Fenerbahce of Turkey striker force, Emmanuel Emenike, grabbed a brace as the Super Eagles defeated the Walya of Ethiopia by 2-1 in the first leg of the Brazil 2014 World Cup qualifying play off in Addis Ababa on Sunday.
The African Champions had been heavily favoured heading into the match, but aside from the opening few minutes, it was the hosts who dominated the first half and had a decent shout to be up a goal headed into the break.
Saladine Said latched onto a ball over the top and flicked past the impressive Vincent Enyeama, only for Godfrey Obobona to clear off the line at the last possible moment to keep the match at 0-0.
The chance wasn’t a one-off for Ethiopia, who played some impressive stuff despite the poor pitch and could have had a goal or two aside from Said’s nearly moment.
The hosts eventually took the lead in strange circumstances as Mengitsu Assefa floated a cross toward Enyeama, who wandered off his line a step too far.
The flight of the ball drifted back toward the goalmouth, giving Ethiopia the lead.
Nigeria were improved from there and equalized less than 10 minutes later, with Emmanuel Emenike’s blistering strike beating Jemal Tassew.
The final 20 minutes were back and forth, with Nigeria getting the best chance through Ahmed Musa, who adjusted wonderfully to a strange bounce and still managed to beat Tassew and crash one off the post.
It looked to end level as normal time nearly expired, but Emenike was dragged down in the 89th minute and calmly rolled in the resulting penalty for the 2-1 win.
The Super Eagles will host Ethiopia on November 16 in the tie’s second leg.
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