires out or ONLY creative midfielder by playing him as a DM in a 2 man setup. He then subs him off at 70 minutes because YOU MADE HIM DO DONKEY WORK.
Instead of playing Iwobi in an advanced position you tire him out doing the work of an Innocent Bonke. Absolute trash and rubish !!!!
HOW MANY CHANCES DID WE CREATE IN 120 MINUTES ?
Just 2. One was Lookman who was played through, the other being the Moffi break. Thats it. 2 chances in 120 minutes.
VERY VERY POOR.
I dont care that we won, this is absolute trash and cowardly football.
2. MIn 23:51: Freekick from lookman into the box that Ajayi headed and saved by Williams.
3. Min 36: Shot from Iwobi from outside the box on the left saved by Williams.
4. Min 43: Osimhen header from a corner just wide
5. Min 56: Cross from Bright Osayi to Osimhen in the box that he headed over.
6. Min 63: Osimhen Pk
7. Min 90: Osimhen lay off outside the SA box shot by Chukwueze
8: Min 92: Through pass from Chukwueze to Lookman on the left, shot by lookman parried away by Williams
9: Min 100: Break in the middle, pass from Lookman to Osimhen, beat one and took a laser shot saved by Williams
10: Min 105: Cross on left from Aina into the box, Osimhen heads over
11. Min 111: sick Through ball from (Chukwueze? Kelechi?) to Moffi. Moffi hacked down
All these don't count as chances?
2.
We are not supposed to witness shots like that at the top level of football.
Wild shots and wild clearances really remind us that some of our players need to be even better to enable us compete at the very top.
Remember also the low carpeter from Osimhen from a similar position that the SA ‘keeper did well to save.
Now that was a shot.
Tell me about it. Messi's goal against us at the 2018 World Cup happened exactly because of this.Sleaky72 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:25 pmChief they didn’t boss the midfield, they simply played a medium to low blockairwolex wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 10:01 am The first half was indeed dire. The fact that they could turn it around in the 2nd speaks to the resilience of the team. We were lucky on this one for sure. They had a great chance in extra time to finish us off.
Two things surprised me. How easily they bossed the midfield and how we were unable to cope with the long balls which are usually bread and butter for Ekong and Ajayi. I think this may just boil down to the chemistry between Mokoena and Evidence.
Thank goodness Osimhen came to ball cos Lookman and Simon were off like National grid
and waited for out players to force passes into traffic and the counter with the change of possession.
It’s also football 101 that you don’t play a high line without pressure on the ball.
So we gave them easy outlets because neither forwards nor midfielders were pressuring the deep passers.
If you can’t pressure the passer then the defensive line has to anticipate the pass and drop deep and the goalie plays high. It’s not complicated at all
You are perfectly correct. If you keep a high line ie medium to low level block without pressure on the ball, against good teams, you will be destroyed like Messi did against us in Russia.Scipio Africanus wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 1:54 pmTell me about it. Messi's goal against us at the 2018 World Cup happened exactly because of this.Sleaky72 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:25 pmChief they didn’t boss the midfield, they simply played a medium to low blockairwolex wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 10:01 am The first half was indeed dire. The fact that they could turn it around in the 2nd speaks to the resilience of the team. We were lucky on this one for sure. They had a great chance in extra time to finish us off.
Two things surprised me. How easily they bossed the midfield and how we were unable to cope with the long balls which are usually bread and butter for Ekong and Ajayi. I think this may just boil down to the chemistry between Mokoena and Evidence.
Thank goodness Osimhen came to ball cos Lookman and Simon were off like National grid
and waited for out players to force passes into traffic and the counter with the change of possession.
It’s also football 101 that you don’t play a high line without pressure on the ball.
So we gave them easy outlets because neither forwards nor midfielders were pressuring the deep passers.
If you can’t pressure the passer then the defensive line has to anticipate the pass and drop deep and the goalie plays high. It’s not complicated at all
KPOM! Nothing more to addGoldleaf wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 2:08 pm The strategy that Peseiro has used throughout this tournament is what gave Italy victory at so many World Cups. It is the dreaded "catenachio" which focuses totally on defence, closing down spaces and stopping the opposition from any goal-scoring opportunities. It is ugly but as the italians proved, it is highly effective. It requires high levels of player concentration and discipline, which we have been unable to attain over the years. Peseiro's strategy will impress europeans, in particular, who probably never believed that Nigeria can maintain this system or even player concentration throughout a tournament.
My only problem with our system is while we keep a high backline with space between the backline and the keeper, we do not put any pressure on the ball that is with the opposition. The opposition man on the ball now looks like a quarterback in the NFL looking for open opportunities to pass. South Africa gave us a lot of problems in the first half by going long with their passes and their attackers running behind Ekong, Ajayi and Bassey but, rather strangely, they stopped this approach in the second half. If they had kept at it, they would have given us trouble and probably won.
Kudos to Osimhen for holding the ball up and creating openings all by himself, one of which gave us that penalty. Serious credit must also go to Ademola Lookman who keeps dropping back to the midfield to win the ball while our midfield and defence keep their shape. This tournament has been a revelation for the Super Eagles and us fans.
