Snake In The Grass: Nigeria 4–2 Mozambique

A belated Happy New Year to you all.
Apologies for the hiatus, I have had to do a lot of moving around lately. It feels good to be back, with the little grey cells at full capacity. So let’s hit the road.
The ongoing Championship for African Nations (CHAN) in South Africa is a first for our Super Eagles. Sneer all you want, but with FIFA having accorded the tournament matches ‘A’ game status and full ranking points, it is a serious affair. Drawn with hosts South Africa, Mali and Mozambique, the home-based Super Eagles began their campaign with a poor 2–1 loss to their West African neighbors.
For the next game, Coach Stephen Keshi made three changes to the team that fell to Mali. In came Abdullahi Shehu, Bright Esieme and Gbolahan Salami. Two of the changes were influenced by injury, but it is likely that he would have made those changes anyway. Chigozie Agbim captained the side.
One of the big problems in the first game was the lack of protection for the fullbacks Kwambe and Francis, and Mali’s intelligent targeting of the space. Ifeanyi Edeh and Ejike Uzoenyi played high up the pitch and sought to rotate and combine. They gave no thought to tracking their opposing fullbacks, and the Super Eagles defense was continually overwhelmed with runs from deep behind Kwambe and Francis. Another was the gap between the midfield and attack, link-up was non-existent.
To solve the problem, Keshi flipped the midfield triangle and played Shehu alongside Uzochukwu, in theory to drift wide and prevent 2-on-1 situations on the flanks.
The game started at a frantic pace, with the Super Eagles pressing high and forcing turnovers. It is understandable that they chose to play this way; Keshi had said before the game that the team should express themselves better and play on the front foot. The defining feature of the first half was how high up the pitch the defense were playing, and how directly the team sought to attack.
Mozambique saw this and responded well. With Francis and Kwambe playing cautious roles, Shehu and Uzochukwu had to play wider than was ideal, in order to take the ball off the fullbacks and hit angled balls into the channels, especially toward Edeh on the right. He had a poor game though, constantly losing the ball, though he took his goal quite well. Whenever he was dispossessed, Mozambique quickly hit a straight ball into the chasm in front of the defense. The central partnership of Egwuekwe and Odunlami struggled, getting drawn out of defense and having to turn quickly, a task to which neither is suited. It would have been beneficial to simply split their roles and have one play deeper as cover, but for some reason this wasn’t done.
Special praise must go to Kano Pillars’ Rabiu Ali, who had a fine game. He was asked to charge up the pitch in support, and sometimes in advance of Salami; it was a common sight to find him in the box as a second striker. His advanced positioning didn’t help with the openness of the midfield, but in terms of doing his job, he was excellent. He scored a brilliant goal, as well as a composed penalty; each put the Super Eagles into a lead.
A topsy-turvy game was stabilized by the enforced introduction of Umar Zango for Uzochukwu. A primarily defensive player, his positioning was more static in a central position and it brought shape to the midfield structure. After half time, the entire team sat much deeper and the fullbacks got more involved in the forward play. The stretched nature of the game played into the hands of the Super Eagles protecting a lead, and as Mozambique ran out of ideas and tired, substitute Barnabas Imenger scored a beautiful fourth.
A win was imperative, and it was achieved, but with greater toil than was necessary. Stephen Keshi is building a reputation as a slow starter, but it is uncertain how much longer he can keep it going. Suffice to say that, come the World Cup, he cannot afford another.
Few distinguished themselves: Ejike Uzoenyi showed flashes of skill, but his overall game remains raw; Rabiu Ali took his goals well; Umar Zango brought calm and structure; Abdullahi Shehu showed his aptitude at breaking up play once the game calmed down. Similarly, many did their reputations great harm: Chigozie Agbim must surely be cast out of the Super Eagles setup: to concede from a free kick level with the centre circle may have been termed unfortunate, but the second was an unspeakable gaffe of Heurelho Gomes proportions; Kwambe and Odunlami simply do not have enough quality; and aside from his goal, Ede was startlingly poor.
As always, all comments, corrections and contributions are welcome. Many thanks for reading!