YAOUNDE:REFEREE STOPS EAGLES DEMOLITION JOB

YAOUNDE:REFEREE STOPS EAGLES DEMOLITION JOB

BY ABDULMUMINI ADEKU

[SECOND LEG REPORTS]

It was aver y testy duel  between  the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the  Indomitable Lions of Cameroun and the national honor and pride was at stake in front of disappointed home fans at the Stade Ahmadu Ahidjo stadium.

But it was the Super Eagles of Nigeria who were visiting their next door neighbors that hit the ground running in the very first minute with an attack led by China Based Odion Ighalo ,Victor Moses,Moses Simon providing all the early questions via threats and causing the home team all sorts of problems.

The telepathic understanding  in The Nigerian team with skipper John Obi Mikel  setting up some of the dangerous  forays from the middle of the park  eventually led Ighalo ripping apart the Lions Defence to find Moses Simon who let fly at a very close range into  yawning net for the opening goal.

For the better part of the match in this second leg ,the Super Eagles simply locked up the Middle ,soaked up all the pressures that came with it and waited to catch the Lions via the counter attacking model of football.

In the 62nd Minute of the game,what should have being  Nigeria's second goal was lost due to a breakdown in communication in the final third by the strikers.

In the 67th minute ,Victor Moses ripped apart the Lions Defence with his sleeky ball skills but after "dancing Zanza" into the dangerous territory of the Camerounians had his efforts just gazing the cross bar.

Victor Moses now the tormentor-in-chief for the visitors took a free kick at this stage  in the second half which almost embarrassed goalkeeper Ondoa in between the sticks for the home side as he tipped the ball away from an open net .

In the 72 nd minute  of the match ,an on rushing Lions skipper was tripped in the Nigerian 18 yard box by goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa who was  in goal for his country and the Centre referee did not waste any time at pointing at the centre for a spot kick.

The resultant penalty kick had Cameroun levelling up after the  Ezenwa was wrong footed  for an Equalizer by the home team.

in the 84th minute ,perhaps the most controversial moment of the game ,a goal mouth scramble with Ezenwa making two daring saves at the expense of his own life had a Lions attacker booting him directly in the chest and in the process he was allowed to go scot free like in most situations in the match as the Lions got away with blue murder while the visitors got carded for the most unlikely reasons.

In the match proper,a lot of rough tactics noticeably employed by the home team to win the game was not punished by the match referee..

Though the game had five minutes of added time given but another 2to 3 minutes had to be added after goalkeeper Ezenwa fell down again to his injuries which he had earlier on in the game.

It would be recalled that in  the game between both nations in Yaounde in 1989,goalkeeper David Ngodigha was booted in the head in less than 10 minutes of the match and had to stretched off from the stadium with an ambulance thus leading to an early substitution  by a certain Alloy Agu for Nigeria.

[1ST LEG REPORTS]........

Game begins with a floater into the box of the visitors where Odion Ighalo was lurking around as the ball to the Camerounian Lions Goalkeeper clutching calmly .

In the 55 seconds of the match,there was a palpable confusion in the Eagles Defence  and this almost led to an own goal as the Lions ran an early ring around the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

A quick interchange of passes and flicks between dreadlocks wearing Victor Moses and Odion Ighalo had the fans roaring for more of the beauty in the very 2nd minute of the game as the Super Eagles of Nigeria began to flourish at  this stage.

Big man Leon Balogun who stars for Main in the German Bundesliga got penalized in the 3rd minute as Nigeria started to assert its authority in the game while contesting for every major move  .

At exactly four minutes 37 seconds ,a Lions Striker let fly at the Nigerian goal with a hope full shot as Ezenwa in goal for his country watches as the ball rolls away slowly .

In the 6th minute ,John Obi Mikel started to show who the Midfield dynamo was as he led the lines from the Middle of the  park to the admiration of the cheering crowd.

Shortly after this Moses Simon ,A forward for K.A.A Ghents in the Belgian Jupiler Liga  was fouled but a free kick given and taken had the visitors taking over the possession but even the visitors soon got a free kick of their own but goalkeeper Ezenwa in between the sticks for Nigeria took care of the situation.

