It was as fine a night for football than any other as our beloved Eagles (8th place) take on the pitch at the Esther Shiner Stadium against the 9th place Greece team.
The week prior, the Eagles lost a close one to the defending champs, England. If not for the crossbar and a few unlucky strikes, the result would have easily favored the Nigerian squad.
The game started slowly as both teams played very conservatively, choosing to feel each other out first instead of attacking. There were few opportunities created and neither of the keepers were tested early. After almost 25 minutes of ho-hum football, Nigeria hit first with a classy goal from midfielder Cordo, who received the ball from about 18 yards and decided to attempt a looper over the keeper instead of laser strike. The strategy worked as the Greek keeper watch helplessly as the ball sailed beyond his outstretched arms into the back of the net.
The rest of the half yielded very few opportunity and it ended with a 1-0 score for Nigeria.
The pacing of the second half picked up Nigeria looked to further their lead to avoid a lucky strike from Greece. The Nigerians were getting their act together and possession favored the Eagles for most of the half. There were a few missed opportunities on breakaways as the timing of the midfielders and forwards were slightly off. Despite the 1-0 lead, Nigeria was never threatened as the interchangeable back line of the Dion, Pete, Dave S, Dave T, and Derek proved to be too strong and too connected for the boys in white to penetrate. Keeper Wenzie had to take up jogging in place to keep himself warm, active and awake.
The game opened up finally when Hassan broke through the Greek defenders with a perfectly weighted pass from Cordo. After some swift and fancy footwork, Hassan walked around two defenders and the keeper for the second goal of the match.
Not long after that, Hassan decided that he wanted one more so he decided to take on not two but three defenders plus the keeper again by going down the very centre of the field and finishing with a quick flick of his right foot.
On the other side, the Greeks had their one good attempt of the night when they unleashed the big boot from about 25 yards. The shot rang straight straight and true...into the waiting chest of Wenzil as a loud "thump" echoed through the stadium. The ball bounced harmlessly off his chest into his arms and that ended the Greek threat.
In the meantime, the Nigerian attack continued as their keeper had to work overtime saving shots left and right including yet another crossbar from Cordo. It was a logn night for the Greek defenders who couldn't quite keep up with the speed and accuracy of the Nigerian offense. The night ended with a 3-0 victory for the Nigerians.
Next game is against last year's 2nd place Chilean team at Sunnybrook.
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