Because Peseiro adjusted to that tactic in the second half. Mentioned it in the game thread.Goldleaf wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 2:08 pm The strategy that Peseiro has used throughout this tournament is what gave Italy victory at so many World Cups. It is the dreaded "catenachio" which focuses totally on defence, closing down spaces and stopping the opposition from any goal-scoring opportunities. It is ugly but as the italians proved, it is highly effective. It requires high levels of player concentration and discipline, which we have been unable to attain over the years. Peseiro's strategy will impress europeans, in particular, who probably never believed that Nigeria can maintain this system or even player concentration throughout a tournament.
My only problem with our system is while we keep a high backline with space between the backline and the keeper, we do not put any pressure on the ball that is with the opposition. The opposition man on the ball now looks like a quarterback in the NFL looking for open opportunities to pass. South Africa gave us a lot of problems in the first half by going long with their passes and their attackers running behind Ekong, Ajayi and Bassey but, rather strangely, they stopped this approach in the second half. If they had kept at it, they would have given us trouble and probably won.
Kudos to Osimhen for holding the ball up and creating openings all by himself, one of which gave us that penalty. Serious credit must also go to Ademola Lookman who keeps dropping back to the midfield to win the ball while our midfield and defence keep their shape. This tournament has been a revelation for the Super Eagles and us fans.
Sleaky72 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:25 pmChief they didn’t boss the midfield, they simply played a medium to low blockairwolex wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 10:01 am The first half was indeed dire. The fact that they could turn it around in the 2nd speaks to the resilience of the team. We were lucky on this one for sure. They had a great chance in extra time to finish us off.
Two things surprised me. How easily they bossed the midfield and how we were unable to cope with the long balls which are usually bread and butter for Ekong and Ajayi. I think this may just boil down to the chemistry between Mokoena and Evidence.
Thank goodness Osimhen came to ball cos Lookman and Simon were off like National grid
and waited for out players to force passes into traffic and the counter with the change of possession.
It’s also football 101 that you don’t play a high line without pressure on the ball.
So we gave them easy outlets because neither forwards nor midfielders were pressuring the deep passers.
If you can’t pressure the passer then the defensive line has to anticipate the pass and drop deep and the goalie plays high. It’s not complicated at all
Just curious.txj wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 5:57 pmSleaky72 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:25 pmChief they didn’t boss the midfield, they simply played a medium to low blockairwolex wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 10:01 am The first half was indeed dire. The fact that they could turn it around in the 2nd speaks to the resilience of the team. We were lucky on this one for sure. They had a great chance in extra time to finish us off.
Two things surprised me. How easily they bossed the midfield and how we were unable to cope with the long balls which are usually bread and butter for Ekong and Ajayi. I think this may just boil down to the chemistry between Mokoena and Evidence.
Thank goodness Osimhen came to ball cos Lookman and Simon were off like National grid
and waited for out players to force passes into traffic and the counter with the change of possession.
It’s also football 101 that you don’t play a high line without pressure on the ball.
So we gave them easy outlets because neither forwards nor midfielders were pressuring the deep passers.
If you can’t pressure the passer then the defensive line has to anticipate the pass and drop deep and the goalie plays high. It’s not complicated at all
In that heat/humidity its suicide to press high. What we were doing is use a compact shape and the defence line to deal with the possession and ball over the top.
However, in 1HF, first we were not very disciplined in collapsing into the block in the 2nd phase of SA possession. Some of the players were being sucked into a press when the SA CDs had the ball, exposing space behind the lines. This got corrected at the 1st water break.
2nd the D-line was not dropping back effectively to address the ball over the top. This was fixed at half time.
I'm hoping Zaidu's fit for the final and that if not, the coach brings on Bruno at LWB.
KPOM! That being said,I highly doubt Zaidu's precense would have made that much of a difference with the specific issues that they faced vs South Africa. CIV is highly unlikely to try the same tactic with Nigeria, and i doubt they have the players to carry it out as effectively as SA did. Tau and that No 9 were a handful. Also, shout out to Aubrey Modiba. He was a baller in that game.txj wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 5:57 pmSleaky72 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 12:25 pmChief they didn’t boss the midfield, they simply played a medium to low blockairwolex wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 10:01 am The first half was indeed dire. The fact that they could turn it around in the 2nd speaks to the resilience of the team. We were lucky on this one for sure. They had a great chance in extra time to finish us off.
Two things surprised me. How easily they bossed the midfield and how we were unable to cope with the long balls which are usually bread and butter for Ekong and Ajayi. I think this may just boil down to the chemistry between Mokoena and Evidence.
Thank goodness Osimhen came to ball cos Lookman and Simon were off like National grid
and waited for out players to force passes into traffic and the counter with the change of possession.
It’s also football 101 that you don’t play a high line without pressure on the ball.
So we gave them easy outlets because neither forwards nor midfielders were pressuring the deep passers.
If you can’t pressure the passer then the defensive line has to anticipate the pass and drop deep and the goalie plays high. It’s not complicated at all
In that heat/humidity its suicide to press high. What we were doing is use a compact shape and the defence line to deal with the possession and ball over the top.
However, in 1HF, first we were not very disciplined in collapsing into the block in the 2nd phase of SA possession. Some of the players were being sucked into a press when the SA CDs had the ball, exposing space behind the lines. This got corrected at the 1st water break.
2nd the D-line was not dropping back effectively to address the ball over the top. This was fixed at half time.
I'm hoping Zaidu's fit for the final and that if not, the coach brings on Bruno at LWB.