Nigeria on Saturday defeated Benin in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier played in Porto Novo, with a stoppage-time winner from second-half substitute Paul Onuachu sending Super Eagles fans into raptures and shattering Beninese hearts.
In a game that wasn’t entirely played behind closed doors, as hundreds of Beninese fans, contrary to the rules stipulated… With the clock ticking down, across into a packed Benin penalty area landed at the feet of Victor Osimhen, but his shot was kept out by goalkeeper Saturnin Allagbe only for the rebound to fall onto the path of Onuachu who headed into a gaping net to win the game for the Super Eagles who had earlier in the day booked their place at next year’s AFCON after Lesotho and Sierra Leone played out to a goalless draw in Maseru.
For Benin and their coach Michel Dussuyer, who suffered their first loss at home in eight years, they will need to get a result against Sierra Leone on Tuesday at the National Stadium in Freetown to secure a spot at the 2022 AFCON.
Super Eagles Coach Gernot Rohr would undoubtedly be the happier of the two coaches but he would no doubt still be wondering how his side failed to find the back of the net until the very last minute of stoppage time.
And a lot of it had to do with some good, and sometimes fortuitous, goalkeeping by man of the match and Benin first-choice goalkeeper Allagbe. In the 7th minute, Allagbe was on hand to parry Samuel Chukwueze’s goal-bound left-footed curler from 20 yards out to safety.
Gernot Rohr’s men secured victory over the Squirrels in Porto Novo to retain their place at the top of the group in the end.
Fans have taken to social media to react to Nigeria’s 1-0 victory over the Republic of Benin in Saturday’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifying game. The three-time African champions headed into the encounter, having already qualified for the continental showpiece after Lesotho and Sierra Leone played out a 0-0 draw before their encounter with the Squirrels.
The Super Eagles dominated the encounter but failed to convert the chances that came their way and had to wait until the 90th minute to break the deadlock. In-form Genk forward Paul Onuachu came off the bench to score the only goal of the encounter with a fine header to help Nigeria return to winning ways in the qualifiers after back-to-back draws with Sierra Leone the last time out.