Nigeria was forced to surrender a four-goal lead to draw 4-4 against Sierra Leone in their 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Group L qualifiers, played at Samuel Ogbemudia stadium Benin city Nigeria - this Friday evening.
Nigerian fans watched spellbound from home and could not believe their eyes of the turn around in a game that looked like a walk over at first half, saw the Leone stars come back to totally rip open and exposed the weakness of Super Eagles like never seen before.
It was more like an embarrassment that later moved to fear and then prayer that the referee should just end the game. Believe me, if more time where added, Nigeria would have lost the match.
What Happened? It was the over confidence thing, I guess both the Nigerian coaches and the boys felt the three points were already in the bag after a 4 - 0 lead.
Alex Iwobi’s double and strikes from Victor Osimhen and Samuel Chukwueze handed the Super Eagles an impressive first-half lead,
I guess the Leone stars suddenly realized that they overrated the Nigerian side, which were not coordinated at all in their play. A brace from Al-Hadji Kamara motivated the team to push harder, efforts from Kwame Quee and Mustapha Bundu ensured the game ended in a draw.
This set up the return leg on Tuesday November 17 to become a battlefield for pride and Super Eagles are the ones shaking with fear... They have been exposed and there's no hiding place
However, ex-International Mutiu Adepoju rallies support for the dawned Super Eagles
“Every game comes with its lessons and this game against Sierra Leone is one of them,” Adepoju tweeted.
“A match is not won until the final whistle is blown. Fellow Nigerians, I appeal to you that we keep supporting our dear Super Eagles and I strongly believe they will bounce back in the return leg.”
Nigeria remain on top of the Group L standings with seven points from three games, ahead of second-placed Benin (four), who host Lesotho (one) on Saturday, while Sierra Leone are in third with two points.
