Super Eagles of Nigeria yesterday at the Abuja National Stadium revived their dream of going to Morocco 2015 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) championship with a 3-1 win over the Falcons of Sudan.
A brace by CSKA Moscow striker Ahmed Musa in the 48th and 89th minutes and another strike by China based Aaron Samuel was all that the Nigerians needed to keep their AFCON hope alive.
However the capacity crowd at the Abuja National Stadium was silenced when the Sudanese reacted to the first goal in the 55th minute of the encounter.
The Nigerian boys who were condemned to win after a shocking poor start to the ongoing qualifying series reacted positively to the expectations of the thousands of soccer loving fans who turned out to cheer them to victory by taking the fight to their opponents.
Nigeria’s forward Ahmed Musa (C) is congratulated by teammates after scoring a goal during the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying football match between Nigeria and Sudan on October 15, 2014 in Abuja. AFP PHOTO
The Nigerians had a life line with the introduction of Omatsone Akuko who replaced Raheem Lawal in the 64th minute and that resulted in the second goal by Samuel in the 65th minute.
Before the match there were concerns whether the fans would turn out to support the national team due to the surprising defeats to both Congo and Sudan and the barren draw to South Africa which left the country with only one point from a possible nine.
The first half ended without a goal but not without some anxious moments which left the fans gasping for breath.
The Super Eagles started the game with the plan to get an early goal but the strike force made up of Emmanuel Emenike and Ahmed Musa could not produce the much needed result.
However the much criticized China based Aaron Samuel was a delight to watch as he made frantic effort to give the country something to cheer and his efforts nearly paid off in the 28 minutes when his shot narrowly missed target to the delight of the Sudanese goalkeeper, Akram Ehida.
But another begging opportunity was wasted by Akpan Hope Uta who in the 38 minute as his effort went off target.
The dou of Mikel Obi and Ahmed Musa however made some spirited efforts which never yielded any positive result.
But the Stephen Keshi boys were also lucky as a 45 minute counter attack by the visitors through danger man, Bakir Abdelgadir narrowly missed target after he dusted the Nigerian defenders.
Meanwhile, the fans who certainly have lost confidence in Keshi continued to boo him with many of them carrying placards, charging and calling for his immediate sack regardless of the result of the match.