Emmanuel Amuneke, MFR, Technical Manager of Heartland, has expressed his displeasure over poor officiating in the Naze Millionaires’ 1-0 defeat to Bayelsa United in Sunday’s NPFL matchday-8 game at Samson Siasia Stadium, Yenagoa, Completesports.com reports.
Amuneke also said that a moment of “disconnect” by his team, particularly the backline, early in the second half, cost them a share of the points.
The former FIFA U-17 World Cup-winning coach with the Golden Eaglets in 2015 in Chile was unhappy with a first-half goal his team scored, which was disallowed by the referee.
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The former African Player of the Year added that such decisions by referees undermine the efforts of coaches throughout the week.
“You can’t work hard all week and, in just a few seconds, have a decision, funny enough, disrupt the progress of the team,” Amuneke lamented, clearly enraged over Chukwuma Agor’s first-half goal that was disallowed by referee Montana, from the Nasarawa State Referees Council.
“I think this is something the NPFL Management needs to look into.
“Bayelsa United got their chance in the second half and scored, which was a valid goal. But of course, we also scored in the first half, which was chalked off. We had some chances, but unfortunately, we didn’t take them.
“But for me, it was a very good game, a good performance by both sides.
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“However, I believe that in moments like this, if you lose concentration, you’re bound to be punished. I could say that was the moment the players had a little bit of a ‘disconnect,’ and that’s when we conceded the goal.
“All the same, we need to go back, assess things critically, and see how we can improve as a team,” concluded the former Tanzania National Team coach.
Sunday’s defeat to the Prosperity Boys drops Heartland to 17th place in the table with six points from eight matches. Bayelsa United, with nine points from the same number of games, move up to 15th position.
Both teams will face tough opponents in their matchday-9 fixtures, with Heartland hosting Remo Stars at Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri, while Bayelsa United travel to face Lobi Stars in Makurdi.
By Sab Osuji
1 Comment
The goal scored by Heartland against Bayelsa united was a clear goal no doubt. The referees need to be cautioned because they use it as a way of favouring the home teams. Things should be done the right way inorder for them to be recognise by CAF and FIFA