9 February 2011
Samson Siasia got off to a winning start as Nigeria coach as the Super Eagles defeated Sierra Leone 2-1 in an absorbing friendly Wednesday night in Lagos.
The Eagles took the lead after a quarter of an hour when Olympique Marseille ace defender Taye Taiwo tucked away a penalty past John Tyre in goal for the Leone Stars.
This was just moments after OB Odense star Peter Utaka had been brought down inside the box on his way to goal, but the referee refused to award a spot kick.
Leading scorer in the Nigeria Premier League Ekigho Ehiosun, on for the injured Turkey-based striker Emmanuel Emenike, then doubled the Eagles lead in time added on in the first half.
The Warri Wolves striker with seven goals in the NPL coolly stabbed home a curling cross by Inter Milan midfielder Joel Obi to crown a most eventful couple of days for the 20-year-old forward.
On Sunday, he hit his first-ever career hat-trick in the league to shoot to the top of the goals chart and this weekend, he will fly out with a squad of players from the domestic championship for an invitational tournament in the United States of America.
However, the Leone Stars stepped up their game in the second 45 minutes and deservedly pulled a goal back on 89 minutes courtesy of the outstanding giant striker Mohammed Bangoura.
The Eagles bossed the first half, but let in their opponents after the interval as they appeared to lose gas after playing the high-tempo game demanded by coach Siasia.
The 43-year-old Nigeria coach could take a few positives from his first match in charge even though the ever-demanding Lagos crowd at the 26,000-capacity Teslim Balogun Stadium booed his team in the dying minutes of this encounter.
Inter Joel Obi armed with a magical left foot and loads of confidence caught the eye on his international bow, while speedster Ahmed Musa from Dutch club VVV Venlo ran the defence led by skipper Sherif Suma ragged.
Siasia also capped seven players as he begins rebuilding the two-time African champions.
This mid-week clash was aimed at preparing both West African teams for next months 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.
Nigeria will host Ethiopia in Lagos, while Sierra Leone are away to Niger at the end of March.
