Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Odion Ighalo, Henry Onyekuru and Moses Simon were all on the score sheet as the Nigeria senior national team, Super Eagles defeated the Pirates of Seychelles 3-1 on Friday at the Stephen Keshi Stadium, Asaba, Delta State.
The dead rubber encounter was the last match of the qualifier for the 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) coming up in Egypt later in the year.
Although, the Eagles had already secured a qualification ticket ahead of the encounter, Technical Adviser, Gernot Rohr fielded his first eleven.
But the Pirates of Seychelles had a water tight defense, preventing the Eagles attack from making impact until the 34th minute when Leicester midfielder, Wilfred Ndidi was brought down in the box by Karle Hall, and the centre referee wasted no time in pointing to the spot.
China based Odion Ighalo coolly converted from the 18-yard box to make it 1-0. But the visiting team came back strong and were gifted an unlikely equaliser as Eagles goalkeeper Francis Ozoho parried a free kick to the path of an on rushing Seychelles striker Rody Melanie who slotted the ball home in the 43rd minute.
On resumption of the second half, the Eagles piled more pressure on the visiting team, and in the 58th minute, Henry Onyekuru got on to the end of an Jamilu Collins cross to restore the lead.
The Eagles coach made three changes including Moses Simon who came in place of Odion Ighalo. And on the 90th minute, Simon scored within the area after a flowing move by the Eagles.
Recall that Eagles defeated Seychelles 3-0 in the first leg of the qualifier. With Friday’s victory over the Pirates, Eagles now have thirteen points from six matches in the qualification series.
The other match of the group will be played on Sunday between Libya and South Africa. Either of the team can still make it to Egypt with South Africa standing a better chance if they can secure a draw in the encounter.
Nigeria will be making its first appearance in the African soccer showpiece since 2013 when the late coach Stephen Keshi led the team to win the bi-annual tournament.