Nigeria turn on style to leave Ireland red-faced
Moderators: Moderator Team, phpBB2 - Administrators
Nigeria turn on style to leave Ireland red-faced
Unity Cup
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nigeria turn on style to leave Ireland red-faced
Nigeria 3 - 0 Republic of Ireland
Kevin Mitchell at The Valley
Sunday May 30, 2004
The Observer
While people elsewhere were taking the ***-end of the football season very seriously indeed, Nigeria brought a smile to the game and a frown of embarrassment to the Republic of Ireland.
In a fixture devoid of any importance other than that attached to it by organisers trying to inspire goodwill between ethnic communities (as well as raising money for the charities of Damilola Taylor and Stephen Lawrence), the teams conspired to play sunshine football on a cloudy day, even if Ireland were reduced to foils at the end.
It was the first of three matches for the Unity Cup. Nigeria play Jamaica here tomorrow afternoon and Ireland play Jamaica on Wednesday night.
In a game devoid of what we have come to accept as meaningful contact - ie, bloodthirsty hacking from behind, pesky niggling and all-round brutality - there was much prettiness but, for the first half-hour, little to show for it. Nigeria lingered lovingly on the ball, right through the formation, from George Abbey at the back to Bartholomew Ogbeche, who busied himself alongside the exciting young debutant, Obafemi Martins, of Internazionale.
Martins gave Alan Maybury a headache with all his checking and turning. With Abbey lending support down the flank, Nigeria probed patiently and might have scored when Seyi Olofinjana unleashed a sharp volley from just outside the box that had Nicky Colgan leaping high, then parrying the rebound with his legs.
Alan Lee might have made more of a chance when he slipped his marker on the edge of the area, but shot too soon and Sunday Rotimi was down quickly to save with a knee.
The best chance of the half fell to Ogbeche and he will have murdered few goals with such grace. Stephen McPhail, normally so tidy, gave up possession and the Nigeria striker sized up his options unhurriedly, only to get his angle an inch out and slide the ball past Colgan's left hand and against the post.
Martins sent Ireland captain Kenny Cunningham this way and that before slipping a short pass to Olofinjana, never a man reluctant to shoot. It went a foot wide.
There was no end to the fancy turns and darting runs but, in a tackle-free environment, it did not constitute much of a contest. Still, on a mild afternoon with little else on in London, it was a pleasant diversion.
Nigeria were playing keep the ball; Ireland, on an impressive role of one defeat during Brian Kerr's 15 games in charge, were content to work up a bit of a sweat. Just before half-time Ogbeche made them sweat in earnest when he finally got his radar working and banged in a goal off the post from 18 yards.
It took a well-timed, if ugly, tackle by Cunningham to keep him out two minutes later and, all of a sudden, Ireland were looking embarrassed, perhaps even a bit annoyed.
The Irish goalmouth resembled a shooting gallery as Ogbeche now put Steve Finnan to the sword on the left and was kept out only by another desperate intervention by Cunningham.
Martins, whose reputation goes before him and is fully warranted, brought a tremendous save out of Colgan in the first minute of the second half. The bustling genius then produced the sort of goal Thierry Henry has made his specialty, glidingpast one nervous tackle after another before threading the ball past Colgan with only a hint of back-lift. Magic.
Nigeria made it 3-0 when Cunningham's back-pass to Colgan forced him to chest the ball in to the path of Ogbeche, who walked it into the untended net.
A charity match or not, Ireland were thereafter reduced to playing for what was left of their dignity. Disinclined to go in hard in the tackle, though, they couldn't get the ball back.
They had arrived on a roll. Last Thursday, they accounted for Romania, who were fresh from beating Germany 5-1. They had drawn with Brazil at home and ended the Czech Republic's 21-game unbeaten run.
Even without Roy Keane, who said he had booked his holiday a month ago, this was a decent Ireland side. So that should be the measure of Nigeria's performance - a win crafted from guile and no fear of failure.
Nigeria : Rotimi; Lawal, Enakhire, Olajengbesi, Abbey; Ekwueme, Obodo, Olofinjana (Obiefule 86), Utaka; Martins (Adamu 83), Ogbeche (Showumni 71).
Subs not used: Bankole, Akwuegbu.
Republic of Ireland : Colgan; Finnan, Doherty, Cunningham, Maybury (Clarke HT); Millar (Rowlands HT), Kinsella, Holland (Douglas 66), McPhail; Robbie Keane (Barrett 83), Lee.
Subs not used: Quinn, O'Brien, Kenny, Thompson, Reid, Given, Morrison, Doyle, McGeady.
Referee: A D'Urso (Billericay).
· You've read the piece, now have your say. Email your comments to [email protected].
