The Golden Generation of the Ivory Coast team finally came to the end of the road as they were whacked 2-1 by Stephen Keshi’s plucky Super Eagles at the King Bafokeng Stadium in South Africa in the quarter-final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations.
Nigeria took the lead against the lethargic Elephants through a wonderful Emmanuel Emenike strike, before Cheik Tiote equalised with a header just after the interval.
In an engrossing second half, Sunday Mba wrote his name in on the scorers’ sheet by finishing a hopeful run with a deflected finish past Boubacar Barry in goal for the Elephants.
For the first half of action, it seemed like the Super Eagles had turned back the clock and rolled back the years.
Gone was the timidity and the nervousness that had characterised their dull group encounters.
The side looked bold and brave.
In comparison, the Ivorians, so well-fancied before the tournament, looked laborious and lethargic – their casual approach matching the unprofessional nicknames on some of their shirts.
It felt like 1996 as the Super Eagles burst forward.
Victor Moses, the nation’s saviour against Ethiopia, was once again influential – his tenacious running and ferocious speed constantly causing problems for the Ivorian defenders.
Emmanuel Emenike was also looking to capture the form of the opening 45 minutes against Burkina Faso, although the striker fired over from near point-blank range in the first half.
With the interval approaching, Nigerian enterprise eventually paid off.
Soon after Yaya Toure had been forced into a shoulder block to curtail Moses’s advance, the Super Eagles won a free kick 30 yards out.
John Obi Mikel laid the ball off and Emenike, with the weight of 19 years of anguish behind him, fired the ball over the wall into the goal.
Perhaps Copa Barry in the Ivorian net should have done better, but few in Nigeria cared, the finish sparking furious celebration among their massed ranks.
The euphoria of the first half wasn’t to last into the second.
Moments after Salomon Kalou had been cautioned for simulation in the Nigerian box, Didier Drogba was brought to ground by Efe Ambrose.
It was the Super Eagles’ moment to look inert, and they were promptly punished as Cheick Tioté headed the ball past Enyeama.
The keeper promptly remonstrated with his static defence, but the damage had been done.
The second half unrolled with both sides looking to attack and creating a number of opportunities.
Elderson went close with blocked shock when Moses was perhaps better placed.
The miss threatened to be costly,
But that was until Sunday Mba decided to introduce himself into the game’s narrative.
Running boldly at the Ivorian defence, the striker, included at the expense of the likes of Peter Odemwingie and Obafemi Martins, sent a deflected shot up and over Boubacar Barry.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
