A late minute penalty gave victory to the Squirrels of Benin over Nigeria in the first leg of the African Nations Championship qualifiers at Stade de l’Amitié, Cotonou on Sunday.
The Squirrels and the Super Eagles tried to settle down to dictate pace of the game in the first 15 minutes of the encounter.
Yarou Nabil had a chance to put Benin into the lead four minutes later, but his header went wide from close range.
It was end-to-end stuff as Kingsley Eduwo went close for Nigeria two minutes later, but he was denied by Benin goalkeeper, Steve Glodjinon.
However, the two sides were unable to break the deadlock and the score was 0-0 at the half-time break.
Fifteen minutes into the second-half, Nigeria Coach, Salisu Yusuf, introduced Stephen Odey for fellow striker Thomas Zenke.
Nigerian striker Edumo’s well-taken strike was deflected out for a corner-kick in the 66th minute following some good work by Osas Okoro.
The Squirrels were then awarded a late penalty when Hafiz Aremu brought down a Beninoise player in the Super Eagles box.
Mama Seibou then stepped up and hit the back of the net in the 89th minute, and Benin ran out 1-0 winners.
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