Barely 72 hours after the shocking one-nil defeat to Wild Dogs of Guinea-Bissau in the first-leg of the Group A 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers tie, Nigeria’s Super Eagles responded with a 1-0 win in the return leg at Bissau on Monday evening.
With an unwanted four-game winless run, Super Eagles needed a quick turnaround to appease football-loving Nigerians who are gradually running out of patience with the Jose Peseiro-led team.
Super Eagles kicked off Monday’s encounter with much dominance with the ball but it was the home team that had the first attempt at goal inside the first five minutes, with Moreto Cassama firing the ball wide.
Terem Moffi was provided with a clear opportunity to score with the net almost empty but the OGC Nice forward’s effort went wide off the post due to the rough terrain of the pitch before Moses Simon finally broke the deadlock for Nigeria with a penalty in the 30th minute.
Fenerbahce defender, Bright Osayi-Samuel, was brought down inside the 18-yard box, and the centre referee immediately gave a penalty which the Nantes forward, Simon, slotted in by sending the goalkeeper the wrong way.
In the 58th minute, Osimhen was denied by the lower post after the Napoli striker’s ball slowly went past goalkeeper Jonas Mendes and struck the bar out to safety. Had the ball gone in, it would have been Osimhen’s sixth goal of the qualifiers.
Osimhen was again denied an opportunity for another goal but this time around, it was goalkeeper Mendes who saved the forward’s attempt from close range before he pulled off another save to deny Joe Aribo two minutes later.
The game ended without another goal as Super Eagles got a sweet revenge which sent Nigeria back to the top of the Group A standings with nine points, while Guinea-Bissau are second with seven points.
