Nigeria Women’s hockey team coach determined to win gold on Friday

Peter Okwudili Menyei, the head coach of Nigeria’s national women’s Hockey team, expressed confidence that his team will aim for the Gold medal in the upcoming African Games final against hosts Ghana on Friday.

Menyei led his team to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Kenya in their second group stage game at the Theodosia Okoh Hockey Stadium in Accra, Ghana, on Wednesday afternoon.

Queen Esther Njoku secured the decisive goal in the final minute of play, capitalizing on Benedicta Johnson’s impressive run down the right wing.

Reflecting on the game, Menyei described it as a tough encounter, acknowledging Kenya’s resilience. He emphasized the importance of patience and resilience, qualities that ultimately led his team to victory.

“It was a good game, a hard fought one. Both teams needed to be in the final and we saw Kenya come out to give us the fight that we expected but we knew that all we needed was the patience (and) resilience which saw us through,”the coach is quoted by ACL.

Having previously guided the Nigerian side to victory at the African championship in South Africa last November, where they also defeated Kenya 1-0 in the semi-final, Menyei expressed gratitude to the Nigeria Hockey Federation (NHF) board for their support.

Acknowledging the upcoming final against Ghana, Menyei admitted that Ghana had defeated Nigeria 1-0 in their group stage meeting. However, he expressed confidence that his team had learned from their mistakes and would seek redemption in the final.

Menyei affirmed his team’s determination to secure the Gold medal, emphasizing their goal to dominate African Hockey. Despite the challenges, he remained optimistic about his team’s chances and vowed to rectify any shortcomings ahead of the final showdown.

“Of course, when you fight to run away, you fight to live for another day so we’ve got a bigger fight ahead. Now we know what bits we have to check, we know the corrections that have to be made so God’s willing, we’ll put the dots in the right places and cross the ts and then we’ll have the day. We want the Gold and the Gold we’re going for,” he concluded.

While the Men’s Hockey team is no longer in contention for a final spot, Menyei’s focus remains on guiding the women’s team to victory and clinching the coveted Gold medal in the upcoming final against Ghana.