Former Nigeria international goalkeeper Emmanuel Babayaro has backed goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa who conceded the penalty from which Cameroon drew level in their 1-1 draw against Nigeria.
Ezenwa was adjudged to have fouled Vincent Aboubacar who scored the leveller for Cameroon via the spot in the second half, but Babayaro said the referee got his judgement wrong on the incident that lead to the penalty.
” I said I will give my judgement on Ezenwa when he is faced with a team that will truly test him, and it happened in Yaounde. He passed the test with flying colours I dare say”, Babayaro told Owngoalnigeria.com.
” He was very commanding, backing out instructions and claiming crosses, he also made two good saves and reacted strongly to the rebound. There are still areas he need to work on but the positives from his game are more.
” Talking about the penalty, it’s a case of coming together. Yes Ezenwa came out without proper timing but so too the Cameroonian forward. They were both not close to the ball.
” It was a wrong call because the ball was there to be won. 50-50 like we call it and in the box the referee should always protect the goalkeeper and that wasn’t the case yesterday “.
Shedrack Obi
