Bigpokey24 wrote:
ANC wrote:
Is he the best goalkeeper ever to play in Nigeria? I was told he was so good, that Nigeria offered him citizenship. Bigpokey is still true?
yes, he played for Iwanyanwu back in the day and was one of the best goalies in the league..many thought he was Nigerian..Then one day my neighbor, RIP , came to my crib and asked my dad if he could take me to the stadium to watch the AFCON qualifiers, Nigeria vs ghana 1991...My first ever football game watching the SE... so we got to the stadium, and behold we saw Ansah in goal for ghana...he was abused and abused by the fans.... the game ended 0-0 ... one Nigerian player missed a PK, don't know if it was Keshi or Etim Esin...ghana parked the bus big time....Abedi didn't play in that game
I was at this game...goalless AFCON qualifier.....I vaguely remember the missed penalty was taken by Ekpo. not 100% sure o so make bully boys nor attack me.....
...why I remember, this was a sequence of 3 back to back Eagles games I saw with my homeboy in space of few months and we missed a pen in each game and I remember they were Ekpo, Eguavoen and Keshi. Think this was the Ekpo one. My homeboy and I decided not to go to home Eagles games together for a while to try and break the jink.
not sure again but I think this was also the game Lamptey played and was kicked around the park like a rag doll much to the delight of the surulere full house
Q
It was Ekpo that missed PK.
I once played for Eagles with oversized boots – EkpoGoing down memory lane, he recalled his playing days with the Super Eagles and how he lost a spot kick for the team against the Black Stars of Ghana in an African Nations Cup qualifier in 1991.
His words: “I had so many great moments in my career, and the most striking one being what happened at the National Stadium in Lagos in a 1992 African Nations Cup qualifier against the Black Stars of Ghana in 1991.
“There was a penalty kick awarded in favour of Nigeria and Stephen Keshi, who was assigned by the chief coach to take all penalty kicks, declined to take it and none of my Eagles’ teammates was also ready to do it.
“I stepped forward, took the kick and the ball went over the bar. I was nailed by Nigerians for missing that spot kick. I remembered the late Muda Lawal who was at the stadium told the then Nigeria Football Association (NFA) that I would make amends.
“I remembered that the boots I wore wasn’t my real size. It was given to me by Keshi who brought them from Belgium. The NFA didn’t allow me wear the one I bought personally from Holland on ground that it wasn’t Adidas. So all the passes I made that day were not the best as the boots were slightly oversize.
“True to Muda Lawal’s predictions, I rose to the occasion in the Super Eagles’ next game which was also a Nations Cup qualifier and scored an important goal.
“After the game, I became the toast of Nigerian soccer fans across the world. It was so memorable.