Equatorial Guinea put in a disciplined shift to frustrate Nigeria to a 1-all draw in the second game of Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group A in Ivory Coast on Sunday.
The match, played at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé in Abidjan, was handled by SA referee Abongile Tom. The point will prove valuable for Equatorial Guinea, who are touted among the minnows of the tournament. On the other hand, Nigeria's failure to win casts doubts over their credentials to do well at this Afcon.
Nigeria managed to create a number of opportunities in the first half but couldn't bury them. The Super Eagles' talisman Victor Osimhen and Moses Simon were the players who squandered chances early in the game. Fulham playmaker Alex Iwobi was in the thick of things for Nigeria in the early stages of the game.
Nigeria would regress and allow Equatorial Guinea to dictate terms. As a result, they found themselves trailing in the 36th minute after Iván Salvador finished off a brilliant build-up by Nzalang Nacional. Equatorial Guinea knocked the ball around nicely before Jose Machin set-up Salvador, who just placed the ball to beat Nigeria keeper Stanley Nwabili, the property of PSL side Chippa United.
Equatorial Guinea's lead was short-lived as Osimhen redeemed himself and levelled matters two minutes later, heading home a fantastic cross by Ademola Lookman, who plies his trade for Serie A side Atalanta. Nigeria started the second half brightly but Equatorial Guinean goalkeeper Jesus Owono made few great saves to keep the scoreline level.
The best chance of the second stanza fell to Osimhen in the 75th minute but the Napoli star, who was one-on-one with the keeper, saw his effort go wide. Things were not really happening for Nigeria while Equatorial Guinea increasingly looked content to settle for a point, resorting to time-wasting tactics midway through the second period.
Seeing that they were struggling to make things happen, under-fire Nigeria coach José Peseiro introduced Samuel Chukwueze and Joe Aribo for Simon and Alhassan Yusuf nine minutes after the hour mark. The pair also couldn't really make a difference.
Monday’s Afcon fixtures
Senegal v Gambia, 4pm; Cameroon v Guinea, 7pm; Algeria v Angola, 10pm
Equatorial Guinea clip Super Eagles wings
Erratic Nigeria rue glut of missed chances in draw
Image: Gavin Barker/BackpagePix
Equatorial Guinea put in a disciplined shift to frustrate Nigeria to a 1-all draw in the second game of Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) Group A in Ivory Coast on Sunday.
The match, played at the Olympic Stadium of Ebimpé in Abidjan, was handled by SA referee Abongile Tom. The point will prove valuable for Equatorial Guinea, who are touted among the minnows of the tournament. On the other hand, Nigeria's failure to win casts doubts over their credentials to do well at this Afcon.
Nigeria managed to create a number of opportunities in the first half but couldn't bury them. The Super Eagles' talisman Victor Osimhen and Moses Simon were the players who squandered chances early in the game. Fulham playmaker Alex Iwobi was in the thick of things for Nigeria in the early stages of the game.
Nigeria would regress and allow Equatorial Guinea to dictate terms. As a result, they found themselves trailing in the 36th minute after Iván Salvador finished off a brilliant build-up by Nzalang Nacional. Equatorial Guinea knocked the ball around nicely before Jose Machin set-up Salvador, who just placed the ball to beat Nigeria keeper Stanley Nwabili, the property of PSL side Chippa United.
Equatorial Guinea's lead was short-lived as Osimhen redeemed himself and levelled matters two minutes later, heading home a fantastic cross by Ademola Lookman, who plies his trade for Serie A side Atalanta. Nigeria started the second half brightly but Equatorial Guinean goalkeeper Jesus Owono made few great saves to keep the scoreline level.
The best chance of the second stanza fell to Osimhen in the 75th minute but the Napoli star, who was one-on-one with the keeper, saw his effort go wide. Things were not really happening for Nigeria while Equatorial Guinea increasingly looked content to settle for a point, resorting to time-wasting tactics midway through the second period.
Seeing that they were struggling to make things happen, under-fire Nigeria coach José Peseiro introduced Samuel Chukwueze and Joe Aribo for Simon and Alhassan Yusuf nine minutes after the hour mark. The pair also couldn't really make a difference.
Monday’s Afcon fixtures
Senegal v Gambia, 4pm; Cameroon v Guinea, 7pm; Algeria v Angola, 10pm
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