CHAN: Super Eagles Knocked Out by Guinea

The Super Eagles have been knocked out of the 2016 African Nations Championship after losing to the Syli Nationale by 1-0 in their final Group C encounter at the Umuganda Stadium, Gisenyi. A first half strike by Ibrahima Sankhon thwarted the aspirations of the Super Eagles to reach the quarter finals of the competition despite staying atop Group C after their first two matches. The Guineans controlled the first half as they enjoyed possession and saw their demand for a penalty waved off by Moroccan referee, Noureddine El Jaafari, when the ball was handled by Nigeria’s Jamiu Alimi in the penalty area. Both teams were forced to make early substitutions due to injury concerns as Guinea’s Alseny Camara and Nigeria’s Usman Mohammed were replaced with Ibrahima Bangoura and Bature Yaro respectively. Coach Bangoura’s men, however, took the lead at the tail end of half time after Daouda Camara eased past the Eagle’s defence to provide an assist for Sankhon who slotted into an empty net ”“ with the Super Eagles’ defence caught off guard. The goal forced Nigeria’s Coach Sunday Oliseh to make an early substitution in the second half with the introduction of the team’s top scorer Chisom Chikatara for Paul Onobi in a move to get the desired result. The Guineans held on to their lead as they marshalled a strong defensive backline from that time forward, posing little attacking threat, but the Super Eagles couldn’t break through as they lacked creativity. The Super Eagles were unable to level up before the end of regular time to savor a point for qualification as they finished in the third position with 4 points behind leader Tunisia with 5 points, and Guinea 5points.