Eagles beat Niger Republic 2-0 in Port Harcourt as Oliseh secures his first win as coach

NEW Super Eagles coach Sunday Oliseh has chalked up his first win since being appointed to the job as his wards secured a 2-0 win over Niger Republic at the Adokiye Amesiemeka Stadium in Port Harcourt yesterday.

 

Smarting from their lacklustre performance on Saturday when they only managed a goalless draw with Tanzania away in Dar es Salam in an African Cup of Nations qualifier, the Eagles managed to put in a more impressive display yesterday. Two goals each side of half time from Ahmed Musa and Moses Simon secured what was an easy win.

 

Despite the win, the display was a bit tardy at times and Nigeria probably played their best football in the second half after Oliseh made some changes in the game. Oliseh, who hopes the first win will get fans off his back, intends to keep tinkering with the team with the aim of getting better before the next round of qualifiers commence in March next year.

 

Simon, who made his Super Eagles debut this year against Uganda in Uyo, was brought on in the second half and his introduction allowed the Eagles to change gears and increased their attacking threat. He capped an impressive performance with a sublime goal, getting on the score sheet for the first time.

 

Chimas Akas from Sharks Football Club of Port-Harcourt, Usman Mohammed of FC Taraba and Solomon Kwambe, who plays for Warri Wolves, played from the start and did more than enough to impress. Also, Bature Yaro and Prince Aggrey came on as substitutes later on and their showing was a testament to the improvement in the local Nigerian league.

 

Captain Ahmed Musa scored the first goal via the penalty spot, before Moses made the match safe early in the second half. Niger Republic's coach Francois Zahoui, said he was pleased with his boys' performances in the game despite the loss.

 

Mr Zahoui said: “It was a great honour playing against Nigeria especially playing against a side coached by my friend, Sunday Oliseh. Sunday is doing a great job with the Nigeria team and I came with my team to Nigeria to learn and to make progress.

 

“We lost but picked a lot of positives from the game. It was always going to be tough playing against Nigeria and we knew that beforehand."

 

With the international friendly window now closed, the players will return to their clubs, expected to report back to camp next month when the Nigerian Football Federation hopes to organise a friendly game against Cameroon in London. Nigeria's next competitive game will be against Egypt in March when the African Cup of Nations qualifiers resume.