Ireland were outclassed at Lansdowne Road tonight by a Nigerian team with half a dozen Damien Duffs and a resilient defence.
Ireland were outclassed at Lansdowne Road tonight by a Nigerian team with half a dozen Damien Duffs and a resilient defence.
The Africans may have a reputation for indiscipline but they exposed the deficiency of a rigid order as their extravagant individual skills made the hardworking Irish look decidedly stale.
Ballyboden’s boy wonder was, until the half-time introduction of Stephen Reid, the only Irish player to look anywhere near as gifted as the visitors, but it was another young striker who made the most telling early impression. 20-year-old Julius Aghahowa opened the scoring after only 9 minutes. The Shaktar Donetsk hotrod ignited celebrations amongst the hundreds of vocal Nigerian fans when he applied the finishing touch to a superb Jay Jay Okocha ball. Okocha was the orchestrator supreme, his fabulous feints and flicks frequently affording him the space to pick out any forward he wanted.
Ireland, fielding what may be their first choice eleven, had plenty of possession, but looked ponderous in comparison to the inspired visitors. Nonetheless Mick McCarthy’s men created several opportunities.
Robbie Keane went close with a header from a Kevin Kilbane cross in the 14th minute and seven minutes later, dubious man-of-the-match, Steve Staunton stung goalkeeper Shorunmu’s fingers with a rasping drive from twenty yards. Matt Holland also tested the ‘keeper with a long-ranger as did Duff just before the break.
The Irish manager may have consoled his troops at half-time with the information that Group E opponent Cameroon are not as lavishly talented as their Nigerian neighbours, but any confidence he succeeded in instilling in them must have taken a battering when the visitors, who seldom accelerated beyond cruise control, doubled their lead just after the break.
Crewe Alexandra’s bandana-bearing Efe Sodje was the scorer, as he headed home a corner after being left totally unmarked in the six yard box. The battling defender capatilised on a dreadful breakdown of communication between Shay Given and skipper Roy Keane, the Cork man left flat footed as the Nigerian rose uncontested to head home from a fairly straightforward delivery.
Ireland persevered admirably and continued to menace the Nigerian defenders with game running and frequent crosses. On the hour mark McCarthy made a trio of attacking substitutions which seemed to inject extra zest into the boys in green. In the 69th minute the home team struck back in impressive fashion. The bustling Reid, who had planned to be on a Barbados beach tonight, burst past Taribo West and indirectly exchanged passes with Clinton Morrison before firing a ferocious fizzer into the top corner well beyond the reach of Shorunmu.
Ireland continued to pound away laboriously and their persistence was nearly rewarded when Ian Harte went close with a thirty-yard stinger, but as players began to ponder the consequences of injury, the match petered out into a neat exhibition although Mark Kinsella had a goal ruled out for offside.
Nigerian boss Festus Onigbende can now go to Asia confident that his side’s system of constant spontaneous combustion could well scorch their Group F opponents. Diligent Ireland, meanwhile, can be satisfied with another enthusiastic display but will know now that the difference between holding the great and defining the great is a frustratingly big one