After only
managing draws
in their first
Group C matches,
two of the Africa
Cup of Nations heavyweights clashed in Nelspruit as Nigeria and
Zambia battled for some crucial
Afcon points. Nigeria overcame
the early setback of a missed
John Obi Mikel penalty with Emmanuel Emenike's goal on 57 minutes, however, Zambia
responded with a penalty of their
own – keeper Kennedy Mweene with a stunning spotkick to secure the draw. The tension was palpable in the
early stages, with both sides
knowing that whilst defeat would
be near-fatal, a draw would only
serve to increase the immense
pressure ahead of their final group game. The opening twenty minutes were
characterised by a lack of quality,
and a propensity for long balls
from both sets of defences. With
the hard, sandy pitch not
conducive to slick, silky passing play, this seemed like the wisest
option – but the consequence
was a a great many aimless punts
that led to nothing. One smart
Zambian move carved out a neat
chance for Rainford Kalaba, but the Mazembe man blazed the ball
over the top. On 25 minutes, it looked as
though Nigeria had found the
break-through. Davies Nkausu,
under pressure from Ahmed Musa,
brought the CSKA Moscow man
down, the ref not hesitating to point to the spot. John Obi Mikel
stepped up, the midfielder looking
to recreate his crucial converted
penalty against Liberia in the
qualifiers. Unfortunately, it was
not to be, as the Chelsea player's spot kick was tame and
scuffed, and thudded harmlessly
off the post. The game progressed in a cagey,
uninspiring fashion, Emmanuel
Emenike – Naija's goalscorer in
their first match – was unable to
contend with the many balls
played over the top of the Chipolopolo defence. Things improved in the second
period, Nigeria looking brighter
and nearly taking the lead with
Ahmed Musa breaking away down
the right and sending a cross-
cum-shot across the goal which Emmanuel Emenike failed to touch
into the net. Ten minutes into the second half,
the young striker finally made his
mark with a fine finish pushing
the Super Eagles ahead. After
pick-pocketing Lungu in midfield,
John Obi Mikel made amends for his earlier miss and played
Emenike in through the middle,
the striker made no mistake, and
fired Naija ahead with a clever
finish. Zambia sought far and wide for
the inspiration that would see
them claim some points, it
eventually came from an unlikely
source. The referee, seeing
something that few others did, gave a penalty for the
Chipolopolo after minimum contact
on Mayuka by Onazi. Goalkeeper
Kennedy Mweene stepped up, and
looking as calm as can be, he
dispatched a beautiful spot-kick past Vincent Enyeama. Keen to avoid a second successive
collapse, Nigeria knocked at the
door, but neither team managed
to find the net again in the
game's dying embers, and the
pair had to settle for the draw. The result leaves the holders in
grave danger of elimination, they
will need to beat the Stallions
next Tuesday and hope that
results go their way. Nigeria will
also need to up their game on Tuesday against Ethiopia to
ensure their continued Afcon
participation.