By Daniel Mfoniso
The Super Eagles of Nigeria started AFCON journey on a sluggish note as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in their group A opener at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium in Abidjan.
Despite the Nzalang Nacional having an impressive record in the tournament, they came as an underdog to one of the favorites in the competition with a star-studded team.
However, at the early stage of the match, the Super Eagles dominated possessions after a string of passes and shots on target forcing Goalkeeper Jesus Owono into making outstanding saves.
Surprisingly, Iban Salvador broke the deadlock for the Equatorial Guinea, through Jose Machin’s 36TH minutes cross which met Iban unmarked at the far post.
Shortly, Ademole lookman’s cross was met by Victor Osimhen to give the super eagles the equaliser just 2 minutes after the Salvador’s goal to reset the Equatorial Guinea’s momentum before half time.
Although the super eagles dominated majority of the proceedings, the Equatorial Guinea’s goalkeeper Jesus Owono who won the man of the match award, proved his qualities as he denied Sanusi, Oshimen and Ola Aina attempts to keep his team from conceding.
On the other end, the Nzalang Nacional put up a good encounter with few counter attackers and threatening moments in the game which made the contest a nervy show for both teams.
Meanwhile, The Eagles produced 13 goal-scoring chances, with seven on target, but could only pick a point before they face Cote d’Ivoire, while Equatorial Guinea face Guinea-Bissau on Thursday.
