Nigeria Vs Tanzania 3:1 - Retrospective Reflection

Nigeria Vs Tanzania 3:1 - Brief Review

Coach Chelle, speaking after Nigeria numbed Tanzania 3:1, admitted it was not a perfect performance.

“There are a lot of good things (in our performance against Tanzania), but there are some bad things (too)." Said the Malian tactician.

Personally, I think it was a professional performance by and large with a few blemishes tainting it here and there.

For the goal Nigeria conceded, the triumvirate of Bassey, Fredrick and Nwabali had all the time in the world to recover from Ndidi's dispossession of the ball. But, comically, the 2 defenders and our goalkeeper pratfell on grass like elephants falling down the stairs, leaving Tanzania to pull one back.

I particularly liked the high press, visionary driven pass, late run into the box 18 and precision in front of goal for our first goal. The entire sequence was smooth, intricate and precise with Alhassan Yusuf never skipping a beat in pulling the trigger.

Ndidi's spatial awareness was notable, always seeking disused wasteland to run into, demand the ball, receive it and then cross with menace, leading to the second goal and several other close calls.

Alhassan Yusuf was combative in midfield which meant we were not overrun there. He had to tie the knot with a yellow card for his tackling infidelities.

Our passing routines often had meaningfully penetrative intentions behind them, making the Tanzanian defenders to work overtime to keep the scoreline respectable, to keep our strikers at bay.

This is where a lot of people would perhaps not agree with me but I felt the players played with intensity, focus and dedication, culminating in a high work rate that was evidenced by the score line. And there could have been more Nigerian goals but for some stellar last minute defending from Tanzania.

Nigeria's low crosses on the night had gun powder. Usor's banana-like long range cross for Arokodare's goal was eye catching. Rotation, build-up, transition and gameplay all attract high marks for Nigeria. Moses Simon's crosses still pack a punch in patches. Arokodare is slowly stamping his authority on the team with 2 excellent goals of grace, poise and elegance in the flick for the first and the chest down and no-nonsense finish for the second.

The team's Afcon qualification ambitions are back on track with a decent display of delicately dictated passages of play that produced polish in patches and professionalism in particular in front of goal.