FEATURE
By Solace Chukwu

The sense of sheer relief that erupted in the Abuja National Stadium is perhaps unwieldy for words, but thankfully, a picture tells a thousand words.

When Ahmed Musa opened the scoring three minutes into the second half after taking a John Obi Mikelpass in his stride, he made a beeline for his coach on the sideline. The Abuja crowd, on the verge of mutiny before kick-off, went berserk. 

It was Dutch priest Desiderius Erasmus who plaintively mused, “Women, can’t live with them, can’t live without them.”

He might as well have been talking about Nigeria’s Super Eagles. 

Musa | The Super Eagles' Saviour

Stephen Keshi needed a win and rang the changes for the visit of Sudan: Efe Ambrose, whose absent-mindedness was punished so decisively in Khartoum, was culled; as were Elderson Echiejile, Nosa Igiebor and Gbolahan Salami. 

In terms of tactics, the set-up remained the same but featured subtle nuances. Musa switched sides and started on the right, while the new midfield rotated much better than on Saturday, especially in the opening exchanges. Mikel often received the ball to the left-of-centre, coming deep to escape attention, and the triangle would tilt with debutant Hope Akpan most advanced. However, the Reading man’s poor movement off-the-ball prevented the team from working the ball forward patiently. 

Curiously, the team stopped trying to find an organic solution to this around the 15-minute mark, and instead sought to fire the ball quickly into attack. This played into Sudan’s hands; neither Aaron Samuel nor Musa kept width while attacking, so the visitors only had to defend a narrow area, and countered in behind Nigeria’s advancing full-backs. 

Bakri Abdelgadir, who tormented Ambrose on Saturday, played a different role this time. He figured out pretty quickly that he did not need to track Ogenyi Onazi, so stayed high and worked the channels. This resulted in a very promising situation in the first half:  he drew out Kenneth Omeruo and ran in behind, only to drag a presentable chance wide. 

Onazi | Not at his best since Brazil

With the tie scoreless at the break, Keshi made a subtle change that turned the game. Raheem Lawal and Akpan sat back in a fixed double-pivot, and Mikel played slightly ahead. The full-backs also played much deeper. Sudan’s avenue of attack was effectively closed off, and the Super Eagles dominated the second half. 

 A quick free-kick caught out Onazi, and Bakri squared for Salah Al-Jizoli to equalise momentarily in the 55th minute, but eventually the pressure told as Samuel poked home after a defensive mix-up. There was only one winner in it then. 

The results of Keshi’s tinkering were decidedly mixed: Lawal came into the side and was brilliant, while Akpan was disciplined in a deep midfield role. Onazi at right-back was shambolic though; his form in national team colours post-World Cup has been patchy, and playing in an unfamiliar role at right-back only made it worse. 

Upfront, Samuel took his goal with great improvisation and offered endeavour, but is a bit one-track and seemed to occupy Emmanuel Emenike’s space too often. Two-goal Musa on the right finds it hard to use his pace, as he seems incapable of deciphering when to stay wide and when to run in behind. He did damage when popping up in central areas. 

A special mention must go to Hull City’s Sone Aluko, who came on for Lawal mid-way through the second half and looked a cut above every other player on the pitch. His balance and poise was supreme, and he has a knack for the right decision whenever he has the ball. There are undoubtedly some reasons why Keshi does not feel comfortable starting him; whatever they are, form and ability certainly are not on that list. 

Kudos must go to Keshi for changing the game by Mikel’s subtle reassignment; the same trick worked in 2013 away in Addis Ababa with the team in a tough position in a World Cup qualifier. Will we be seeing this set-up on a more permanent basis? 

For that matter, will we be seeing Keshi on a permanent basis? The Big Boss’ is taking heavy shelling, and it remains to be seen if this win is enough to stave off the hangman’s noose. For the first time in a long time, the team played for its manager. It may have come too late to save his job, but it is just in time to get Nigeria’s qualification campaign back on track.