CHAN: Nigeria did not want to lower our heads against Congo – Oyowah

Despite Nigeria’s early exit from the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN), Alex Young Oyowah says the Super Eagles were determined to get a positive result against Congo to conclude their campaign in style.

The home-based Super Eagles bowed out of the CHAN being co-hosted by Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, with a morale-boosting 2-0 win over Congo in Dar es Salaam, but it was not enough to rescue their campaign as Sudan and Senegal progressed from Group D.

According to the 20-year-old midfielder, who was named man of the match on his very start for Nigeria, the Super Eagles did not want to lose the game against Congo insisting the most important thing was to collect three points from the contest.

“We did not want to lose the match despite the elimination,” he said as quoted by CAFOnline.com. “I think the Nigerians feel proud after our victory over Congo. We had nothing to lose. We did not want to lower our heads in this match.

“The most important thing is that we got the three points in our last match and achieved our first victory in this tournament. The coach told us to do what we could in the last match against Congo, especially since we had been eliminated. It was necessary for us to win.”

On winning the man of the match, he said: “I feel very proud to have been named Man of the Match in our match against Congo. This is like two opportunities, one for me and one for Nigeria. This is my first match and our last in the group, and we were able to win.”

Sudan and Senegal drew 0-0, a result that saw both nations reach the quarter-finals with five points each. The East Africa nation topped the group on goal difference, while Nigeria’s victory lifted them to three points, one short of qualification.

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