Kebbi’s coach, Isa pleased despite defeat to Arsenal

Head Coach of Kebbi Beach Soccer Club, Abdullahi Isa, says his side were undeserving of Friday’s narrow 11-9 loss to Arsenal in their Copa Lagos opener, at the Eko Atlantic.

Having bowed to the English champions in the 20-goal thriller in their first ever competitive, the gaffer was still full of praises for his side over their spirited display.

“We had a good game against Arsenal. As you know, this is our first outing in a major competition,” Isa told newsmen.“The boys did well and held their own against a tough Arsenal side that has been playing beach soccer for a long time. Everyone here can testify that we lost narrowly.

Overall, I’m proud of my players judging from their performance, and I’m happy Arsenal never walked over us like many would have expected. We gave them a good fight, but I must say they were lucky to win.”

Ahead of their next clash with Gidi Sharks, Isa expressed optimism that they would be victorious against the Lagos- based side, that defeated Pepsi 6-2 in their first game.

“We have seen the other teams, and I’m full of confidence that we can get a victory in our next game (against Gidi Sharks).“It will be tough because they defeated Pepsi, but I think with our form against Arsenal we can emerge victorious, and brighten our chances of still winning the competition,” he concluded.

Meanwhile, Morocco’s coach, Nassim El Hadaoui, insists he was not disappointed after his side narrowly lost 7-6 to Nigeria on Friday.El Hadaoui’s men hit the ground running with an early 2-0 lead, but in the end, bowed to the Supersand Eagles.

“It was a fine match. We started well in the game, but we couldn’t hold on before we lost it the end,” he told the media.“We wanted to defeat Nigeria to avenge our (semi-final) loss here in the African Beach Soccer Nations Cup last year, but that didn’t happen. I must give credit to my teammates because we really fought hard to beat Nigeria but unfortunately, we failed to win.