Well, well, well; it finally happened!
Head Coach Finidi George oversaw his first competitive assignment as Super Eagles indigenous gaffer in a crucial and quite pulsating World Cup qualifier against South Africa in Uyo on 7 June. And was it worth the wait?
I guess it depends on who you speak to. To me, certain aspects of Nigeria’s performance worked a treat. I was very impressed in the execution of their routines and how adventurous, fluid and expansive they were. It might not have been the result I wanted but their overall application based on the instructions issued by Finidi left me satisfied overall.
In the first 15 minutes of the first half, I will award the Super Eagles 7/10 for their performance. This passage of play saw South Africa sit deep to defend whilst using that opportunity to figure out the nature of threat the Super Eagles offered.
The Super Eagles line up was experimental in truth but I don’t think the players put much foot wrong.
This period was characterised by: long balls from defence to attack; interesting interplay of clever passes; intelligently executed freekick; Nigeria dictating play and being on the front foot; and overall composed play.
Nwabili was excellent as a Keeper-Sweeper. With Nigeria’s attacking orientation leaving only 2 centre-backs behind, Nwabili slotted in-between Ajayi and Bassey (as a third defender) severally to help play it out from the back. Nwabili launched a route one long ball to Onuachu that had to be defended. The goalkeeper was involved in an excellent passage of play with Ajayi, whose long ball located Onuachu in midfield who found Bashiru who was fouled before he could thread a delicious through ball to Iheanacho.
I was pleased to see the Super Eagles string passes together extensively, at times exchanging the ball 7 or 10 times with attacking intent before being eventually dispossessed. In one instance, Ndidi, Iwobi, Ajayi, Bashiru, Iheanacho and Lookman exchanged the ball 10 times only for Lookman to blast high with a frustrated Iwobi running into the opposition box 18 to continue the routine. It was a fabulous passage of play ruined by Lookman’s selfishness.
Other observations for this first 15 minutes include: Onuachu dropped deep severally to receive the ball to good effect; Ndidi’s long ball from deep were productive and glorious as one found Lookman in acres of space; Tanimu was solid and totally focused and committed in defence as he blocked a dangerous cross into the 18 yard box; Nigeria looked vulnerable to counter attacks; Iheanacho lost possession severally; Bassey was suspect in 1v1 duels as a South African got the best of him to deliver a dangerous cross that led to a shot that Nwabili expertly palmed; Ajayi was physically effective; Nigeria’s attacking intents were obvious and well executed; and South Africa found joy going long.
But, all the all, it was competent and compact offensive play by Nigeria in the first 15 minutes which left gaps in defence that South Africa would eventually exploit.
In the next 15 minutes (15 – 30 minutes) I will award the Super Eagles 6/10 simply on the account of the goal they conceded in 28 minutes.
A highlight of this period of play was right-back Tanimu coming to his own with commendable success. He overlapped to deliver a beautiful inswinger; he won a throwing and was then involved in a fabulous sequence of passes with Ndidi whose cross had to be defended.
The South Africans now became more offensive which Nigeria initially repelled effectively with decent shape. But, when it comes to shape, it was difficult to decipher Nigeria’s tactical arrangement under Finidi.
They were amorphous which might be a good or bad thing depending on your orientation as a fan. How far Finidi will go with this nebulous, indistinct but fluid, expansive and attack oriented approach is anybody’s guess – I just find it fascinating and interesting to watch.
Our defensive midfield infrastructure was always suspect as it was manned by just Ndidi who has the freedom to roam, often leaving that area unmanned which led to a shot earlier and then contributed to South Africa’s opener: Zwane would dart past 2 centre back before riffling past Nwabili to put South Africa 1:0 in front following a through pass from Nigeria’s unmanned defensive midfield.
Other highlight of this period include: Onuachu’s lack of pace led to missed opportunities from several long balls from Nwabili and others; clever and extensive interplay of passes; amorphous team shape on and off the ball; Ajayi’s continued admirable physicality and Tanimu’s hard work all round.
In all the drive and determination shown by most of the players kept me engaged and invested in their shapeless but interesting approach. However, defensive midfield frailties due to the freedom of Ndidi to roam came home to roost.
In the last 15 minutes (30 – 45 minutes) I will award the Super Eagles 6/10 in their application.
The highlight of this period was Nwabili being very sharp and timely to run out block a goal bound shot at the edge of the 18 yard box before an alert and astute Tanimu clearing the rebound off for a corner kick: a quite effective defensive manoeuvre among the 2 players to manage the danger in Finidi’s offensive, shapeless and expansive approach.
The Super Eagles progressed the ball up-pitch with direction and purpose. Bashiru was livelier in midfield in dropping deep, driving forward and delivering neat passes.
Intelligent triangular passing sequence between Iwobi, Ndidi and Iheanacho succeeded in opening up a dangerous hole inside S/Africa’s box 18 but Ndidi’s final through pass failed to locate Iwobi who would have been through on goal.
Again, Nigeria dictated the tempo in this period but Iwobi’s non-existent dribbling abilities curtailed their midfield ambitions.
All in all I was pleased. Finally Nigeria are back playing on the front foot with cunning and clever build up play with passing routines that were as compelling as they were incisive.
The freedom-to-roam philosophy for the midfield and centre forward created the gaps that South Africa exploited. Onuachu has no business in the Super Eagles under this shapeless amorphous philosophy as he is slow to latch on to long balls and not fluid enough to move around with menace like Osihmen, Awoniyi or even an aging Ahmed Musa would.
He did have a header on target following Lookman’s cross in 41 minutes but this approach by Finidi requires an all-action ubiquitous, marauding centre forward which Onuachu is not.
Update on second half to come……
Comments