The Super Eagles of Nigeria served the Coach Otto Addo some bitter cola in his return to the Black Stars as the substantive coach with a 2-1 victory in Marrakesh.
It was the Super Eagles who showed intentions of scoring right from the black of the whistle, taking the game to their opponents half in an attempt to destabilize the Ghanaian defense.
With Alex Iwobi, Wilfred Ndidi, and Kelechi Iheanacho all playing some progressive football, the Ghanaian midfield of Edmund Addo, Baba Iddrisu, an the defence men had to constantly push back to their goal area, allowing the Nigerians to have a go at the goalkeeper
Kelechi Iheanacho was the first to come close to scoring, when he powered a shot right on the 18 yard box, but Goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi was there to stop him from causing any havoc, the resultant corner kick was wasted.
The Leicester City man came close again in the 17th minute when he played a 1v1 with Alex Iwobi before shooting to the waiting hands of Keeper Ati-Zigi who once again pushed the ball to Corner
Ghana, playing their first game since the 2023 AFCON championship in Ivory Coast kept more men in their own half, while depending on Ernest Nuamah, and Jordan Ayew for some intermittent counter attacks.
Luck finally smiled on the Nigerians as Samed Abdul Salis handled a shot from Alex Iwobi in the Penalty area, the rewferee pointed to the penalty sapot, and Cyriel Dessers who plays for Glasgow Rangers concerted perfectly to the blind side of Ati-Zigi
The Black Stars returned to the second half with with a new game plan to keep the Nigerians at bay, but Coach Finidi George lifted his game to ensure the Super Eagles kept the 1-0 deep into the game.
There was however some drama in the game when centre referee dismissed Ghana’s centre back Jerome Opoku in the 54th minute for what did appear like a bad challenge on the Nigerian goalkeeper from a Jordan Ayew corner kick.
To balance his team and game, Coach Otto Addo brought on Ebenezer Annan, Tari Lamptey, and Kasim Adams Nuhu to replace Amankwaa Forson, Baba Iddrisu, and Patrick Kpozo.
The Black Stars came close scoring in the 81st minute when Tariq Lamptey shot was closely pushed over the bar for a corner kick.
With Much pressure on them to get the equalizer the Black Stars pushed more men forward, leaving their back exposed.
The super Eagles got the icing on the cake with the second goal from a counter attack right from their goal area, with Alex Iwobi leading the charge for Ademola Lookman to finish with a blast past Lawrence Ati Ziti
Captain of the day Jordan Ayew reduced the deficit in the 90th minute when he scored from the Penalty spot, to end the game at 2-1 for the Super Eagles
