Lazio midfielder Fisayo Dele-Bashiru made the difference for Nigeria with a late winner over a defensively solid Libya. The Super Eagles eked a 1-0 victory in their AFCON Qualifier game against the Mediterranean Knights thanks to Dele-Bashiru’s strike, assisted by a Moses Simon cross four minutes to the end of regulation time.
It was an important win for the Super Eagles tactician Austine Eguavoen who took charge of his 25th game for the Super Eagles on Friday. Eguavoen first coached the Eagles in 2005 and has an impressive record of 15 wins, four draws and six losses. All eyes were on Bayer Leverkusen striker, Victor Boniface as he made his ninth appearance for the Super Eagles, with expectations that he would finally get on the scoresheet for Nigeria. However, the striker found it difficult to replicate his club form for the national team and he was not impactful for the Eagles before he was brought off in the 74th minute of the encounter. Boniface was replaced by Nottingham Forest striker Taiwo Awoniyi who did not fare any better than the Leverkusen goal machine, making Osimhen’s absence so obvious for Nigeria in the final third.
It took a midfield substitute to get Nigeria ahead. Dele-Bashiru who was brought on to replace Alex Iwobi got the job done in the 86th minute, giving the Eagles the much-needed advantage ahead of the return leg in Tripoli on October 15. The Lazio midfielder is gradually establishing himself as Nigeria’s supplier of important goals, bailing the team out against Libya as he did against South Africa.
Concerns about the quality of officiating in African football surfaced again as Ademola Lookman had a clear goal disallowed for offside. Replays were to show the decision was incorrect. This echoes the decision made days earlier when the forward’s goal was wrongly cancelled in the game against Rwanda. Errors like this can prove costly in the overall scheme of things as the Super Eagles could easily be on nine points now instead of seven.
The Eagles are bound for Tripoli where they will play the return leg of Friday’s game on October 15. It is imperative that the team secure all three points to keep the nation’s hope of playing at the next AFCON alive.
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