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By Nicholas Uwerunonye
With the two goals slump of Kwara United to Remo Stars in Ikenne on Sunday, what would Coach Kabir Dogo blame next for his team’s inconsistency in the ongoing NPFL 2023/League season?
A testy Coach Dogo, as recalled after the last mid week fixture against Doma where Kwara United managed a goaless draw against the visitors despite dominating play all through the encounter, had come out fuming, blaming the draw on the newly revamped Kwara State Stadium main bowl pitch.
Dogo said that the football turf is too bumpy for his style of play.
“Our philosophy is to put the ball on the ground but we can’t do it here [in Kwara State Stadium],” the coach said to battery of reporters after the match.
According to him, the quality of the turf his boys plays on determines match outcome and results.
Some of his away games seem to support his claim.
Against Rivers United (0-0), Bendel Insurance (2-2), he pulled amazing draws.
But at home where, going by local tradition, he should have consolidated with wins, his team slumps, fizzles out managing unimpressive outcomes.
“The pitch we are using [at home] is not like the away pitch; the [away] pitch is favouring us with the type of football we want to play (sic),” contended Coach Dogo, last week during the after match media parley.
One just wonders what he has to say after Sunday’s match against Remo Stars. As the saying goes, only a lazy man quarrels with his tools. So by the same logic, casual observers would have seen that Dogo’s ‘pitch argument’ doesn’t even begin to be tenable, even from that last home match before his defeat in Ikenne.
Pray, did Doma United, visitors, who had just a training session on the pitch some how against all credulity play on a separate pitch from the one the home team played on and still managed that draw?
Let’s assume, without conceding that the spanking new pitch, refurbished at great costs through private initiative inhibits Dogo’s soccer philosophy, how does he explain the loss on the super standard artificial turf at Remo?
Still on the Doma United draw, some soccer tacticians voiced disagreement with Dogo, blaming the poor fortunes of his team on absence of technical savvy.
They drew attention, for instance, to the rampant domination of play by Kwara United at home which doesn’t result in goals.
Some even went as far pointing out that the team suffers from poor transition from defence to midfield and finally eventful attack especially on the wings.
With consistent 75 percent to 80 percent domination of play on home turf, Kwara United has no business pulling a draw with any team at home so far. Equally of note were miss use of set pieces.
These lapses dogged United at Remo Stars’ Ikenne turf on Sunday. Kwara United suffered two unreplied goes in Ikenne despite having begging chances and fluffing not less than six set piece chances.
You see, Dogo’s argument to a large extent demonstrate how limited the average Nigeria clubside coach can be while engaging the media on a matter. Modern day soccer is all a coach/manager that comes as a complete package; not just savvy in technicalities of the game but also effective in communication skills.
Rather than excuse his uninspiring results, his resort to blaming the turf casts Dogo as the proverbial man who quarrels with his work tools.
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