NIGERIAN SUPER EAGLES VESUS CHIPOLOPOLO OF ZAMBIA

 NIGERIAN SUPER EAGLES VESUS CHIPOLOPOLO OF ZAMBIA

VENUE:NEST OF CHAMPIONS,UYO,AKWA IBOM STATE OF NIGERIA

DATE:07 OCTOBER,2017

32 PHOTO CREDIT:SPORTLINE EXCLUSIVE

seconds :Game begins with a quick interchange of passes between Victor Moses,Odio Ighalo as the duo set the crowd roaring at the opening stages.

1 minute ,32 seconds: Leon Balogun is knocked down by a Zambian player but survives an injury scare as a quick free kick is taken but this results into nothing really.

2minute,48 seconds: a sweeping tackle from Skipper John Obi Mikel showed the level of commitment from him though a mix up leads to a corner kick which was taken and then booted out by a Nigerian and another kick leading to a header blocking the flight trajectory of the ball and still leading to nothing as the hostility mounts on the pitch.

5th minute,10 seconds: Moses Simon tries to waltz through the tightly packed Zambian Defense  line  like a knife cutting through a butter but was stopped in his tracks by the hungry Zambians.

6th minute,20 seconds:what appeared like an injury inflicted on Ogenyi Onazi ,did not seems to  attract any form of sympathy from the Center referee as he waved the game on with the game becoming tougher by the minute as crunchy tackles became its hallmark.

8thminute,30seconds:Elderson Echiejiele was badly brought down and a resultant kick saw Odion Ighalo trying to weave a way through but this sadly did not work out at all.

10th minute:Moses Daddy Simon of Ghent Football Club of Belgium was again caught out by the Zambians as they crowded him while trying to showboat in between two Zambian players.

11th minute,10 seconds:Elderson Echiejile masterfully shields the ball into touch to the delight of the watching crowd.

12th minute,45 seconds:a quick inter change of passes saw Victor Moses free via a counter attack but rather unfortunately Ighalo read his true pass rather badly.

13th minute,54 seconds:a mistake by Williams Troost Ekong who plies his trade with Bursaspor in Turkey this  days,gave the chance to the Zambian striker,jersey number nine shirted :Fashion Sakala to let fly at the Nigerian goal.

16th minute,40 seconds:a sweeping move by Moses Simon which created a lot of space ,led to a true pass to Ighalo but this was fluffed as the Changchun Yatai of China striker  arrived too late to make the much needed contact with his boots with ball rolling harmlessly out of touch .

18th minute,50 seconds:Victor Moses went on a dangerous solo run which eventually resulted into a corner kick and the resultant kick led to a throwing in and then the game went on again.

22nd minute,55 seconds :a good move started by Ogenyi Onazi led to a poor final touch that led to Ighalo feeling very frustrated .

23rd minute:a quick goal kick led to what will emerge as a talking point in the entire game later on as the Zambians appeared to have scored what looked like a good goal but this was rightly disallowed for offside by the Centre referee  after replays showed on the television screen picked up at the News office Desk of Paedia Express Multimedia Group in Lagos,Nigeria ,showed that the Zambians were offside though it was close and only an eagle eye will differentiate.

24th minute:The Zambians suddenly took over the space while trying to assert their authority in the game ripped apart the Super Eagles rear guard with a beautiful build up but Leon Balogun stopped them like the proverbial rock of Gibraltar.

28thminute,46 seconds:It was now obvious that both teams appeared evenly matched as every tackle was contested for just as Mikle Agu who plays for Bursaspor of Turkey where he was loaned to by F.C.Porto of Portugal came on to replace injured Ogenyi Onazi of Trabzonspor of Turkey at around 30 minutes of our watch at the News office Desk of Paedia Express Multimedia Group in Lagos, Nigeria

A grounder by the Super Eagles was saved by Kennedy Mwenna in between the sticks for the Zambians

as a quick exchange freed a Zambian striker who had Balogun closing down on him but out of fright chose to boot the ball over the bar.

32minute,10 seconds :a solo run by John Obi Mikel led to a new wave of pressure from the Super Eagles  attack but the Zambians held on tenaciously.

34 minute,20 seconds: Mikel Agu was carded after an initial verbal warning for up ending a Zambian player at the edge of Nigeria's vital area.

35th minute,40 seconds: The Zambians showed how hungry they were as Augustine Mulenga single handedly too apart the entire Nigerian Defence apparatus and only the woodwork saved a bemused ikechukwu Ezenwa from conceding what will have being a goal but for ill luck.

38th minute:John Obi Mikel showed how anxious he was to open his goals account on the day as after he had ghosted past his marker ,he uncharacteristically shot the ball into the stands with a poor left footed high ball.

42nd minute,50 seconds: a good build up from the mid field led to Victor Moses giving Ighalo  a pass which freed him to now aim at goal but instead of a gentle angled chip into the far corner of a yawning net he kicked the ball over the bar as the crowd roared in disappointment.

