Eagles 3-1 Venezuela

Nigeria recorded a morale-boosting
3-1 victory over Venezuela in a friendly
on Thursday morning at the Marlins
Park in Miami.
The Super Eagles owed their second
victory over the South Americans to
an improved second half performance
after Venezuela created the better
chances in the first half.
The top performer for the Eagles in
this AFCON warm-up was goalkeeper
and skipper Austin Ejide, who pulled
off several top-class saves especially in
the first half when Nigeria were mostly
on the back foot.
Nigeria took the lead in the 49th
minute, when Dynamo Kiev striker
Brown Ideye side footed a low cross
from the right by debutant Solomon
Kwambe after some good work by
Nosa Igiebor.
Igiebor doubled the Eagles lead three
minutes later when he thundered
home a 40-yard effort beyond
Venezuela goalkeeper Daniel
Hernandez.
The South Americans thought they
had pulled a goal back in the 55th
minute through Salomon Rondon
after he was set up by influential
skipper Juan Arango, but it was
eventually disallowed for a deliberate
hand ball by the Rubin Kazan striker.
However, La Vinotinto reduced the
deficit in the 70th minute courtesy of
substitute Frank Feltscher after he was
released by Arango.
Venezuela went forward for an
equaliser and so allowed Nigeria to
catch them on the counter when
substitute Shola Ameobi, making his
long-awaited Eagles debut, held up
the play inside the opponents’ goal
area before he found hard working
Ogenyi Onazi to make hay for
Nigeria’s third goal in stoppage time.
It was a fitting finish for the energetic
Lazio youngster in only his second
game for Nigeria.
In the first 15 minutes of this clash,
Venezuela pressed for the opening
goal to the delight of the
predominantly Latin American fans at
the stadium.
They even had a goal by skipper
Arango disallowed for offside as Ejide
smartly came out to gather the ball
inside his area after just six minutes
and then in the 36th minute he again
bravely saved off the feet of striker
Rondon.
Nigeria also threatened, but mostly
they tried to survive the Venezuela
onslaught as their defence was
bombarded time and again.