The Super Eagles of Nigeria were able to surpass rival Cameroon to move on to the quarter finals of the Afcon with Angola.
By Olisa Obi
The Super Eagles late last night progressed to the quarter-finals of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations after a 2-0 win over Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions at the Felix Houphouet Boigny Stadium in Ivory Coast. They will be facing Angola.
With the win, Nigeria will now play Angola in the quarter-finals on February 2, as they aim to claim a fourth continental title after previous wins in 1980, 1994, and 2013.
The match against the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon was a blockbuster clash that deserved all the hype that surrounded it as the old rivals squared off yet again at the continental showpiece. But it was the Nigerians who made short work of their Eastern neighbours with a comfortable victory in Abidjan.
It was the Indomitable Lions that had the first attempt, with Moumi Ngamaleu sending an early effort wide inside the box in the third minute.
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The Super Eagles then responded with two forays into the Cameroonian defence with reigning African Player of The Year, Victor Osimhen, stopped by defender Christopher Wooh just outside the penalty area in the fourth minute, while the Napoli striker’s header was comfortably saved by Cameroon starting keeper Fabrice Ondoa a minute later.
The Eagles would however break the deadlock in the ninth minute as Ademola Lookman setup the goal for the header finish from Seyi Ajayi, but the goal was ruled out for offside by the Moroccan referee Redouane Jiyed.
It will however not be to long before CAF player of the year Osimhen displayed strength and alertness to win possession off Lions defender Oumar Gonzalez just outside the penalty area, then picked out Ademola Lookman with a diagonal pass to the right of the penalty area and the Atalanta winger’s shot squeezed in through Ondoa’s gloves to give Nigeria the lead.
The Eagles didn’t relent with Ondoa having to come out early twice to prevent the rampaging Osimhen from wreaking havoc.
In a bid to secure the equalizer, Veteran striker Vincent Aboubakar came on for defender Gonzalez as Cameroon switched to a more attacking formation.
However, it was the Eagles who scored instead, with Lookman grabbing his second of the night just before the 90th minute mark.
The move started with a quickly worked free-kick on the left, from which Alex Iwobi sent Calvin Bassey clear inside the box.
Bassey found Lookman and the winger’s cool finish hit target once again through Ondoa’s fingers on a night to forget for the Cameroon goalkeeper.
This result gives the Eagles the edge over the Indomitable Lions as they claimed their fourth AFCON win in eight meetings, while Cameroon have three victories, with one game drawn.
