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By Our Reporter
Fredrick Oliseh, General Manager and Head Coach of FC Ebedei says his team will go gun blazing against Sporting Lagos in the final of the Gold Cup.
The curtain closes on the 13th edition of the nation’s premier pre-season tournament with a repeat of an action-packed Group A fixture that saw Sporting Lagos emerge as 2-1 winners.
Oliseh, after the emphatic 4-2 penalty shootout win against Crown FC, told Gold Cup Media Channel: “The semi-final win against Crown FC is a testament to the hard work we do here. I would like to thank the players and the coaching staff. Thank my father (Barrister Churchill Oliseh) for giving me this platform to do what we do. It’s a testament to all the hard work we do every single day.
“We work hard. We know what we’re really good at. We try and make sure that we always have a good shape in every single moment of play and keep our focus up, and that’s just the truth. That’s why it’s a testament to the hard work the boys put in day after day, and it showed in the results on the pitch.
On the semifinal fixture against Crown FC, a team in Nigeria’s second-tier. “We said to ourselves, why not? At FC Ebedei, we don’t just produce talents, we build human beings, and we want to be fearless in everything we do. This project itself is daring, so we said, why not? And we gave in everything that we had, and that’s exactly what I transferred to the boys.”
On what he did differently, breaking the Gold Cup jinx after 13 attempts, Fredrick said: “I’m going to make a little joke with my dad, since I came two semis but that’s not it. Like, I said, we worked really, really hard, and that’s why we’re here every single day. So, there’s no other shortcut to what we have achieved so far.
On tackling Sporting Lagos twice in the tourney after losing 2-1 in the group stage and now in the final, “It was a really tight game that one, it could have gone anyway, we’ll keep to our principles, we’re not going to change anything, and when we get to the match, we’ll take it as it comes. I believe on our day, we are almost unplayable, so we’ll go in with a level head and we’ll see the job through.”
Asked if the lack of spark between his two strikers, Olanshile Lawal and Miracle Osakene, does not worry him, as his left-back, Kennedy John, is the Gold Cup leading scorer with four goals.
“No, I think the defender will be knocking on my door for something like a little raise. No, but it’s a team sport, and that’s what we do. We all play for each other to make sure that on the day whoever can give us the win can, so it’s not about one department, one individual, or anything like that. That’s why it’s a team, and that’s why we work together as a group to be able to produce results, even when we feel something, maybe lacking somewhere else.
“Fans should expect absolute fireworks. We will go into the final, giving everything and leaving absolutely nothing. That’s going to be the game plan absolutely. “
To FC Ebedei’s fans, “I think I felt our fans today so much. I felt like they were pushing us at every single corner, and you almost felt like they were the ones scoring the ball into the net during the shootouts. I’m really grateful for them, as they give us a reason to keep doing what we do, and when we receive support like this, the performance, and the result that we’re able to give them, like what we did against Crown FC, is the start of a thank you to them, so I’m truly grateful.”
