Ideyes header goes just wide, Nigeria miss another opportunity to cement their lead. 29′ Moses hits a stunning shot just outside of the box but the Ethiopian goalkeeper Basa keeps it out. 29′ Moses hits a stunning shot just outside of the box but the Ethiopian goalkeeper Basa keeps it out. 29′ Moses hits a stunning shot just outside of the box but the Ethiopian goalkeeper Basa keeps it out. 27′ The goal leaves Ethiopia with a tough task as they need to score at least twice now in order to take this encounter into extra time and penalties. 24′ Bekele goes down in the Nigeria box but the referee waves away call for a penalty. The crowd cheering the hosts now, is it too early to celebrate already? 21′ Yellow Card Victor Moses 21′ Moses picks up a yellow card for taking off his jersey while celebrating his goal. 20′ Penalty Goal Victor Moses 20′ GOAL! Victor Moses steps up and shoots to the right of the goalkeeper who goes the wrong way. Nigeria take a crucial lead in this encounter. 17′ Penalty to Nigeria! Defender Hailu stops the ball with his hand and the referee judges that it was a deliberate hand ball. 12′ Saladin Said just showed why he is one of the top rated players in the Ethiopian side as he shimmies his way through the Nigerian defence but just fires wide of Enyeamas goal. Take notice of that man. 9′ The opportunities have come early to Nigeria but the Eagles havent settled enough to convert. Ideye is called for a foul in the Ethiopian box, should calm the visitors nerves. 6′ Ethiopia win their own first corner kick off a counter attack but Nigeria clear and almost score as Emenike finds himself free with the goalkeeper who manages to keep it out. 3′ An early corner kick for Nigeria breaks to Ambrose on the edge of the Ethiopian box but the defender shoots it high above the Antelopes goal. 1′ We set off on this game with Nigeria dressed intheir traditional all green and Ethiopia in yellow. The Super Eagles will not relax in this one as they show intent from the beginning with possession and going on the attack. A free kick to Nigeria from 30 yards sees Mikel chip the ball in for Ambrose but the Ethiopian goalkeeper comes out to clear. National anthems being played, first the melodious Ethiopian anthem before the Arise OCompatriots of Nigeria. It is said that the spirit of a winning team can be known from the way it sings its anthem. I leave you to judge this one. Pre-match activities going on now, with both teams having come on to the pitch. A full house it is in the U.J Esuene Stadium and with the Ethiopians well represented by a contingent of ecstatic fans. Will they leave Calabar with joy or gloom? Some predictions coming through now, @Tfk_Abayomi tells me that the Super Eagles will win by at least four goals, if all the balls that go into the net are counted. Do I have any Ethiopians following this thread? Do get in touch with your thoughts via Twitter: @Jololade Four men in the Nigerian starting line up have been named in the Caf African footballer of the year shortlist: Mikel, Enyeama, Emenike and Musa. Can Ethiopia stop this juggernaut that they come up against? Word coming out of the Nigeria camp lists the Super Eagles starting line up as follows: Enyeama,Echejile, Oboabona, Omeruo, Ambrose, Onazi, Mikel, Moses, Musa, Brown, Emenike. Its a big return for Chelsea defender Kenneth Omeruo who has been out of the team since the Confederations Cup where he picked up an injury. Clearly Stephen Keshis side will be attacking a lot today as hes chosen to start Brown Ideye instead of Nnamdi Oduamadi who was largely featherweight in Addis Ababa. What are your thoughts? Welcome to Goals coverage of the second leg 2014 Fifa World Cup play-off between Nigeria and Ethiopia in Calabar. Remember that the first leg in October ended 1-2 in favour of the African champions. Today, both teams still have an opportunity of nicking one of Africas five tickets to Brazil. Which team will it be? I am Lolade Adewuyi, chief editor of Goal Nigeria - join me on Twitter and we can bring your comments to this thread: @lasugold
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 15:37:03 +0000
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