The Super Eagles ended their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers campaign on a winning note defeating Seychelles 3-1 at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba Delta State on Saturday, Completesports.com reports
Odion Ighalo scored to give Nigeria the lead three minutes after the half hour mark, but Melaine Rody drew Seychelles level eight minutes later.
Henry Onyekuru, making his first official start for the Super Eagles, restored Nigeria’s lead with a cool header seven minutes into the second half.
Moses Simon came off the substitutes bench five minute from time to seal the win with a fierce shot inside the box.
The win is Nigeria’s fourth in Group E and finished as group winners with 13 points from six games.
Ten minutes into the game Oghenekaro Etebo failed to take a chance from the edge of the box after Ighalo won a free-kick at the edge of the Seychelles penalty area.
In the 24th minute, Ighalo missed an opportunity to break the deadlock from six yards when he could not reach a cutback pass from Wilfred Ndidi.
The Pirates tested Francis Uzoho for the first time when he saved a free-kick from Carl Haal.
In the 33rd minute, Ndidi was fouled in the penalty area and the resultant spot kick was emphatically dispatched by Ighalo to take his tally to seven goals in the AFCON qualifiers.
Six minutes into the break, Etebo was denied by the goalkeeper who parried his free-kick at the edge of the box.
Seychelles restored parity against the run of play when Uzoho failed to deal with a free-kick leaving Melanie Rody with a simple finish.
Seven minutes into the half, Onyekuru made it 2-1 heading in Jamilu Collins’ delightful cross.
Coach Gernot Rohr made two substitutions, bringing on Paul Onuachu for Etebo and Semi Ajayi for Alex Iwobi.
He also brought on Simon for Ighalo who limped off injured in the win and two minutes later the Levante star fired in Super Eagles third goal in the 89th minute.
Next up for Nigeria is an international friendly against Egypt on Tuesday at the same Stephen Keshi Stadium Asaba.
By Johnny Edward
42 Comments
The stadium and pitch is not the best for international game for now, that is just my take.
Please NFF, stick to Godswill Akpabio international stadium, till we have a good replacement, politics of greed to the detriment of good football development, is dragging us backward.
As for the game itself, there’s nothing spectacular about it, except for the introduction of the new guy.
Egypt next!!!!!!
I don’t understand Rohr’s substitute, bringing onuachu to replace etebo and ajayi to replace Iwobi also Moses replacing ighalo.
It was a very simple tactical switch. From a 4231 to a 442 to see how the team performs with 2 strikers upfront and how a partnership of a bean pole striker can work with a fox-in-box brand of striker. Iwobi was still needed at that point to be the creative fulcrum, but unfortunately Alex had a bad match yesterday, he hardly put a foot right. Ndidi surprisingly was doing all day play making and that was probably why the coach hurled him off. Ndidi hence became the creative lynchpin with ajayi taking up his place as the anchorman. Ighalos injury meant he wouldn’t complete the experiment and hence the coach had to sub him, with onyekuru taking the place of the fox-in-the-box partner upfront and Simon taking onyekuru’s place on the wings. The coach has said it times without number that these two games are preparatory game’s for afcon as there won’t be any friendly windows before the provisional squad for camping is released and as such, quite a number of players, tactics and combinations would be tried.
@Goal, what did you not understand? The pitch has always been bad. No plan in Delta State budget to repair and upgrade it. So what did you not understand?
My take is that goal scored by Seychelles. First half was goalless. Why on earth should Super Eagles be playing without scoring in our the first half. Remember that the Seychelles team has no professional player but they are all private or ministry workers. We should be loading them goals. If this is how it is, we have no hope of winning the Afcon. Rohr is not doing much to improve the team. His tactics and technical knowledge is faulty. I fear to say it but something drastic should be done.
What I mean is that the players he brought in plays a different position from those they replaced.
In football, Substitutions are not always going to be like-for-like. Immediately u start seeing a coach subbing a like for an unlike, just take your time to look at the tactical setup of the team afterwards and see if there’s any difference.
