AFCON 2015: Hope rises for Eagles

By Taofeek Lawal

midst booing of Stephen Keshi by Nigerian fans, the Super Eagles of Nigeria on Wednesday at the National Stadium Abuja put their qualification back on track for next year’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco with a 3-1 defeat of the Jelda Falcons of Sudan. It was a game that put football crazy Nigerian fans at the edge of their seat as the Sudanese team frustrated all the attempts made by the Super Eagles to record an early goal as the first half ended goalless.

The visiting team however took the control of the game dictating the pace and even lost a glaring chance towards the end of first half when Mohammed Tahir spotting jersey number 10 capitalized on error made by Kenneth Omeruo before unleashing a shot that missed the Nigerian goal post by the whiskers.

The Nigerian team however woke up from their slumber in the second half when CSKA Moscow of Russia striker Ahmed Musa scored the first goal of the game in the 48th minutes of the encounter. The Sudanese team restored parity in the 57th minutes through Salah Ibrahim in jersey number 12 who lobbed the ball over Vincent Enyeama in goal for Nigeria.

The introduction of Hull City striker by Coach Stephen Keshi in the 66th minutes seemed to be the tonic needed by the African champions as debutant Aaron Samuel scored Nigeria’s second goal in the 68th minute and Musa was on song again in the 90th to score his second goal of the game and Nigeria’s third to send the whole stadium agog in jubilation.

With the victory over Sudan, Nigeria now occupies the third spot in group A with 4 points while the Bafana Bafana of South Africa top the group with 8 points following their 0-0 draw with the Red Devils of Congo Brazzaville who occupies the second spot with 7 points. The Sudanese have dropped to the bottom of the group with 3 points. The Eagles next game will be on November 19th at the magnificent Uyo Stadium in Akwa Ibom State according to NFF President, Amaju Pinnick.