Kickoff (Cape Town)
16 August 2008
Nigeria have advanced to the semifinals of the 2008 Beijing Olympics with a convincing 2-0 victory over Ivory Coast on Saturday.
Goals from Osaze Odemwingie and Obinna Nsofor were enough for the Dream Team to stay on the gold medal trail.
Blow-by-Blow Match Report:
1 mins: And we're underway.
4 mins: Shouts for a penalty as Obinna Nsofor goes down in the penalty area, but the referee waves play on. Nigeria start the brighter.
10 mins: Ivory Coast have begun to get into the game more and this looks like hotting up to an excellent contest.
15 mins: The tackles are certainly flying in, you can see how much this means to the players.
20 mins: It is the Ivory Coast's turn to shout for a penalty for handball, but nothing given, quite correctly. Neither goalkeeper is being tested enough at this stage.
20 mins: What we haven't pointed out so far is that Siasia has dropped team captain Isaac Promise to the bench for this game as Osaze Odemwingie returns to the starting line-up.
Also making a return, from suspension, are Onyekachi Apam and Adefemi Olubayo.
22 mins: Solomon Okoronkwo breaks away down the right hand side and flashes a shot wide of Angban's left hand post.
23 mins: Obinna Nsofor turns over possession deep in the opposition half and the ball is wacked through to Salomon Kalou, who gets away and is bearing down on goal before Apam makes a super, super tackle to win a goalkick. Great play.
24 mins: It's all breakaways from both sides. Cote d'Ivoire break again and shoot wide. Nigeria get forward almost immediately and Chinedu Obasi whips in a low cross that is just cut off from the arriving Okoronkwo.
27 mins: Siasia has been a happy man, until this point. His boys have kept it simple, with quick release passing. But Nsofor decides to go against the grain and beats his man one time too much. Siasia is on his feet in a flash.
And from the resultant throw-in, Ajilore swings one in, but it's marginally wide.
28 mins: Efe Ambrose, who is at left back in place of Chibuzor Okonkwo, goes down heavily, and stays down. But he is up again soon after.
34 mins: Again, Nsofor gives away possession by trying to do just a little too much and the Ivorians break away through Kone. Dele Adeleye has to be alert to concede the throw-in.
37 mins: Great defending by Olubayo to dispossess Kalou inside the box. It was like taking candy from a baby.
39 mins: Fine passage of play from Nigeria with a series of slick, one-two passes. Odemwingie gets in a cross which is headed away from goal by Chinedu and Okoronkwo's return cross goes out.
40 mins: YELLOW CARD: Viera gets booked for a challenge on Obasi and Nigeria win the free-kick. Osaze hits it into the wall for a corner kick and Obasi heads that one over.
42 mins: YELLOW CARD: Onyekachi Apam lunges into Coulibaly as the Ivorian breaks away and gets his third booking of the tournament. That's an average of one yellow a game for Apam, and the Ivorians have a free-kick in a very useful position.
44 mins: GOAL!! Nigeria 1-0 CIV. Osaze Odemwingie gets Nigeria off the mark with a goal of pure counter-attacking precision. Vanzekin gets the ball away and Nsofor latches on to it and splits the Ivorian defence to find Osaze, who takes it one time to the bottom right hand corner of Angban's goal.
45 mins: Nigeria come forward again, but Okoronkwo heads straight at the keeper. He didn't realise he had all that the time and space in the world to pick his spot.
And CIV break again down the left hand side, with Kalou and Wawa combining, but the left back hits a curler straight at Vanzekin.
And that will be the final action of the half.
HALF TIME: It's been a fairly even game so far, and quite pleasing to the eye too. Both sides have played an open, attacking style but with a good tactical eye for defending.
Nigeria have defended from the front, with the forwards defending high upfield and closing down spaces quickly when they lose the ball.
Most of Nigeria's turn-overs have come from Nsofor, who may need to keep it simple for a bit. I suspect he will get a bit of an earful from Siasia in the dressing room.
But on the evidence of this first half, the second half looks like being a don't-blink experience.
The Ivorians can't wait to get out of the dressing room. They are out and huddled together in the middle as the Nigerian straggle out.
46 mins: And off we go for the second half.
SUBSTITUTION CIV: Mamadou Bagayoko off for Franck Dja Djedje.
Efe concedes a quick unnecessary corner kick, but no danger.
48 mins: Second corner in quick succession for CIV, and the ball falls to the substitute Dja DjeDje who scuffs it wide.
49 mins: How did Nigeria miss that. Pandemonium in the Ivorian box, Bamba clears off the line and the ball falls to Obasi who hits it straight at the keeper.
Odemwingie is back again, and once again, Bamba is around to make a last ditch tackle.
51 mins: Good chance for CIV. Kalou is freed down the right channel and gets his shot away, and Vanzekin makes a smart save, low and down to his bottom right hand corner.
Adeleye is being an absolute beast in defence, with clearance after timely clearance.
52 mins: Gervinho is stopped in a run at the box, and CIV get a free-kick in a dangerous position. Kalou whacks it high.
59 mins: Gervinho wins another free-kick in a dangerous area. Kone takes a good one round the wall and Vanzekin again goes to ground quickly to smother it.
60 mins: SUBSTITUTION CIV: The Ivorians make their second change of the match. Ousmane Viera Diarrassouba makes way for Anthony Moura-Komenan.
63 mins: Gervinho breaks free again down the right channel for Cote d'Ivoire but is choked down and the final cross goes out. And the Kalou is back again, but Apam makes a timely tackle to concede a corner kick.
64 mins: There is no breathing at all in this game. Odemwingie is off on his own run and it is all the defender can do to keep up with him and concede the corner kick.
66 mins: Gervinho, who is popping up everywhere, races down the left channel and leaves Olubayo for dead but his low cross is cut out by who else but Adeleye.
67 mins: At the other end, Osaze forces a corner-kick from a rapier-sharp counter attack. Taken short and wasted.
69 mins: Oh, what a wasted opportunity for Nigeria. Angoau loses the ball and Nigeria break free down the left. Obasi crosses the ball but Angban cuts it out before Osaze can get there and tap in.
70 mins: Gervinho says right back at ya! Drives into the Nigeria area and lets off a low drive that Vanzekin just beats away for a corner kick. Wasted.
72 mins: Its Coulibaly to test Vanzekin again from inside the box and the goalkeeper passes with flying colours, fisting the ball away despite having had very little time to see it.
74 mins: Nigeria make a fine build-up after Nsofor skins Angoua. The ball falls to Kaita but he screws his effort low and wide.
76 mins: What a chance for CIV. Corner kick is floated into the box and knocked down for Bamba and he cant react quick enough. He hits it wide.
77 mins: YELLOW CARD: Vanzekin booked for time-wasting. Same way he got into the referee's book against the USA.
78 mins: SUBSTITUTION NIGERIA: Forward Solomon Okoronkwo is taken off for defender Monday James as Siasia looks to batten down the hatches.
79 mins: Gervinho works the bal into the box and cuts back for Cisse, but he takes too long and the chance is gone.
80 mins: Its all Cote d'Ivoire at the moment and they win another freekick in yet another position of promise, but whacks it straight at the wall.
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