A stunning first-half display helped
Nigeria book their place in the Africa Cup of Nations final demolishing
Mali 4-1 in their semifinal clash at Moses Mabhida Stadium, in Durban,
on Wednesday.
Elderson Echiejile, Brown Ideye and
Emmanuel Emenike were all on target in a riveting first 45 minutes, and
Ahmed Musa scored on the hour mark to stretch the advantage.
Mali eventually replied through Cheick
Fantamady with 15 minutes left, but it proved little more than a
consolation effort as they bowed out without putting up much of a fight
against a Super Eagles side full of energy and pace.
The Malians, massive underdogs for the
last four encounter, had the first chance in the seventh minute when
Molla Wague put his header just over from Mahamane Traore’s corner kick.
Shortly after, Metz midfielder Traore was at the end of another good corner, this time by Mohamed Traore, which he glanced wide.
Mohamed Sissoko then saw his shot from
just outside the area rise centimetres above the cross bar as the men in
yellow held the early initiative.
Nigeria finally burst into life in the
15th minute when a slip by Mahamadou N’Diaye allowed Ideye to latch on
comfortably to a long ball on the right side of the box, but Mamadou
Samassa blocked the shot with his feet and the rebound was just out of
reach for Emenike.
The goalmouth action continued in the
21st minute as a last-ditch N’Diaye tackle stopped competition
top-scorer Emenike in his tracks, as the trigger was about to be pulled,
before John Obi Mikel volleyed a loose ball from the resulting corner
metres past the right upright from just outside the box.
But there was no stopping the Super
Eagles from taking the lead in the 25th minute after Victor Moses turned
his man inside out on the right and crossed behind the surprised
defence for Echiejile to head in.
Four minutes later Emenike burst down
the right and crossed to the feet of Ideye, running towards the near
post, who turned the ball in via a deflection.
Mali were clearly stunned, under
relentless pressure, with Ukraine-based Ideye then forcing Samassa to
drop down to his left to save a powerful strike.
Ogenyi Onazi was next to come close
after he attempted to chip Samassa following another energetic
counter-attack, although the giant goalkeeper had backtracked enough to
hold on to the ball.
Stephen Keshi’s side capped a remarkable
opening period when Emenike’s powerful 44th minute free-kick took a
wicked deflection off Sissoko to leave Samassa wrong-footed and Nigeria
with a handsome 3-0 lead. It was Emenike’s fourth goal of the
tournament.
Mali captain Seydou Keita, one of the
stars of the competition, should have cut the deficit straight after the
interval but somehow guided the ball wide of the target after being
picked out in acres of space by Fousseni Diawara.
The urgency continued from Mali, with Wague looping his header over.
However, the Eagles were prone to being
caught on the break, and when Adama Tamboura lost possession going
forward, Musa put them 4-0 up and out of sight.
Mikel’s disguised through ball to the
substitute forward allowed him to race in on goal and send the ball
between the legs of Samassa. With 20 minutes remaining, Mahamadou
Samassa finally forced a first save of the match from Vincent
Enyeama, although he should have done better with only the goalkeeper to beat from close range.
Mali then pulled one back in the 75th
minute when Cheick Diabate tricked his way down the left and cut back
for replacement Fantamady to bury the ball in the back of the net.
Both players had late chances, which they failed to take as Nigeria booked their ticket in Sunday’s final in Johannesburg.
It is the seventh time the Super Eagles
will compete in the finale of the continental tournament. They have won
the competition twice previously, in 1980 and 1994.
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