First of all, pinnick shud know that campaigns and elections are over, taking our matches to a backyard pitch is not acceptable any more. Geart rohr might have started collecting bribe, he has flooded the team with division 2 players. Players like jamilu Collins, simi ajayi, etebo, uzoho, and co are not super eagles material for now/anymore.i have lowered my expectations on d nations cup, it’s obvious me might not make it out of d group stage in afcon,with all these division 2 players, it’s like wanting QPR to beat man city in a football match.
You are right. Division 2 players. Wen I said the under 23 team will win dis team, some Clarus and Giringori arm chair pundits said I was smoking ogogoro. Who is smoking ogogoro now?
I am laughing in wazobia.
This Super whatever are crashing out in the Africa Cup of Egypt.
You mean the under23 would beat Super Eagles but cannot beat their age mates. The same EAGLES that defeated Lybia senior team home and away? You must be a clown.
Hahahahaha… @jones, that guy should change his name to papalolo or aderupoko. I don’t know how people speak with zero logic, zero sense. Super eagles beat Libyan senior national team with all their Europe based players home and away, our start studded U23 with all the Europe based talents are on the verge of crashing out of the Olympics (I pray God intervenes) after loosing to their largely home-based mates, yet one baba sabiko impersonating a great ex eagles player is here ranting all over the place the u23 will beat cameroun, Algeria and super eagles flat….. LMAO. CSN really needs to start conducting IQ tests for people who wants to register on this forum
Am for tired pinnick how would you leave uyo for asaba imagine that.pinnick leave politics out this please this Nigeria super eagles please them back to uyo.
Pinnick should stop playing politics & nepotism with venue of super Eagles game. Stephen Keshi stadium is not good enough for Super Eagles matches. Return to Uyo.
You guys funny ooo. Judging the team with an inconsequential match after we have easily qualified. Na wah for una. Anybody, who feels that today’s match is a reflection of what will happen at the AFCON is certainly a confused person. Case in point, prior to winning in 2013, we played a nil all draw with Cape Verde. Also prior to winning the Olympics in 1996, we lost 3-1 at home to Togo. Anyone writing off this team is seriously demented.
You are on point my brother. Anybody who uses this match to judge Super Eagles is doomed.
so far as I’m concerned Rhor is an average coach! him no Sabi read game nor make right substitutions hoo! ha!
and he collects bribe too!!!
You can do a better job, I guess…
Do you have any proof regarding the bribery allegation?
Moonwalker a beg no mind them. By the time they realized that this coach is bad, it will be too dangerous as the defeat of the Super Eagles in Egypt will be nothing short of a thriller.
After the embarrassment, Rohr will only Beat it, all of a sudden, you will feel like a stranger in Moscow.
Not until you speak to the man in the mirror will you conclude that choice before you is not necessarily in black or white.
We need a black coach and Siasia is the one that will make us remember the time when Super Eagles was a force in world football.
when was the super eagles a world power under siasia…? Abi ds one dey dream…? The two times ever siasia was coach of the super eagles, we couldn’t even qualify for afcon. Young man wake up and stop day dreaming.
When we criticize, let’s be honest n positive. We shouldn’t just do it because we are angry or for personal reasons. From what I can gather about Siasia’s jobs with SE, he was always bn called upon to manage SE after a previous manager/coach might have got us in a very bad situation. Never a proper contract, where he would have had to start from the onset. Anyway, I can only blame him for accepting such task as they have put a stain on his reputation. If not, Siasia is a top top manager take it or leave it. If only a combination of Siasia n Oliseh could work peacefully.
What did world class Berti vogts and Lars lagerback do for the team where they were in charge, apart from earning bogus six digit salaries and running away at the slightest provocation. You can as well sponsor the hiring of a world-class coach who will quote a bill of $200k p/m and above. If you can’t do that, kindly shift to one corner and let us manage our $50k pm coach like that.
Dr Drey, i tire oo. Some people on this forum were either have very short memories or have been living in a totally different dimension from some of the incredulous comments they are making here.
pls guys let’s stop all this blame game and focus on what actually led to the players below par performance as a true fans,to me the pitch was atully the reason the Seychelles were not roasted today CU’s the stadium was to Small and it helped with there style of play which was obviously to park d box and it not easy playing against teams that parks d box we should b prasing our players for scoring 3x,we all should start d campaign against taking our national team to some secondary school pitch we should not awaz play politics with everything in six country.
