|
|
Nigeria/Côte d'Ivoire: Cote d'Ivoire Hands Eagles Quarterfinal Ticket
 |
 |
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||
This Day (Lagos)
30 January 2008
Posted to the web 30 January 2008
Lagos
Cote d'Ivoire last night dramatically handed Nigeria a Nations Cup lifeline with a 3-0 spanking of Mali in Accra.
The result paved the way for the embattled Super Eagles who beat Benin 2-0 in Sekondi to book a quarter final ticket coming up against old foes Ghana on Sunday at the Ohene Djan Stadium in Accra.
The Eagles were euphoric and capped their mood by dancing to the beat of their supporters club in the stands.
Mikel Obi who scored a goal and set up Yakubu Aiyegbeni in the 85th minute was the Eagles match hero. His 52nd minute headed goal finally ended the Eagles frantic search for goal in 232 minutes of action.
The Chelsea midfielder got to the end of a flick on by Osaze Odemwingie. Hard fighting Benin was finally nailed by Yakubu who tapped in after he was freed by Mikel.
The Eagles played the match of their lives after an indifferent start to the tournament following a loss to Cote d'Ivoire and a draw to Mali.
But they were matched by a creative and physical Benin who flourished in the midfield and looked threatening with the striking pair of Razack Omotoyossi and Omar Tchomogo.
Early chance fell to Yakubu in the second minute but the Everton striker crocked his shot by a few inches wide.
Gritty midfield play by Mikel, Dickson Etuhu gave Nigeria a fair share of possession.
But by the quarter of the hour Austin Ejide was alerted by a pinpoint drive from 25 metres out by Alain Gaspoz. A minute later, Osaze Odemwengie used his pace to beat Yoan Djidonou on the left but his final touch into the box lacked power.
The Nigerians continued to press in numbers in search of their first goal in the tournament.
They varied their attacking options switching in John Utaka inside while Ike Uche was moved to the right to make use of his pace.
But the Squirrels rear of Damien Chrysostome and Anicet Adjamoussi remained resilient. Mikel Obi had the final touch on the stroke of the first half after running the Benin back line gagged but wasted his effort at the near post.
Benin coach Reinhardt Fabisch sent on Muri Ogunbiyi for the injured Adjamossi in the 46th minute and almost instantly the former Enyimba stunt Ejide with long range jab which the latter did well to curb.
Obi finally ended Nigeria's misery by arriving to head home a pass by Odemwengie in the 52nd minute.
|
The Eagles defence soaked up the pressure from the fast Benin attackers before a late winner by Yakubu guaranteed the Eagles a last eight passage.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright © 2008 This Day. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections -- or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Make allAfrica.com your home page | RSS Feed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top | Site Guide | Who We Are | Advertising | Search | Subscribe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Questions or Comments? Contact us. Read our Privacy Statement. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
