Super Eagles victorious over Mozambique | Tunde Folawiyo
Super Eagles’ supporters such as Tunde Folawiyo will probably be aware of how well the team have performed over the past year. Given how successful 2013 was for the Super Eagles, it’s safe to say that their fans’ expectations were high when the team entered the CHAN (African Nations Championship) tournament. Unfortunately, Nigeria got off to a poor start, with Mali defeating them in th
eir first match.
The Super Eagles’ coach Stephen Keshi, was quick to address the issues which led to this loss, ensuring that only the best players were included in the line-up for their next match against Mozambique. Whilst he expressed disappointment that both Benjamin Francis and Ikenna Hillary Paul would not be able play in this game, due to their recently-acquired injuries, he immediately selected a number of highly capable replacements, including Abdullahi Shehu, and Kano Pillars.
Despite his lacklustre performance in the Mali match, Chigozie Agbim was also kept on by the coach. This was a decision which was questioned by many commentators; however, clearly, Keshi chose well; Nigeria performed better than they have in several months, finishing with a final result of 4-2. Goals from the likes of Barnabas Imenger, Ifeanyi Ede and Rabiu Ali all contributed to this outstanding win.
The game did not begin well for Nigeria however, with Dario Khan providing their opponents with the first goal of the match, just 10 minutes into the first half. It probably came as quite a relief to fans like Tunde Folawiyo, when the Eagles managed to level the score seconds later, following a close range shot by Ede. Shortly after this, Rabiu Ali gave Nigeria the lead, after he kicked the ball into the net from 20 yards.
But the Eagles’ allowed these early successes to go their heads, and their complacency resulted in Alberto Diogo equalising in the 20th minute. No further goals were scored during the first-half, despite several efforts being made by both sides. After the interval, Nigeria’s lead was restored by Ali in the 54th minute.
Not long after this, Keshi brought on the substitute Imenger; this proved to be a wise decision, as the forward gave the team the winning goal in the 88th minute; swiftly bypassing Mozambique’s defence, Imenger accepted a pass from Kwambe, and with a quick kick, the ball went soaring into the net. This was a much-needed victory for Keshi and his team, with the former having expressed frustration at their most recent loss against Mali.
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