Eagles begin preparations for second leg against Libya after fortuitous 4-0 victory in Uyo

NIGERIA'S Super Eagles are to begin training for their return leg against Libya on Tuesday tomorrow as the second game of the double header against the Mediterranean Knights  is due in Tunis after the first leg ended with a 4-0 victory in Uyo last night.

In a game whose scoreline flattered Nigeria, the Super Eagles ran away as 4-0 winners yesterday thanks to a hat trick from Odion Ighalo and a late fourth goal from Samuel Kalu. With the victory, Nigeria now has six points from two games and is sitting in second place behind South Africa who have seven following their 6-0 thrashing of Seychelles yesterday.

On Tuesday, the Eagles will now play Libya at the Stade Chedly-Zouiten in Tunis and victory there will given then nine points, making the battle for a place in Cameroon 2019 a two horse race between Nigeria and South Africa. As happened yesterday, the Eagles will be hoping to keep a clean sheet and hurt the Libyans on the counter-attack.

In Uyo, the Eagles took an early lead through an Odion Ighalo penalty in the fifth minute after he had been brought down by the Libyan goalkeeper. Things stayed that way going into the break but come the second half, Ighalo scored twice and in the 85th minute, Kalu curled in a fourth goal from the edge of the area.

Player ratings:

Francis Uzoho – Commanded his area brilliantly and impressed with his short passes but still need to work on playing long balls out from the box. His fantastic one hand save off a header in the box proved his sharpness. 7/10

Shehu Abdullahi – A muscle injury ended his participation early into the game. Not enough to earn a rating.

Jamilu Collins – Kept his man in check and looked impressive on the ball. Almost scored from a strong overlapping run but his chipped effort came off the bar. Looks very assured. 7.5/10

Leon Balogun – He was his usual self but did not look the part like in the previous game . Twice beaten for pace but his quick thinking made up for his apparent lack of pace. Lost his man who almost draw Libya level with a header. 6/10

William Troost Ekong – Solid performance from the Udinese man. Won most of his duels and looked very commanding in aerial duels. Still need to work on his positioning.7/10

Wilfred Ndidi – Industrious as usual but still need to find his passing range especially when it comes to turning defence into attack. His performance was steady but far from spectacular. 6/10

Oghenekaro Etebo – Good on the ball and worked really hard off the ball. However he did not look quite comfortable playing with Ndidi in the middle. He had a better second half. 7/10

Alex Iwobi – Played the number 10 role by drifting to the flanks rather than playing through the middle. Picked up Odion Ighalo with a well timed, perfectly executed pass for Nigeria’s second goal. He was Nigeria’s most creative player in the game 8/10

Samuel Kalu – Disappointing with his final ball and was guilty of hanging onto possession for too long. He was also guilty of going for glory where a simple pass would have set his teammate through on goal. Rounded up scoring for Nigeria. 6.5/10

Ahmed Musa – Struggled to get involved in the first half but looked lively when on the ball. His first time play helped Ighalo score the second goal for Nigeria. 6/10

Odion Ighalo – Dispatched his penalty well. Missed a sitter to put the Eagles two goals up minutes afterwards. Took his second goal of the game nicely by rounding the goalkeeper. Credit must however go to Iwobi for the pass that put him through on goal but he got lucky at the second time of asking. Scored a hat trick. 8/10

Substitutes

Ola Aina – Very assured in making tackles despite having a sluggish start to the game after replacing Shehu Abdullahi. Timed his tackles to perfection and made important interceptions. 7/10

Isaac Success – Did not get enough balls but showed glimpses of his potentials with a through pass which Henry Onyekuru failed to convert. 5/10

Henry Onyekuru – A poor first touch from a through ball denied him the chance to get himself on the scoresheet. Added pace and directness to the attack. 5/10