| Super Eagles players celebrate with Cyril Dessers after he converted from the spot to hand Nigeria the lead against Ghana on Friday in an international friendly. Nigeria won 2-1. (Photo credit: GOAL) |
The Super Eagles of Nigeria once again underlined their dominance over the Black Stars of Ghana with a 2-1 friendly win in Morocco.
A former Nigerian international, an integral part of the class of ’94 George Finidi led the Super Eagles as the interim coach as the NFF continues to find the right man for the substantive role after Jose Peseiro left his role last month.
Coach Otto Ado returned to the Ghana dugout, seeking a great start as their new head coach, while his Nigerian counterpart also needed to prove he could do the job in the Nigerian dugout. The lineup was refreshed from what both sides had at the last AFCON, but some notable names returned.
The opening exchange was a little tacky, with both sides failing to nail a pattern. Nigeria grew into the game and forced the Black Stars backward for a prolonged period. Wilfred Ndidi, on his return to the squad after an injury forced him out of the AFCON, should have given Nigeria the Lead, but he fired wide.
Nigeria took the lead in the 34th minute; the pressure was on Ghana as Emma Ado handled in the area and the referee pointed to the spot. Rangers forward Cyril Dessers sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to hand Nigeria a deserved lead.
The second half saw Ghana trying hard to level matters, but the sail was out of their wind in the 54th minute as Jeremie Opoku was shown a red card. Ghana continued to strive hard despite the numerical disadvantage, but to no avail.
Nigeria got the second goal in the 84th minute, and a neat exchange involving Ndidi, Alex Iwobi, and Ademola Lookman ended with the Atalanta forward curling one past Lati in the Ghana goal to make it 2-0 to the Super Eagles.
Bright Osayi, playing at right back, handed Ghana a lifeline with a rash tackle deep into stoppage time as the referee pointed to the spot. Crystal Palace winger Jordan Ayew converted past Stanley Nwabali to half the deficit.
It ended 2-1, as both teams will now go on to prepare for their next games. Nigeria will play against Mali, while the Black Stars will take on Uganda.
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