t wasn’t a vintage display by any means, nor was it the kind of
champagne football that a nation of our resources and talent pool ought
to be aspiring to, but it was a win, and perhaps ultimately, bearing
everything in mind, that is all that matters.
This was the kind of victory that champions are made of—or so they say.
It can’t all be comfortable—as against the jaded Burkina Faso in
Johannesburg, nor effortlessly glorious—as against Mali in Durban.
Sometimes things don’t go your way, things just don’t flow, but the
desire is there, the quality endures, and the points eventually come
home.
The performance was, at times, turgid, and that cannot be ignored, but there are mitigating factors.
First of all, consider the absence of
Victor Moses and
Emmanuel Emenike,
our two most potent attacking threats—the architect and executioner of
some of the Afcon’s finest evenings. International teams—due to the
constraints of time and opportunity, the demands of the club and the
immediate nature of competition—often struggle for cohesion and rhythm.
Even bearing in mind the many games that the Super Eagles have played
already this year, it is natural that the absence of two such
influential talents has a major effect on the side’s performance.
I would be more concerned about their respective injuries, and their
absences, were it not for the burgeoning development of Ahmed Musa. Long
considered the ‘bright hope’ of the Nigerian game, Musa struggled to
force his way into Stephen Keshi’s starting XI during the Afcon, and had
to make do with a role as an impact substitute.
Now, necessity has dictated that the CSKA Moscow man finally receives
his chance in the starting line-up, and specifically, as a key
offensive outlet to the side. Fresh from a terrific season as a league
winner in Russia, Musa has the form and the ability to make a major
impact at the Confederations Cup, and to cement his place in the coach’s
thinking.
His performance against Kenya will have done no harm to his emerging
prominence within the national set up, and with the prospect of
immortality at the World Cup on the horizon, Musa looks primed to make
the most of the opportunity granted to him.
His key involvement came in the 81
st minute of play,
latching onto a deft ball played through the middle of the park, Musa
shrugged off the attentions of a quarrelling defender before lofting the
ball beautifully over the advancing Duncan Ochieng. Whilst the keeper
was perhaps at fault for the early charge, nothing ought to be taken
away from Musa’s anticipation, vision and execution—a touch of class in
an otherwise hebetudinous encounter.
Ahmed Musa wheels away following his winner
I had predicted, during my Twitter coverage of the game, that the
winning goal would only come via an exquisite through ball—some fixtures
are so listless that they are evidently to be decided more by the
quality of the assist rather than the quality of the finish.
The majority of the contest was bogged down in a midfield quagmire.
Celtic midfielder Victor Wanyama, reportedly a target of many a Premier
League side, was superlative among his lesser teammates. ‘Big Vic’
marshalled the midfield, launching forward in occasional attacking
forays, and reducing the effectiveness of Naija’s three in the centre.
The Celtic man picked up a knock just after the hour mark, and this
seemed to reduce his appetite and his influence. Nigeria were quick to
capitalise when Stevie Waruru discharged possession, and Efe Ambrose’s
vision and excellence of execution emerged to the fore.
Musa’s finish was delicious, but Wanyama’s Celtic teammate Ambrose must also receive credit.
Many of
Goal Nigeria’s readers were quick to disagree with my recent comments surrounding Joseph Yobo.
I argued that the experience the former Everton man brought to the
team during the Cup of Nations, when inserted by Keshi from the bench,
was an invaluable and often-overlooked feature of our delirious triumph.
Bearing this in mind, I felt that a similar composure and guile had
been absent in our disappointing post-Afcon displays.
While this latest performance endured its fair share of malaise and
meander, the reinstitution of Mikel and Vincent Enyeama to the starting
line-up adds a layer of experience and composure to Keshi’s collective.
The goalkeeper had little to do, but has surely proved his worth to fans
(and our chief editor Lolade Adewuyi!) this year after the unconvincing
outings in 2012.
Mikel perhaps didn’t reach the heights that we have come to expect,
and at times looked fairly muted against Wanyama. I imagine that a long
season—in which he has played in well over 40 matches—is beginning to
take its toll, and he will need to up his game for the challenges posed
by Spain and Uruguay at the Confederations Cup.
According to Yobo, qualifying for the World Cup is the summer’s
priority, ahead of a strong showing in Brazil. In this objective, at
least, Nigeria look well on track—this latest victory going someway to
offsetting the disappointments of previous draws against Malawi and the
Harambee Stars themselves.
Joseph Yobo
The three points put us firmly in pole position within the group, two
points ahead of Malawi, and within touching distance of progression. It
is encouraging to know that a win in our next game, in Windhoek on
Wednesday, could see us through, providing Malawi fail to beat Kenya in
Blantyre.
The advantage clearly lies with Keshi and his Super Eagles. So far, so good; a tempestuous June is being navigated successfully.
Full steam ahead to Brazil!
