Ghana
Annan. Amartey. Abubakar. Sarfo-Gyamfi. Salifu. Safiu Abdul. Apau. Rahman Abdul. Lartey (c). Bafoe. Bassit Abdul.
Nigeria
Okani (c). Kingsley. Tolulope. Nnadozie. Abonima. Ikechukwu. Henry Uche. Nzube. Salisu. Abdullahi. Aminu.
Ghana looked the more composed of the two and immediately went at Nigeria. One thing about the Ghanaians, they are not afraid to shoot. The first half ended goalless, thanks mainly to the quality handling and placement of Okani in goal for Nigeria.
Abdul [10] and Salifu [8] of Ghana were bossing things in the engine-room and although Nzube [8] of Nigeria possesses an extremely cultured left foot as well as silky skills, he was being overrun in midfield by the two from Ghana.
Nevermind our goal...how's our celebration?!
The second half started brightly and surprise surprise, Nigeria take the lead, very much against the run of play through Henry Uche [7]. Moments later Safiu Fatam came close to levelling, but his curling effort went just wide of the upright. Was this going to turn out to be a snatch-n-grab?!
This one's even better.
NO. Rahman Abdul [12], the left back, smashes home to level matters. The game ebbed and flowed for about 20minutes, then Nigeria found themselves ahead again. This time a goalkeeping error sees the ball drop at the feet of Aminu who obliges happily and celebrates in style. 2-1 to Nigeria.
Ghana piled on the pressure, which made for a relentless final quarter of this match. At one stage it became so intense there were 3 Nigerian players down injured [at one time]...two of them were substituted and the game continued.
An equaliser came, with about 8minutes of regular time to play. A belter of a freekick scored by Sarfo Gyami [7]. Ghana weren't done though and grabbed the winner with 2minutes to play. The 4th official signalled 5minutes additional time, which was not surprising considering the number of injuries there were.
Scoreline remained Ghana 3-2 Nigeria. A morale boosting victory, which was celebrated in style.
The Post Match Press Conferences brought out the following comments:
Wellington Olando [Ghana]
- Alluded to the intense rivalry between the two sides
- Also spoke of the many chances his side did not convert, but a positive factor was the way they fought back after going behind on two occasions.
- He confirmed that the players had a great level of spirit among them, despite this being a fairly new group.
- Nigeria are very much a work in progress, with the team only having been together for 3weeks as opposed to 2-3months like the other nations.
- He was happy with the way his side showed character and promised that they would get better as the tournament progressed.
Celebratory dance
The pick of today's games. A real spectacle and great advert for [young] African football.
So much more to come. Do try and support this tournament, you won't be disappointed.
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