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nigeria turn on style to leave Ireland red-faced
Nigeria 3 - 0 Republic of Ireland
Kevin Mitchell at The Valley
Sunday May 30, 2004
The Observer
While people elsewhere were taking the ***-end of the football season very seriously indeed, Nigeria brought a smile to the game and a frown of embarrassment to the Republic of Ireland.
In a fixture devoid of any importance other than that attached to it by organisers trying to inspire goodwill between ethnic communities (as well as raising money for the charities of Damilola Taylor and Stephen Lawrence), the teams conspired to play sunshine football on a cloudy day, even if Ireland were reduced to foils at the end.
It was the first of three matches for the Unity Cup. Nigeria play Jamaica here tomorrow afternoon and Ireland play Jamaica on Wednesday night.
In a game devoid of what we have come to accept as meaningful contact - ie, bloodthirsty hacking from behind, pesky niggling and all-round brutality - there was much prettiness but, for the first half-hour, little to show for it. Nigeria lingered lovingly on the ball, right through the formation, from George Abbey at the back to Bartholomew Ogbeche, who busied himself alongside the exciting young debutant, Obafemi Martins, of Internazionale.
Martins gave Alan Maybury a headache with all his checking and turning. With Abbey lending support down the flank, Nigeria probed patiently and might have scored when Seyi Olofinjana unleashed a sharp volley from just outside the box that had Nicky Colgan leaping high, then parrying the rebound with his legs.
Alan Lee might have made more of a chance when he slipped his marker on the edge of the area, but shot too soon and Sunday Rotimi was down quickly to save with a knee.
The best chance of the half fell to Ogbeche and he will have murdered few goals with such grace. Stephen McPhail, normally so tidy, gave up possession and the Nigeria striker sized up his options unhurriedly, only to get his angle an inch out and slide the ball past Colgan's left hand and against the post.
Martins sent Ireland captain Kenny Cunningham this way and that before slipping a short pass to Olofinjana, never a man reluctant to shoot. It went a foot wide.
There was no end to the fancy turns and darting runs but, in a tackle-free environment, it did not constitute much of a contest. Still, on a mild afternoon with little else on in London, it was a pleasant diversion.
Nigeria were playing keep the ball; Ireland, on an impressive role of one defeat during Brian Kerr's 15 games in charge, were content to work up a bit of a sweat. Just before half-time Ogbeche made them sweat in earnest when he finally got his radar working and banged in a goal off the post from 18 yards.
It took a well-timed, if ugly, tackle by Cunningham to keep him out two minutes later and, all of a sudden, Ireland were looking embarrassed, perhaps even a bit annoyed.
The Irish goalmouth resembled a shooting gallery as Ogbeche now put Steve Finnan to the sword on the left and was kept out only by another desperate intervention by Cunningham.
Martins, whose reputation goes before him and is fully warranted, brought a tremendous save out of Colgan in the first minute of the second half. The bustling genius then produced the sort of goal Thierry Henry has made his specialty, glidingpast one nervous tackle after another before threading the ball past Colgan with only a hint of back-lift. Magic.
Nigeria made it 3-0 when Cunningham's back-pass to Colgan forced him to chest the ball in to the path of Ogbeche, who walked it into the untended net.
A charity match or not, Ireland were thereafter reduced to playing for what was left of their dignity. Disinclined to go in hard in the tackle, though, they couldn't get the ball back.
They had arrived on a roll. Last Thursday, they accounted for Romania, who were fresh from beating Germany 5-1. They had drawn with Brazil at home and ended the Czech Republic's 21-game unbeaten run.
Even without Roy Keane, who said he had booked his holiday a month ago, this was a decent Ireland side. So that should be the measure of Nigeria's performance - a win crafted from guile and no fear of failure.
Nigeria : Rotimi; Lawal, Enakhire, Olajengbesi, Abbey; Ekwueme, Obodo, Olofinjana (Obiefule 86), Utaka; Martins (Adamu 83), Ogbeche (Showumni 71).
Subs not used: Bankole, Akwuegbu.
Republic of Ireland : Colgan; Finnan, Doherty, Cunningham, Maybury (Clarke HT); Millar (Rowlands HT), Kinsella, Holland (Douglas 66), McPhail; Robbie Keane (Barrett 83), Lee.
Subs not used: Quinn, O'Brien, Kenny, Thompson, Reid, Given, Morrison, Doyle, McGeady.
Referee: A D'Urso (Billericay).
· You've read the piece, now have your say. Email your comments to [email protected].
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004
WE ARE ALL TOGETHER!!
-
yaro maiwayo
- Egg
- Posts: 1696
- Joined: Mon Jan 26, 2004 6:57 pm
- Location: USA
-
ruff'n'tuff
- Egg
- Posts: 1041
- Joined: Sun Dec 28, 2003 4:05 pm
- Location: Chicago Il.
