Equatorial Guinea head coach Rodolfo Bodipo was left fuming in aftermath of his side’s 3-1 defeat to Nigeria in a Group C 2018 African Nations Championship (Chan) clash in Agadir on Tuesday evening.
Nzalang Nacional hit the front five minutes before the interval through Nsi Eyama Salvador, only for the Super Eagles to rally in the second stanza as they duly sealed their place in the knockout stages as group winners.
Equatorial Guinea’s fate was already sealed heading into the encounter, but that didn’t stop Bodipo’s youthful squad from putting in a commendable shift as they now return home.
Bodipo was particularly enraged by two refereeing decisions in his side’s loss to Nigeria. Anthony Okpotu pulled the Super Eagles level just short of the hour mark, before Ekundayo Ojo hit home a long range thunderbolt to give the West African’s the lead.Rabiu Ali made sure of the result from the penalty spot following a string of clumsy challenge from Equatorial Guinea throughout the clash.
“Things like these happen to small countries like us,” said Bodipo in the aftermath.
“We didn’t win though, but we have reservations with the officiating for the first goal we conceded. We were one man down and the referee delayed the player getting back on the pitch. The third goal was not a clean penalty.
“As I said earlier, we came here with this young team to gain experience.We played a strong team in Nigeria.”