I wasn’t so impressed with the performance of our team today.I really wonder the input the coaching crew have on this team.
We have always complained about Rohr’s substitutions,Simon’s introduction brought somuch spark to the attack but much is left to be desired of Rohr’s substitutions and the timings.
Overall, I was impressed with Onyekuru, Collins,Omeruo and Shehu’s performance. Uzoho’s show was abysmal.
@ Udah Make U-23 dream team beat Libya first before they will face Falcons not even Super Eagle…As you too sabi for coaching, why you no go coach? Ka man!!!
No mind am.
The pitch affected,but not enough excuse for the overall play.I still don’t know what the coach has with Uzoho.
Hmmn if u look at this our U-23 team, obviously more talented than the Super Eagles and this time they have some good experience.Some of them have already captained our age-grade teams to a World-cup.
If we take it that d Senior team has more experience,then I insist that the U-23 has more talent and the guile and carriage Nigerians love.
I love to see a match between these two teams. It will especially help the Super Eagles.
Ogechi
l excused you because you are not aware that Libya washed your U23 team with solid 2 to zero. That means Libya is coming in to get the job done in your backyard soon. If you think you have a team in your U23 team, better beg Pinnick to shift their next match to Akpabio Stadium in Uyo or forget about going to Olympics in Japan.
U talk well… Igwe.
I said it even Aigbohun’s under 20 will demolish this Super Eagles .
A word is enough for the wise.
We need Igbekeme, Michael Babatunde, Sylvester Igboun and Okpotu to be drafted in the first team as a matter of urgency .
All 3 goalkeepers must be dropped.
Ighalo must be sent packing . Rohr must be replaced by Amapakabo or siasia . If we lose Siasia, Italy or Ireland will grab him right our nostril.
A word is enough for the wise. Only those with deep insight, foresight and hindsight will understand the wisdom of my ways.
Ire o.
Happy weekend my people.
Chei!! Babatunde, Igboun & Okpotu! Wonders!! Praise be to God that you are not the coach of this team!
Why are you guys getting pranked haha you should be wise to know this Peterside Udah is just here to pull legs and catch fun and this is really working for him hehe
@Greenturf, just because I responded to the post of Billie Jean, sorry, Moonwalker doesn’t make me a smooth criminal.
I have the right to express my views.
All I want to say is that they don’t really care about us.
Rohr and his players don’t care.
These guys cannot heal the world of Nigerian football.
What a jam!
If you ask me who is it? I will say Siasia is the one to rescue us from this mess.
We must learn from History.
Nigeria 3 – 1 Seychelles
The good, the bad and the ugly.
The good.
The result: winning any international match 3-1 is a good thing especially as there was little more than pride riding on the result. The Seychellois have been training for a long while for this match and it’s the same team that ground out a 0-0 draw in South Africa.
There are “no minnows” in football and the days of winning matches 6-0 or 7-0 are few and far between. Contrast with Morocco today that drew with cyclone torn Malawi (another match they were expected to win). This means a good result in our friendly with Egypt could see us overtaking Morocco to become third in Africa and gain bragging rights. Other goods are both Moses Simon and Henry Onyekuru scoring and almost sealing their places in the squad. Ndidi acquitted himself well too and was unlucky not to win two penalties. And Collins provided two assists from left back
The bad:
Framcis Uzoho flapping and his howler leading to the Seychelles goal. Ok the defence should have dealt with that but it’s obvious our “number one keeper” is struggling. He has not featured in a football match since January and surely his place is up for grabs by Akpeyi or Ezenwa. It could be argued quite loudly that as he is not getting regular football he could be dropped, but for whom, apart from another locally based keeper. The good news is the league has now gone 3 months without being disrupted so there is hope.
The ugly:
footballing facilities in Nigeria. The coach has complained about the Asaba stadium, the narrowness of the pitch, the playing surface etc, but the lack of alternatives means that the NFF is steamrollering the complaints. The stadium doesn’t have a score board, the floodlights and the water tank collapsed previously but still they keep using it.
