time when they come for the return leg of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier against his team in Nairobi in June.
The Nigerians team woke up to the realisation of perceived minnows Harambee Stars holding them to a 1-1 draw game in Calabar, Cross River State on Saturday.
Kenya led throughout the game until the final two minutes of added time when substitute Nnamdi Oduamadi latched on to a ball in the box to score the equaliser.
Amrouche broke his silence on being expelled from the sidleline in the last minutes of the game as well as on his team’s amazing result.
He said: “My team played the last 10 minutes without me; it is tough for any team playing like that. I was asked to leave at the time they needed me most. My absence caused us a lot.
“I was talking to my players and didn’t infringe on anybody’s territory. Or is there any rule that says a coach cannot stand at the lines and talk to his players all through the game? It was a funny decision.
“The pitch in Calabar was not marked properly and I was understandably excited coaching my first game. If I strayed onto the pitch it was not intentional nor was it for more than a few seconds. In addition to this I was never warned. To make matters worse during the game, the same official came to warn me on how to give my players water, insisting they should be the ones coming out for it.”
Amourche thinks that not being on the sideline at the end clearly cost his team the maximum points. Nevertheless he is quite happy with the score and his team’s performance, telling supersport.com that the return game in Kenya is going to be “very tough” and a virtual hell for Nigeria.