 A free kick taken by Lions Christain Bassogog had John Obi Mikel heading out the ball for a Corner Kick in the 10th minute with  Ezenwa catching superbly to the delight of the crowd.

At this stage,it was the Lions that were to draw out the Eagles from their shells as they waited patiently for a killer punch via a counter attack.

As the game wore on both sides fought in every blade of grass on the turf as they fought grit for grit for possession  as they tried to outfox each other.

In the 18th minute ,a fantastic move by Leicester City wonder boy ,Wlifred Ndidi and John Obi Mikel of Tianjin Teda of China was uncharacteristically wasted by Victor Moses.

At the dot of the 23rd minute ,38 seconds  of the match,a free kick given and then taken by Victor Moses and which should have being a goal was rightly ruled off side as Changtun Yatai of China 's danger man,Odion Ighalo was the culprit standing at an offside position as Moses's kick rolled into an empty net.

Trabzonspor of Turkey's work horse Ogenyi Onazi's blunder in the 26th minute led to a temporary confusion which was easily dealt with by goalkeeper Ezenwa  in goal for Nigeria.

The next minute, speed star Moses Simon tore through the Lions backline like a sub marine being torpedoed  and tees off Victor Moses of Chelsea in S tamford Bridge London  at the far post but the latter's resultant header missed target narrowly.

At this stage ,"The Eagles  began  to dance Zanza", and they were not to be denied for so long as the floodgates soon opened up .

Odion Ighalo picked up along pass and ghosted past his marker in the 32nd minute  leaving him for dead  after turning him at least 180 degrees and then slotting past a bemused Ondoa in goal for Lions of Cameroun..for the opening goal of the match..................

Ighalo soon got carded via a yellow card  and rightly so as his inner shirt was a direct promotion of religion which was against the ethics of the sport,though he protested but the referee was okay as he  rightly stood his grounds..

A screen shots play back of the 35 th Minute of the match in which Ndid was hacked down showed the level of raw strength exhibited by the visitors rather than brains or techniques like their rivals as both sides squared up[.

A clash of heads left Ighalo on the turf in the 38th minute but he survived the onslaught as the Eagles Poured forward in search of another goal .

A world class defending by Leon Balogun in the 41st Minute showed why he was highly rated by the technical crew of the Super Eagles of Nigeria  as he also quickly set up Moses who somehow could not give Ighalo a through pass.

a Quick free kick  taken by the Super Eagles of Nigeria saw Odion Ighalo selling a dummy from Moses  as John Obi Mikel jabbed in into a gaping net  with the crowd roaring to a standing ovation..for the goal number two...................

The Super Eagles defense even had the luxury of a show boat in the 45th minute just before the whistle was blown for the end of the 1st stanza..

2nd Half.

The Super Eagles began this half like they ended  the first half and in the 47th minute a foray by the visitors led to Ezenwa spilling his effort as the left full back for the visiting Lions of Cameroun responded with a fierce grounder but this time Ezenwa collects calmly.

Fragile looking Ndidi really worked his socks off in the Middle of the pack as he fought and contested every move in the Middle not minding whose axe was gored despite playing against man mountains.

In the 53 rd minute,Leon Balogun frustrated a goal bound move from the Lions of Cameroun  but in a swift counter attack in the 54th minute led by anchorman Victor Moses ,the latter atoned for an earlier miserable miss at goal as he whipped a low drive past the Lions goal keeper.,for the Third goal of the match...........

A surprise shot in the 63rd minute almost caught Super Eagles goalie Ezenwa napping but he dealt with it all the same.

A curly shot from Victor Moses in the 68th minute missed the target narrowly ,then substitute Kelechi Iheanacho completed the rout with a low diving header after a pull out . as the 4th goal heralded  a symbolic burial of Lions of Cameroun as far as bragging rights over who was the better side at least for the next few years.

From the 70 th minute till the end of the match it was one way traffic as the Eagles displayed a thorough a mastery of the game with Cameroun being made to look far inferior despite wearing the toga :African Champions..