The Nigerian Flying Eagles on Monday April 18, 2011 at Dabsonville Stadium in Soweto South Africa kicked off their campaign on the right foot with a close 2-1 victory over the Black Stars of Ghana. It was a match that witnessed the best of African football on both sides.
However, the unfortunate aspect of the game was the poor state of the field that was not helped by heavy rains and lack of maintenance. The field was bumpy and very heavy on the surface. It was difficult for the players to display their skills in such situations.
However, John Obuh’s well-educated team dictated the pace in the opening minutes of play and was duly rewarded in the 17th minute when Enugu’s Rangers FC forward Innocent Nwofor caught a good start from Abdul Ajagun to put the 1 -0 in favor of Nigeria.
The Ghanaians were stung and the goal woke them from their slumber. Their effort to equalize was resisted by the defensive line-up cleverly put together by the seasoned Terna Suswan. Goalkeeper Danjuma Paul, who kept the goal for Nigeria, was called into action on a few occasions, but he was up to the task.
However, the defending champions got the necessary draw thanks to a header from striker Kwame Nsor in the 32nd minute, following a good exchange of play on the wing. It would remain stagnant in the first 45 minutes as both teams failed to break the deadlock.
At the resumption of the second period of play, Ahmed Musa of VVV Venlo of the Netherlands became a thorn in the flesh of the Ghanaian defense, with his beautiful runs down the right flank. James Achampong, who was handling the Ghana sticks, was the busier of the two goalkeepers, as Innocent Nwofor and Ahmed Musa made sure he was alert in the opening minutes of the second half.
The game was almost heading for a standstill when, out of nowhere, Innocent Nwofor found some space near the Ghanaian flank and was preparing to make a flip when the ball made a wicked blow and flew past the unfortunate James Achampong for the winner. decisive. It was a rather strange goal, as the forward never believed in his luck when the ball came to rest in the back of the Ghanaian net. The goal was scored in the 82nd minute of the second half.
Several attempts by the black star to save a game point proved futile as the Flying Eagles defense frustrated every effort. The whistle of the referee’s whistle at the end of the match witnessed wild jubilation on the bench and amongst the players as they celebrated the acquisition of three precious points from their West African rivals.