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A second Nigeria win on the bounce over a four-day spell must come as music to the ears of Gernot Rohr after watching his second-string side edge a 2-1 win over Liberia on Tuesday in Monrovia. He'll also be delighted by the performances of many of his fringe players, even if it is somewhat tough to assess the impact of players playing against a 51 and a 48-year-old. As inconsequential as the game may have been, there is still some insight to be gleaned. Rohr still doesn't trust locals From the get go, Rohr has made it clear that he prefers his personnel to be plying their trade in the world's top leagues...or as close to the top as possible. During his first year on the job, Rohr dismissed Kelechi Osunwa's record-breaking exploits in Sudan, telling KweséESPN: "If he is so good, he should go to Europe." Obviously, the NPFL does not rank very highly on the German's scale either. League leading goalscorer and record-breaker Junior Lokosa was ignored in the buildup to the World Cup, while for the squad against Seychelles - a team of semi-pros - Rohr only picked one domestic-based player, Ikechukwu Ezenwa. The Enyimba star did not see a minute of action. Ezenwa did get to start against Liberia, but the only other NPFL stars to get minutes were Ebube Duru and and Adeleye Olamilekan - midway through the second half -and Mfon Udoh and Sunday Adetunji with minutes left. Clearly, the only way for NPFL stars to catch Rohr's attention would be by leaving the NPFL.  Onyekuru leads impressive fringe players Inconsequential the friendly may have been, but somebody apparently forgot to tell Henry Onyekuru. The Galatasaray forward was electric from the start, and took his goal with pure perfection, turning inside three defenders before unleashing an unstoppable volley. He continued to pressure the Liberia defence, getting in behind them, and came close to another two goals before he was subbed off. He was not the only fringe player trying to give Rohr a headache. Matchday captain John Ogu was uncompromising in his unfamiliar centre-back role, while Semi Ajayi was giving nothing away either. Samuel Kalu came on and immediately stamped his mark on the field, ghosting past one defender to send in a cross that Simy Nwankwo should really have put away. NFF lack respect for the Super Eagles For all that will be said about this game, there is something that needs to be pointed out; the NFF owe Nigerians an apology for making the Super Eagles play this game against two players around the 50-mark. It is intensely disrespectful for the senior national team to play a novelty game. For now, it is not clear what the NFF knew, or when they knew about Liberia President George Weah and his 48-year-old former teammate James Debbah lining up against the Super Eagles. The team should be treated with more respect. Full disclosure should have been sought and obtained from Liberia ahead of signing the contract to play this game. The fact that most of the top players were allowed to leave does suggest they had some idea. Iconic as Weah is, he is 51, retired and the national president. It is one thing to play against weak opposition, it is a whole other thing to line up essentially the Eagles A-national team in a vainglorious kick-about against retired players. The Super Eagles deserve better.
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