Olaleye Idowu
Russia head coach, Valery Karpin has hailed his team’s display in the stalemate against the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
Karpin’s side were held to a 1-1 draw by Nigeria in their international friendly at the Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow on Friday night.
Semi Ajayi diverted the ball into his net for Russia’s only goal, while Tolu Arokodare equalised f
The hosts were also resolute at the back, limiting the Super Eagles to a few shots on target.
Goalkeeper Maduka Okoye was the hero, making several vital saves in the game.
Karpin stated that his players played well aside from the cheap goal they conceded.
“Absolutely everything: from pressure to… I can’t remember a single moment except a mistake when playing out. You remember? Maybe I just forgot,” he said after the game.
“They didn’t create threats for us, but we created chances. Melekhin has — after a free kick, Barinov has — after leaving the defence. The goal we missed can hardly be called created by Nigeria — there wasn’t even pressure there,” he said.
Russia defeated another African side, Zambia 5-0 in their previous friendly.
The gaffer admitted that the Super Eagles were superior to the Zambians.
“They are all very athletic, powerful, strong teams. Cameroon and Nigeria are noticeably higher in level than Zambia and Kenya. Even the FIFA rating confirms this. They cannot be compared. Nigeria and Cameroon – more interesting,” he added.
