Eguavoen begs for Okoye, reveals reason for 'blunder'
Cerezo said it was difficult for any goalkeeper to stop a shot that came through bodies,
Super Eagles interim gaffer, Austin Eguavoen has exonerated Sparta Rotterdam goalkeeper, Maduka Okoye for the goal that sent Nigeria packing AFCON.
Fielding questions from the media at the team's Hotel Le Ribadou on Monday, Eguavoen absolved Okoye of any blame and maintained that Sunday's loss was just another bad day in the office for Super Eagles.
He disclosed that the official ball of this year's AFCON was designed and styled alongside Jabulani, the official ball of the South Africa 2010 World Cup.
Cerezo said it was difficult for any goalkeeper to stop a shot that came through bodies, adding more emphasis should have been why his players failed to checkmate the Tunisians rather than blamed Okoye who did his best to stop the ball.
"People kept blaming Okoye for the goal when in the actual sense people should look at where the ball was coming from, which could have been stopped by the players themselves," begins Eguavoen.
" Besides, the official ball of this year's edition is designed just like Jabullani that was used in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
" Okoye would have saved the shot if he saw it clearly, but the shot came through bodies," Eguavoen concluded.
He appealed to angry fans to forgive the entire team rather than throw the baby out with the bathwater.
" I know emotion is high now, but they should understand that these players are human too. Some of them are strong enough to handle situations like this while others are not. Don't forget you will still need some players in the World Cup playoffs," Eguavoen said.
