Cup Of Nations Fall-out: Doomsday Postponed For Super Eagles

Shuaibu Amodu can breathe a sigh of relief temporarily after his less than impressive ‘Super’ Eagles managed to scrape out a dour single-goal victory over their regional neighbours, the Squirrels of Benin. But can any Nigerian truly assert that they too can breathe freely?

Many football fans would no doubt answer in the negative, as the display of the team was only typical of the level of competence of the man in charge.  With this victory, Amodu and his gang of Chicken-breeders have only succeeded in pushing forward doomsday one game further.

Though there was a slight improvement in the team’s play relative to the first outing against the current champions, the Pharaohs of Egypt, the team still maintained that incoherent and untidy attitude. The lack of technical play in the team was all too evident, and the team was unable to manage one single counter-attack during the entire game. They were static, with no fluidity amongst the various departments; reflective of Amodu himself, who wore a perplexed expression throughout the game.

The Nigerian team’s showing was as interesting as watching paint dry. The side provided little exciting soccer artistry, if they still remember what that is, and it was just the individual determination from certain players that kept the side going.

Without any form of prejudice, I boldly assert that the better team lost on the day. The Beninoise team were unfortunate not to have won the game, and a little more experience on their side would have come in handy. Had Stephane Sesegnon and Rasaq Omotoyossi been a tad more clinical in their finishing, the Eagles would have broken through new lows.

Danny Shittu was undoubtedly the best player on the Nigerian side, closely followed by Dickson Etuhu, who was doing the quiet and yet dirty job in the middle of the pack. If these two players had not instilled their individual brilliance on the day, Nigerian fans would have been singing a much different song now.

Much like the first game, Yakubu Aiyegbeni still continued to show his poor form, missing arguably the best chance of the evening for the Nigerians. My grandmother would have tucked away the sitter he threw away early in the first half.

His penalty kick that gave the team the game’s goal was also far from impressive, and only the poor judgment from the Beninoise goalkeeper ensured the ball lazily strolled into the back of the net.

We should remain truthful to ourselves at this moment. The Nigerian team is still in tatters, and the short-term remedy lies in a total overhaul of the technical bench.