Ikechukwu Uche and Aaron Samuel both scored to keep Nigeria's hopes of
Africa Cup of Nations qualification alive in a morale-boosting 2-0 win
over Congo on Saturday.
A
tight first half yielded few clear-cut chances, but the visitors made
the breakthrough just before the hour mark when Emmanuel Emenike was
brought down inside the box and Uche kept his cool from the spot.
Thievy
Bifouma missed a penalty for the hosts five minutes later and Samuel
wrapped up the points with a tidy finish in the last minute, with angry
home fans causing a slight delay when they threw missiles onto the
pitch.
The result moves Nigeria into second place, with goal
difference pushing them ahead of Congo heading into the final round of
games in Group A.
Congo started brightly and saw Bifouma spurn
two presentable chances inside the opening 10 minutes, while Fode Dore
also skewed wide when well placed seven minutes before half-time.
The visitors suffered an early blow after the interval when Hope Akpan went off injured, but they broke the deadlock soon after.
Chancel
Massa fouled Emenike in the box and Uche beat the goalkeeper with a low
finish into the bottom-left corner from 12 yards.
Congo were
given a chance to level the scores with a penalty of their own after
Godfrey Oboabona was adjudged to have handled a Prince Oniangue shot.
Bifouma
stepped up to take the kick, but Vincent Enyeama guessed correctly and
pushed the striker's effort away to ensure Nigeria's lead remained
intact.
After Uche had wasted two chances to double Nigeria's
lead, the hosts saw efforts from Francis N'Ganga and Delvin Ndinga go
close, the latter denied by a great save from Enyeama
A swift
counter-attack following that save saw Nigeria secure their victory,
substitute Samuel curling a left-footed effort beyond Massa to give
Keshi a winning return.
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