Siasia: We made several mistakes

Coach Samson Siasia has blamed the Nigeria U-23 team's embarrassing 6-2 defeat by Denmark at the Suwon Invitational Tournament on Saturday on several mistakes by his boys that were ruthlessly punished by the Danes. Siasia said this much at the post match conference after the game played at the Goyang Sports Complex‎.

"We got it wrong from the blast of the referee’s whistle; we made so many mistakes; we didn't play like we were meant to. The Danes did not play so well in their first game but they were tactically sound and we simply did not know how to defend against them.

"There were too many blunders on our side. We allowed them to control and pass the ball, and that's how we got killed. It's so embarrassing. I have never lost by six goals anywhere since I started my coaching career. All the same, that's why we are here, to look at the guys that can play, and the ones that we can take to the Olympics.

“It is very embarrassing, not because we lost, but the way we lost. Now, we have to snap out of it. We still have one more game to play, we will work hard to see that one turns out differently."

Siasia said his biggest problem is the defence, as well as the inability of the strikers to convert the goal –scoring opportunities that have come their way‎ at the tournament, beginning with the 0-1 loss to host South Korea on Thursday.

The Dream Team lost 6-2 to Denmark in its second game at the 4 –Nation Suwon Invitational Football Tournament, conceding the first goal in the 26th minute after central defender Erhun Obanor nodded the ball past a stranded goalkeeper Daniel. This came after Daniel had saved a 7th minute penalty after Obanor handled the ball.

After the first goal, the Danes were all over Nigeria and in the 34th minute scored the second goal through Emil Larsen, who went on to bag a hat –trick by scoring in the 38th and 54th minutes. Patrick Da Silva scored the fifth in the 62nd minute and Emiliano Marcondes scored the sixth in the 75th minute. The Dream Team pulled two goals back in the 85th and 88th minutes through Taiwo Abdulrahman.

The Nigeria U-23 will play its last game at the tournament against Honduras on Monday at the 35,000 –capacity Bucheon Sports Complex, starting from 3.30pm local time, which is 7.30am in Nigeria.