Hey there!! Hope we’ve all
been having an awesome week? As another weekend draws near, I wish to
take us back a bit to one of the highpoints of the last weekend in January: The CHAN
2014 match between Nigeria and Morocco. Now, that match should be used
practically to prove to us that it’s never too late to achieve whatever
we want. Giving up should never be an option.
“What I told them at half time was that we were not the ones playing like that, I told them they were giving too much respect to the Moroccans. Even though they are a good team, they don’t deserve such from us, we are supposed to take our game to them and that is what they did in the second half. I told them I want to see the same character or more like they displayed in the game against Bafana Bafana and they did that,” Keshi.
For the benefit of those who didn’t watch the said match (and of course
those who gave up watching when Nigeria was 3 goals down… lol) let’s
have a brief highlight of the match. The Moroccans raced to a three goal
lead in just seven minutes, scoring in the 33rd, 37th and 40th minutes.
At this point, the eagles had missed so many goals that many people had
concluded there was no hope of equalizing, but the second half saw
goals from Ugonna Uzochukwu(49’) and Rabiu Ali (56’) then Ejike Uzoenyi
on the dot of 90 minutes ensured the game proceeded into extra-time.
While it seemed the game would head for a penalty shoot-out, in second
half extra time, Ibrahim scored the winning goal after Moroccan
goalkeeper and captain, Nadir Lamyaghri spilled an easy ball off
Uzoenyi's cross.
Morocco: (3) (3) 3 (Moutaouali 33' 40', Iajour 37')
Nigeria: (0) (3) 4 (Uzochukwu 49', Ali 56', Uzoenyi 90', Ibrahim 111')
Watching the way the goals came in during the first half, lots of people
gave up. Some said the eagles should just quit struggling as they had
tried by making it to the semi-finals. Many Nigerians had predicted the
eagles would lose the match while many of us kept hoping against hope
that they would at least reach a draw. Life knocks us down sometimes and
we seem to see only negative ends to the situations at hand, but one
thing is important: IT’S NOT OVER UNTIL IT’S OVER. Don’t give up!! Give
it all your best no matter how low you think you’ve fallen. There were
still reasons to lose hope at the 88th minute of that match but HEY!!!
It took the Moroccans just 7minutes to score 3 goals, 3 minutes should
be enough to score just one last goal. God proved that to us through
Uzoenyi who scored in the 90th minute.
“Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all ”Dale Carnegie.’’
Don’t stop living,
as long as you keep waking up every morning. Don’t stop trying, as long
as the opportunity to do that keeps coming. Don’t stop believing, as
long as you’re still alive. Hope is not pretending that troubles don't
exist. It is the belief that they won't last forever; that hurts will be
healed and difficulties overcome; that we will be led out of the
darkness into a brighter day. Against all odds, let’s keep hoping for
the best, WE DESERVE THE BEST!!
Watch this space tomorrow for the Valentine Special Post....
Oh, this is fantastic. But if l could add a few words, I'd say dat emphasis on 'Enthusiasm' rather than 'Hope' should have been d cynosure of this work.
ReplyDeleteWith enthusiasm comes passion, hardwork, clear measurable goals, optimism hope, endurance and d like. I think it was cos d Nign boys had clear objectives and enthusiasm in d tournament dat dey were able to pick up demselves in d second half. Quite frankly, 'Hope' (belief in luck) alone does not much in a quest for success. Dia need to b enthusiasm and passion in endeavour to sustain ur endurance and optimism even in difficult times (which translates to hope).
Oh Thanks for that addition, but hope is not belief in luck though.
DeleteWonderful post. persistence pays!!! I watched a video of a young lady who started a travel agency in 2009. She said it was rough but she told herself never to be afraid of hitting rock bottom in the business because if she fails she KNOWS SHE WILL DEFINITELY GET BACK UP AGAIN.And today she is making waves!!!!
ReplyDeleteFailure does not mean you are a loser or incapable. To me it simply means there probably a better way of doing it. Failure to me also means to keep trying regardless of failure until success is achieved. ;)
Wow!! Thanks for sharing that dear.It's always good reading your comments.
DeleteAwesome! What an article. Truly, there is never a reason to quit. I in particular, didn't watch the first half. I came and was told that we were 3 goals down. But then i knew what a positive attitude could do. I told my friends that if they can score 3 goals in 45 minutes, we can do it too. The Yes-i-can attitude. 4 minutes into the 2nd half we got our 1st goal. I now said our second should be in just about the same space of time. Like a joke, in the next 4 minutes, the 2nd goal came. To cut the whole story short. The eagles showed the world that you can always be the head once you realize. Never give up. So long you are still breathing.
ReplyDeleteGood one Nelly. Thumbs up
Wonderful, thumbs up.
ReplyDelete