We like to play in the flanks and need the width to perform well. Surely with a major tournament coming up, we would make sure that our training and playing surfaces mirror those we will compete on in Egypt?
We won 3-1 but still we moan
Nice one @ Big D. Very apt analysis. None of the goal keeper can complain that they haven’t been given enough oppotunites at this point in time. Uzoho got his chance after Akpeyi fluffed it. If Uzoho too fluffs his before d afcon, then he’ll have himself to blame. One thing I’m sure of is that there’s a limit to which a coach’s patience can be tested. But the dude better start getting game’s under his belt. Not being in goal since his transfer paper work wahala is really taking a toll. But at the moment, I don’t see any goalkeeper outside the team currently, that will walk straight into this team and pin down the no 1 shirt. Even the afhelokai that we all rooted for last season has suddenly gone cold. It will only take plenty of consistency to knock any of our 3 choice off the goalkeeping seat at the moment.
Solid, objective analysis! This the kind comments I can work with on this forum.
The afcon is just two months away. It’s obvious from our match against Seychelles that some of our new boys are yet to understand and digest their roles in the national team though they are good players. We don’t have time on our hands to experiment OT test new players. We should try to get Mikel back for the midfield to work with iwobi, etebo, ndidi, John ogu, (onazi) if he is currently doing well etc. Upfront we can have Kalu, onyekuru, Moses Simon,etc. With these we’ll go a bit traditional and after the afcon, we can continue our experiment and based on our performance at the afcon, we can think of either replacing the coach or otherwise.
We don’t need Mikel period, his attitude to national team games is brooding bad blood n disunity in SE. What did we achieve with Mikel at the world cup? We have to move on without such players who thinks they are bigger than the team. Trust me, this team will do very at the AFCON.
Has anyone noticed that SE hardly do well on small pitches? For a team like Seychelles, who practically play on small fields, its like home coming for them playing in SKS. Mos of our players play on big pitches and with Pirates’ plan to pack buses, it was going to be difficult scoring because the space available wasn’t large enough to attack them from the wings. I heard the U-23 team will play there again on Monday. They could struggle again. The north Africans know how to put men behind the ball and catch us on the counter. Remember what they did to South Africa in Jo’burg. Small pitches are not really good when you’re playing against a team that put all their men in their 18- yard box. Attacking from the wide is the only option , especially when you have tall strikers like Osimhen and Awoniyi. But when the pitch is so small, this could be difficult as well. NFF should advise these states building stadia to always construct pitches of maximum size and dimensions. Not the one in Asaba. SE will continue to struggle on that field o when playing against teams with robust style.
I am looked at this match from another angle.
Psychological.
Football ( like everything else),is first played in the mind;I believe some of our boys,Iwobi being a culprit,wasn’t in the right mental framework for the match,maybe cause they know it was a dead rubber or maybe cause it was just Seychelles.you could see they actually didn’t put as much as they should and in this aspect the Seychellois got it right.
They knew the super eagles might come into the match in that frame of mind ,being to keep it calm,nothing really to play for; so they created a game plan to park the bus and hit on a counter,exactly what they did in their last match at home against South Africa,it worked and it ended goalless in that game,so why not try it here.
And another thing that could have affected the mental state of our players was the playing surface,they might have gone in there trying to give their all but the pitch kept frustrating them.and we all know how frustration can affect capacity to carry out tasks,;Musa,Ighalo was a culprit here. the Asaba pitch is just too small and doesn’t suit our playing style ,which is more on speed and skill.so that also counted against us yesterday.
That said ,it would be foolhardy to judge the super eagles by this match ,at the end,we got the result,a win.and some of our boys did good.was more happy for Onyekuru,taking his chance.
I am looking forward to the Egypt match,but with all caution ,because we are still going to play in this Asaba pitch,and like every game we have played there,it won’t serve us well.
So for me,we have wasted this international window,just for choosing the wrong venue ..
*i looked*
LAZY YOUTH
I still can’t rationalize the wisdom behind always overlooking Goalkeeper, David Nwolokor(Afican Buffon) of F.C Sered of Slovakia. He remains Nigeria’s most capped goalkeeper in Europe this season.