Eaglets in narrow escape – Force Germany to 3-3 draw

The Nigeria team was clearly overwhelmed by the Germans who dominated play and goal scoring chances in the opening minutes of the match following sloppy defending by the Nigerian defenders who could not play a coordinated game, thereby leaving the Dami Paul goalkeeper at the mercy of the merciless Germans. Consequently, it was the Germans […]

The Nigeria team was clearly overwhelmed by the Germans who dominated play and goal scoring chances in the opening minutes of the match following sloppy defending by the Nigerian defenders who could not play a coordinated game, thereby leaving the Dami Paul goalkeeper at the mercy of the merciless Germans.

Consequently, it was the Germans who quickly surged forward on the water-logged pitch, the result of a heavy down pour which preceded the dramatic encounter, with Lennart Thy slamming off the woodwork inside ten minutes. It didn’t take the Werder Bremen forward long to get his shooting sights aligned, however, heading home from a brilliant Mario Goetze cross after 21 minutes.

Eaglets responded with some speedy play from deep positions, but their long-range shots – though powerful – were tinged with a bit of desperation leaving Mahammed Aliyu with the best for his side when he forced the German goalkeeper to stretch full length for a crucial save.

 Up the other end, the European champions were carving out openings on the wings seemingly at will and tormenting the Golden Eaglets with inch-perfect crosses. Minutes after Florian Trinks went close, Shkodran Mustafi managed to double the lead with a cool side-footed finish from a corner kick six minutes from the interval.

The Germans came out in the second half hungry for more, and usual provider Goetze turned scorer two minutes after the break with a peerless header from the edge of the box to make it 3-0.

However, the turning point for Eaglets came when new entrant Omon Ojabu was hurled down in the box by Robert Labus, conceding a penalty and receiving a straight red card. Heartland’s Stanley Okoro calmly converted the kick to set the tone for the great come back of the night.

After a while, Kenneth Omeruo eluded his marker and nodded home a corner kick in the 59th minute and then Edafe Egbedi volleyed home a deflected shot in the 61st minute from close range to cap a seven-minute three-goal explosion by the Golden Eaglets.

In a desperate attempt to go for the kill, Terry Envoh hammered against the crossbar in the dying moments just as the Germans who also had a decent late chance to steal full points – held firm to salvage one.

With the 3-3 draw, Argentina who earlier on defeated Honduras 1-0 are on top of the group.