Eagles fly to CHAN •Survive Ivorien scare on 4-3 goals aggregate COACH Stephen Keshi on Saturday hit the headlines again as he led the Super Eagles to book a ticket to the 2014 African Nations Championship (CHAN) in spite of a 0-2 loss to the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in a return fixture decided at the Robert Champeaux Stadium, Abidjan . Nigeria picked the ticket on 4-3 goals aggregate following their 4-1 win in the first leg tie in Kaduna. Kevin Koelly Zougoula sent a warning signal to the Eagles right in the sixth minute of the game when he cashed in on a defensive blunder to slot the ball past a helpless goalkeeper Chigozie Agbim. Azubuike Egwuekwe’s header in the 19th minute missed the target amid heavy pressure on the Eagles. The homers eventually doubled the lead in the 24th minute through Zougoula again as they continued to mount pressure in search of a winner which refused to come. Keshi introduced former U-20 player who starred at the Turkey 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup, Gero Abdullahi in the 53rd minute in place of Gomo Onduku, while Chibuzor Okonkwo came on to replace Olufemi Oladapo in the 69th minute. The inclusion of Gero added bite to the attack of the troubled Eagles as the Rangers striker became a thorn in the flesh of the Ivoriens. Agbim made two saves in the 59th minute as the Eagles who also paraded Godfrey Oboabona, Sunday Mba, Francis Benjamin, Solomon Kwambe, Etebo Oghene, Ifeanyi Edeh and Rabiu Mohammed, continued to probe for a goal that could give them some respite. Kwambe was replaced by Kunle Odunlami in the 80th minute while the Eagles’ defence maintained a clean slate in the last 45 minutes through the heroics of Agbim. Ivorien Mathias Kassi bagged the only yellow card of the match in the 83rd minute after he matched on Gero’s face. Two-goal hero, Zougoula in the 87th minute went down in the box after a challenge from Oboabona but the centre referee was fair enough to accept the challenge as normal.
Posted on: Sun, 28 Jul 2013 07:55:36 +0000
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