Hero Bulbwa hails selfless Eagles

The hero of the 2015 African Under-20 Championship, Bernard Bulbwa, who scored Nigeria’s goal in final against Senegal, tellssuperport.com that the Flying Eagles played according to instructions and were selfless in their roles on the field.

It took just 17 minutes from kickoff for the 19-year-old midfielder of Shuttle Sports Academy in Nigeria to break the stalemate and put his side ahead 1-0.

His long-range effort was another breathtaking goal of the tournament, although Senegal coach Joseph Koto believes Bulbwa was only lucky to find the back net.

“He wasn’t that close. He attempted something and it entered. He was only just lucky and we weren’t,” Koto had said in his post-match press conference.

However, Bulbwa refutes such assumption insisting he worked hard for the winner that handed Nigeria their seventh record title in the competition.

“I had space around me after outpacing my marker. I saw the posts and I shot and it floated past the rooftop and that was a goal. You don’t get such a goal by luck. It is hard work and faith in what you are doing,” Bulbwa told superport.com.

The early goal made it look as though the six-time champions would have an easy ride over the hosts, but Nigeria were pressed at different intervals by Senegal, who were desperate for a leveller.

“We were not panicking when they held domination. We kept closing potholes and trying to keep them at bay. And you could have noticed that they were always pushing and retreating because they failed to find a breach.

“That done, I think we’ll go back home and start training for the World Cup. Being the winner of the African Youth Tournament, we will surely be one of the teams to beat in New Zealand.

“And that means we need to buckle up to live up to expectation. Our coach is already setting eyes on the title we all should follow in that direction,” he said.