Wallops Mali 4-1
Super Eagles of Nigeria on Wednesday booked a place in the final of the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations after it thrashed its Malian counterparts 4-1 in the first semifinal match at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban.
Eagles opened scoring in the 25th minute through defender Elderson Uwa Echiejile who headed in a low ball from a Victor Moses cross after the Chelsea forward wormed his way past Adama Tamboura.
The Nigerian side increased the tally in the 30th minute after Moses set up striker Emmanuel Emenike that in turn squared the ball across for Brown Ideye who managed to direct a shot past Malian goalkeeper Mamadou Samassa.
Emenike got the opportunity to put his name on the scorers' sheet and does so in style in the 44th minute through a free kick from just 25 yards out. Emenike's shot took a huge deflection off Mohamed Sissoko in the Mali wall, sending Samassa the wrong way.
Ahmed Musa completed the rout for the Eagles with a fourth goal in the 60th minute.
Musa, who was brought by Keshi in the 53rd minute, latched onto a pass, broke the offside trap to get in behind Mali defense and went in one-on-one with goalkeeper Samassa and scored by placing the ball through the legs of the goalkeeper to connect the bottom left corner of the goal.
But in the 75th minute, Cheikh Diarra got a consolatory goal for the Malians after Cheikh Diabate was let through by the Nigerian defence and he picked out Diarra who placed his shot into the bottom right hand corner of the goal.
The scoreline in this triumph equals Nigeria's biggest win in the history of the African Cup of Nations, which was the 4-0 win over South Africa in 2004.
Coach of the team, Stephen Keshi could not hold back his joy while speaking at a post-match conference.
Keshi noted that the players' discipline, tactics and the conditions in camp were responsible for the victory.
"There was discipline in camp, the players were determined and so everything just fell into place. We thank God that we are in the final."
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