ABU DHABI FRIENDLY: EAGLES FALL TO ELEPHANTS

Hopes of Nigerians seeing a rebirth of the Super Eagles after
failing to qualify for the AFCON 2015 fell flat last night in the
Super Eagles’ team B international friendly encounter against
Equatorial Guinea bound Cote d’ Ivoire, as they fell 1-0
through an 84th minute goal from former Chelsea forward
Salomon Kalou.
The Nigerian side coached by Daniel Amokachi showed
resilence even as the Elephants attacked more in the game,
but they were unable to find a way through against the
equally impressive Super Eagles side who stood tall to them.
With both coaches fielding talented players in the build-up
game, the two teams treated the fans to a classic, but the
one-time African Cup of Nations winners nevertheless
managed to emerge triumphant with Kalou’s strike.
Super Eagles stand-in coach Daniel Amokachi handed starts
to enterprising Stanley Dimgba and Nigeria Professional
Football League top marksman Mfon Udoh.
There was a worrying sight for Elephants fans in the opening
exchanges when the dangerous Gambo Mohammed side
footed his effort from close range.
Cote D’Ivoire fielded majority of its stars with African
Footballer of the Year, Yaya Toure getting a good match from
the fearless Joseph Nathaniel in the midfield.
AS Roma winger, Gervinho should have given the Elephants
the lead in the 27th minute of the match when he beat the
Nigeria defence, but he was denied by goalkeeper Chigozie
Agbim.
Cote D’Ivoire threatened again when Serge Aurier headed wide
from a corner kick and the first half ended goalless in Abu
Dhabi.
In a bid to grab the winner, the Cote D’Ivoire technical crew
led by Hervé Renard threw more bodies upfront and
pressurized the Super Eagles side in the second half. At the
home stretch, Newcastle United midfielder Chieck Tiote found
Kalou in the area and the forward slotted the ball past Agbim
in goal for Nigeria.
Nigeria’s tour of United Arab Emirates will come to an end
with a game against the Falcons of Sudan on 17th January,
2015.
Meanwhile, former Swiss junior international, Steven Ukoh,
whose application to represent Nigeria at senior level was
recently approved by world football-governing body, FIFA,
made his international debut for the team as a second half
substitute.