Golden Eaglets Pip Honduras 1-0 To Be On Track

The Argentine U-17 Team against Peru during the South America qualifiers

The Argentine U-17 Team against Peru during the South America qualifiers

The Golden Eaglets of Nigeria last night at the National Stadium, Abuja recorded their first victory at the ongoing 13th FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Nigeria, after beating Honduras 1-0 It was the Eaglets second match in group A and one they needed to win to be on track for qualification and successful defence of the trophy their predecessors won in South Korea two years ago. After coming back from the dead against Germany to grab a point in their first match, courtesy of an unlikely 3-3 draw, the Eaglets started off brightly against Honduras. The Coach John Obuh tutored Eaglets swooped on the Central Americans , determined to show that they had shaken off the lethargic performance that was the hallmark of their game against Germany. They succeed in seizing the initiative, dominating proceedings in all departments of the game, except scoring a goal. Despite running rings around the Honduras defence, the Eaglets showed sufficient deficiency in breaking the opponents defence. They found it difficult getting behind the opposition, as their overwhelming possession amounted to little at the break. On resumption, the situation remained the same. Honduras concentrated on soaking up the Eaglets pressure. As the out of sorts Eaglets continued to waste one opportunity after the other with woeful attacking moves and inaccurate shooting, the confidence of the opponents grew substantially. But a 55 minute goal scored by Abduljelil Ajagun off a link up with Stanley Okoro eased the pressure on the team and bench. Further attempts to increase the tally bore no fruit, as the Eaglets efforts were characterized by poor marksmanship and poor build up. Jolted by the lone goal and the reality of crashing out of the championship, courtesy of a second consecutive defeat, Honduras threw men forward. They however, only succeeded in threatening the Eaglets and ensured that Nigeria ended the match with a little apprehension. With the victory and their inability to score more than one goal, the Eaglets now go into the final group match hoping that they would not lose to Argentina, who earlier defeated Germany 2-1 and that Germany does not beat Honduras with more than one goal.Argentina leads group A with six points, Nigeria follows on four point, while Germany and Honduras have one and no points respectively.