Handball: Africa Men Continental Phase: Nigeria beat Ethiopia, book semi- final ticket
Nigeria’s U-18 18 men handball team, Monday, defeated host Ethiopia 47-31 at the IHF Trophy Africa Men Continental Phase in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
After winning their first match against Zambia on Sunday, the team led by Coach Emeka Nnamani, met an Ethiopian side spurred on by the fans but they continued from where they left off the previous day as they scored many goals as the first half ended 25-16.
The second half saw Ethiopia improving as they started shooting better in the first minutes of the half but Nigeria’s goalkeeper, Samuel Obabori put in an MVP performance once again just as he did against Zambia with vital saves while the outcourt players continued to outscore the host to win 47-31.
Obabori was rightly awarded the Most Valuable Player of the match.
An elated Coach Emeka Nnamani praised the resilience of his team for standing tall despite playing against the host nation and their fans.
“I am very happy because we achieved our objective in the match despite playing against the host and their fans.
“We knew that a victory for us will give us an easy access to the semi-finals and the boys did their part in actualising our tactical plan ” Coach Nnamani said.
Nigeria will play Cameroon in the semi- final of the competition on Tuesday at 5pm Nigerian time
