FATAU DAUDA STATES ‘I AM HAPPY WITH THE MAN OF THE MATCH AWARD BUT DISAPPOINTED WITH THE RESULTS’

Legon Cities’ heroic no.1 Fatau Dauda is refusing to be carried away with his superb Man-of-the-Match performance in the 1-0 away loss to Asante Kotoko last night, preferring to instead say he is disappointed with the results at full-time.

Dauda was the stand-out performer in the crunch match day five encounter last night, as selected by the match commissioner.

That was after a string of world-class saves that denied Asante Kotoko from scoring more than once on the night.

The Lion made a staggering four to five key saves, which is the most in the game.

Speaking to LCTV after the game, Dauda stressed the importance of the team’s poor defensive performance.

“I think we needed a result from this game, we controlled the second half at some point in time, they [Asante Kotoko] put us under a lot of pressure and they had chances, but we were organized and I am happy to keep them from scoring a lot and the team defended really well and like I said, we didn’t deserve a lose today,” he said.

“I was immediately feeling, I have to be at my 100% best to keep the Porcupine Warriors from scoring more. Every one of my saves was very important for the team, my aim was to keep a clean sheet but we lost a little concentration and we were pushed,” he continued. 

“They [Nicholas Mensah and Joseph Adjei] have been top too, but not just them, the whole team, we have to defend from the striker to goalkeeper and that is what we keep working on.”

Fatau Dauda revealed that hard work on the training field is what is keeping the boys chasing and fighting for every ball all through-out ninety-minutes in recent games, and also stressed the importance that Legon Cities’ fight to stay up in the league under Bashir Hayford.

“We have really worked very hard in training especially on our endurance, stamina and strength, you can tell how fit the boys are and always running till the final whistle is blown,” he said.

“It is very important for the club, for the players, for everyone, to finish up in the top half of the table and that is the focus, it hasn’t change despite the fact that we haven’t won a game yet. I think the players are playing so well, the shape of the team is gradually coming and just unfortunate that we can’t score goals at the moment but soon, I believe it will change.”

Fatau Dauda’s performance on the night did not go unnoticed among his team-mates, with a number of players and the manager all paying tribute to him.

Baba Mahama: “This defeat is painful but kudos to Dauda, the amount of saves he has made is tremendous. We know we have a Lion at the back behind us and that alone gives us confidence. What a great performance from him on the night.”

Braimah Foster: “We have the number one and an experienced goalkeeper in goal and that gives us more calmness and confidence to surge forward. I think we could have gone down by 2-0, 3-0 but we didn’t and that is because of Fatau Dauda. He is the number one. He has been terrific and he deserves the man of the match.”

Nicholas Mensah: “Lion was on fire. It was a normal day for him at the office. He stayed concentrated throughout the game and those saves really saved us from conceding more. We are proud of him.”

Bashir Hayford: “Dauda was fantastic for us. I know what he can do. Obviously, when you make about four to five that is a top, top performance but then again, it is a pity we lost the game. Lion is a key player for us, he is not just a leader but a great personality and a leader from the back. He is following the game, moving all the time and yelling at the back. Everyone knows the capacity of goalkeepers and Dauda falls in the bracket of the top goalkeepers we have in the country.”

Source: Legon Cities FC