44minute,17 seconds:Moses Simon took a scissors kick after receiving a neat pass from Ighalo but his kick was aimed at the stands instead of the open net.

46 th minute:Mikel Agu was wrestled down by a Zambian player as fans began to complain bitterly  of his poor contributions since making his debut for the team especially in the  area of all  round discipline on the field of play.

2ND HALF OF THE GAME

45TH Minute:The game starts from where it was left off in the first half of the match -up between the Super Eagles of Nigeria and the Chipolopolo of Zambia.

49th minute: a shot by John Obi Mikel at the Zambian goal postwas kind of blocked but this soon  led to an interception and a corner as the Nigerian tried to press home their advantage as the game began to gather momentum in the new half.

47th minute:a mix up led to Ighalo complaining to the referee as the Zambians continued to make life very difficult for the Nigerians in every department of the game so much so that it was difficult to really know who was actually playing at home and who was playing away from home .

50th minute:a free kick led to Wilfred Ndidi heading into touch for the Super Eagles as the Nigerians swarmed on the Zambian goal area in search of a possible curtain raiser.

52minute,30 seconds: A  Zambian striker took a shot via an acute angle as the visitors caused the Nigerians another anxious moment but for mother luck  against the former  as Leon Balogun again played a yeoman's role in the heart of the Super Eagles  Defence.

Not since the days of the gentle giant:Uche Okechukwu has the Super Eagles seen such assured defending and several analysts are  beginning to wonder why such a talent is not playing at Bayern Munich ,no disrespect to Mainz his current employers.

54minutes,20 seconds:a lot of fans became worried at this stage that another disciplinary problem from Mikel Agu could actually result in a red card as his play demonstrated enforcement in the Midfield rather than sleekness.

56minutes:Fans rose to salute a header from Wlifred Ndidi which was sailing into the net but for a world class save from Goalkeeper Kennedy Mwenna who practically dragged the ball from entering the net after been beaten due to his poor positioning,brilliant header from Ndidi as the Young lad shows a great promise of a bright future ahead of him.

60th minutes,20 seconds:Victor Moses attempts to embark on one of his journeys again as he attempts another solo run but was stopped by the agile Zambian Defence as the ding -dong affair was now telling on the anxious Nigerian fans with some beginning to resign themselves to a fate of a barren draw ..

62minute,45seconds:12 shirted and right full back or wing  back for Nigeria,Shehu Abdullahi of Anorthosis Famagusta of Cyprus was given a yellow card for a bad tackle on a Zambian player.

64th minute,50 seconds:Moses Simon of Ghent in Belgium was replaced by Arsenal Forward and teen dynamite:Alex Iwobi.

69th minute,50 seconds:A pile driver from deep from the heart of the Midfield by a Zambian stretched goalkeeper Ikechukwu Ezenwa full length as he watched the ball roll away from his goal mouth and to safety for Nigeria as the Super Eagles avoided another Zambian embarrassment as the visitors continue to ask questions of their own in the game not intimidated by the credentials of their opponents at all.

70minute:a quick inter change of passes freed Alex Iwobi in the 18 yards of the Zambians and the teen bomber hits a first time grounder with his eyes set on goal as the Nigerian team finally displaced the Zambians with Mwenna beaten in goal as Nigeria erupted in a frenzy as fans shouted ___________iwobi,iwobi,iwobi,iwobi,iwobi iwobi as they shouted themselves horse shouting the name of the Gunner's Midfield Super dynamo to the heavens as the Russian World Cup party finally started in various cities across Nigeria.

75th minute,40 seconds:Alex Iwobi who now seems to be the new tormentor-in-chief at the heart of the Super Eagles attack ,spear headed another wave of dangerous play with the fans hailing every super Eagles incursion now into the vital  areas of the visitors as the Nigerian team finally began to flourish.

82nd minute:Coach Gernot Rohr was seen gesturing as if to say why was the referee not halting play to address  an Eagles player brought down by the Zambians

84th minute:a great pull out by Alex Iwobi had a free Victor Moses booting over the bar but the fans hailed all the same as the game wore into the final four minutes barring no injury time.

89th minute,50 seconds:Victor Moses mis-kicked after mistiming the final pass in what many had felt should have being the second goal of the match,a look in his face after a close screen shot or replays  showed that the Chelsea of London player knew that he should have done better.

90th minute:Players on the Super Eagles bench were seen already celebrating even before the final whistle from the centre referee.

INJURY TIME......................

2ND MINUTE,40 SECONDS:The bency continues to celebrate while waiting for the final whistle from the centre referee as Ndidi Wilfred suddenly collapsed on the field to what appeared a knock but which was later said to have being a case of exhaustion .

As soon as Ndidi was stretchered off the pitch,the resultant kick led to the match referee to finally halting proceedings for the day as the game was declared ended with his final whistle being blown.