After two rocket goals see off the Young Mambas
By Rasheed Adewuyi
Watch highlights of Nigeria U20 versus Mozambique U20
Super Eagles Head Coach José Santos Peseiro said he was impressed after scorching shots from the boots of forwards Samson Lawal and Ibrahim Muhammad gave Nigeria all three points and a deserved quarter-final ticket at the 23rd Africa U20 Cup of Nations in Egypt on Saturday.
Mozambique’s Young Mambas were the victims of Nigeria’s junior side this time.
Buoyed by the win over host nation Egypt on Wednesday that redirected their sail back on track, the Flying Eagles played with commendable self-assurance. They dominated large swathes of a game played under floodlights at an impressive facility in northeastern Egypt.
Ayuba Francis failed to put enough purchase price on his strikes in the 6th and 24th minutes on the Suez Canal Authority Stadium turf in Ismailia. Still, Lawal, after receiving a pass from the nimble-footed Haliru Sarki, glided past two defenders before releasing a fierce shot that nestled safely in the net, beyond the groping arms of Kimiss Zavala in the 32nd minute.
With five minutes to the interval, Muhammad ran rings around the Mozambican rearguard several times, got into a vantage position for a high strike that flew past Zavala, and found the top right corner for Nigeria’s second.
In the second half, Nigeria’s safe hands Chijioke Aniagboso, was his imperial self as he denied substitute Edson Mucuana from close range in the 55th minute. At the other end, another scorcher from Lawal rocked Zavala, but he parried it for a corner kick.
In the 76th minute, substitute Adams Olamilekan failed to find the net after a sweet lay-on by Ahmed Abdullahi. With three minutes to go, Aniagboso again came up big when Jose Rabelina Zavala thought he was in a position to reduce Mozambique’s deficit.
Victory took the Flying Eagles to six points. With Senegal pounding host nation Egypt 4-0 in Cairo to finish top with a maximum of nine points from three matches, Nigeria finished a comfortable second. Flying Eagles will play Uganda, who topped Group B via the ballot rule, in the quarter-finals on Thursday at the Suez Canal Authority Stadium in Ismailia.
