Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire also settle for draw
Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire also settle for draw
Accra ( Greater Accra ) 3 August '99
It seems certain that the last matches will determined the team that qualifies for South Africa for next September’s SCSA Zone III tournament currently taking place in Accra.
Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire settled for a 1 – 1 round on the second day of the tournament to follow in the footsteps of Ghana and Burkina Faso who drew 0 – 0 in the opening match. This leaves all the four teams in the tournament with one point apiece.
But, perhaps, the Nigeria-Cote d’Ivoire encounter gave more to cheer about as the Ivorians fought like wounded lions to cancel a 13th minute first half lead by the Nigerians when Emmanuel Ebiede fired from 20 metres past goalkeeper Bernard Kouakou in the Ivorian post.
In a match that saw the Ivorians play as underdogs, it was the Nigerians who gave the first signal first of their battle readiness when a long drive and a glancing header in the 10th and 11th minutes from their attackers made keeper Kouakou and his defencemen live uncomfortable.
The Nigerian’s 13th minute lead seemed to have boosted their play as they took total control of the game with good inter-positional play and succeeded in drawing rings around their opponents. In the 25th minute however, the Ivorians’ chance to equalise was blown away when Nautcho Koutouan, standing in the box chose to rather dive than apply his legs to the ball to attract the first booking for the afternoon. With Bassole Maurice, Kouadio Nida and Coulibaly playing upfront the Ivorians sustained their pressure on the Nigerians but could not penetrate their defensive network pivoted around Harrison Omokoh.
The return from recess saw the Ivorians throwing everything into the game to get the equaliser which finally came in the 60th minute via a spot kick. It was dangerman Daliba Tetiali who weaved through the Nigerians only to be hacked down in the ‘18’ for the much needed penalty that was expertly converted by Youssouf Yariko to settle scores to the relief of the few Ivorian fans present at the stadium.
The Nigerians were however unfortunate not to have restored their lead in the 72nd minute when Henry Onwuzurike outpaced the Ivorian defence to deliver a power-laden shot that flew inches over the bar with keeper Kouakou already beaten. As the Ivorians sewed up their game in defence, Nigeria brought on James Obiorah to strengthen their attack but try as they did their efforts did not yield dividend as the minutes tickled to full time.
Standings of the teams at the end of first matches
Team P W D L F A Pts GD
Cote d’Ivoir 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0
Nigeria 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 0
Burkina Faso 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Ghana 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Two goals have so far been scored. Nigeria’s Emmanuel Ebiede (1) and Cote d’Ivoire’s Youssouf Yariko (1)