Overview:
I must begin by making a comment about the Abuja pitch because whether by commission or omission, the Sports Ministry and the NFF have combined to severely handicap the team by the abysmally poor quality of the Abuja turf. For those Nigerian fans who do not understand the value of a good pitch, a poor playing surface affects the bounce and speed of the ball, constrains the movement of a player and his ability to control the ball or execute a pass.
Because Nigeria does not have a history of long ball football, but rather emphasises the passing game, the Nigerian football authorities must understand that they help the opponent when the Super Eagles are made to play on a pitch unsuitable even for cattle to graze! 57 percent of Nigeria's turnover of the ball, including uncompleted passes and poor ball control resulted from the poor pitch. Surely we can do better than the Abuja pitch!
Siasia suprisingly began with a 4-4-2 formation, with the quartet of Chibuzor, Yobo, Ambrose and Taiwo in defence; Joel and Mikel in central midfield, Nsofor and Musa out wide, and Peter Utaka and Anichebe in attack,
The 4-4-2 formation had the effect of giving a young team solidity and a base from which to build chemistry and confidence. The result: a solid start even while accounting for a poor, poor opponent in Ethiopia. It also enabled the team execute a high pressing game, which disrupted an opponent lacking technical skills, and even when the team opted to stay in coverage, the Ethiopians lacked the quality to find a penetrating pass. What is more, the distances between players was closer than we ever saw under the clueless Amodu, which enabled greater fluidity and higher completion rates in the passing game, in turn leading to greater possession, especially higher up the pitch.
Defence:
With little to do, the challenge for the defence was to maintain concentration over ninety minutes. Efe Ambrose was the suprise choice to start alongside Joseph Yobo and twice, his confidence failed him woefully. A better opponent would have profited from this. I suspect he may be more comfortable in left central defence. The spacing between the two center-backs remains suspect, and there were moments of discomfort in dealing with the long ball. The search for a left centerback continues...
Of the two fullbacks, Taiwo on the left appeared to have more freedom to push forward. This was helped significantly by Nsofor's willingness to drift inside and open up space on the left; and by the defensive position of Joel Obi in left central midfield.
On the right, with Musa staying wide, the undefended zone for Chibuzor to attack was often between the Ethiopian left back and left centerback. More on Musa later....
Midfield:
It has to be said that the clear emergence of Joel Obi in left central midfield, alongside Mikel has brought balance back to Nigeria's midfield for the first time in nearly a decade! His tireless movement, ball control and delivery along with Mikel's controlled possession allowed Nigeria to easily dominate possession in midfield or press the opponent the entire game. His lateral movement in the non-possession phase, was a crucial factor in Taiwo's ability to push forward.
Wide Midfield:
The weakness of the team was in wide midfield, especially in the relationship between Nsofor/Musa and the twin strikers on one hand, and with the fullbacks.
Especially on the right, Musa's pace, power and technique proved to be a decisive factor whenever called into play. This is a major asset that requires considerable effort in adapting team tactics to better exploit. In my opinion, the key would be to design play in a manner to consistently isolate him with the full back or force the fullback to turn and defend, as well as position him to attack the diagonal cross-field ball in the zone between the centerback and the left back.
There needs to be greater clarity in the relationship between Musa and Chibuzor to enable them compliment rather than crowd one another. Musa on his part, needs to provide much greater cover on the inside of his fullback.
On the left, Nsofor showed much better tactical awareness in drifting inside of the fullback to create space for Taiwo to overlap. However, his decision making and final delivery remains average. This player continues to be an enigma, especially for one with so much in his toolbox. As I have said in a previous piece, we must make a major effort to recruit Sam John. In the interim, we must look at Victor Moses in this role.
The second major weakness of the midfield was the near complete absence of the late runs into the penalty area from deep by the central midfielders, especially Mikel who was the more advanced of the two. With Ethiopia attempting a high line while executing a tepid offside tactic, this vulnerability was suprisingly not exploited successfully.
Attack:
In attack, the good news is that the team is creating chances in droves. But the serial inability to take the chances must be a concern for Coach Siasia. A major failure here was Anichebe, perhaps as a result of his long lay-off from injury. Perhaps from a lack of familiarity, the relationship between the two strikers was largely no-nexistent. While both took turns to drop into midifeld, none of them was able to exploit the space in front of the defence, as Ike Uche was to demonstrate in dominant fashion.
There is a lack of clarity in the movement of the strikers out wide, and the consequent movement of other players in the attacking phase. The result was a lack of balance in the the attacking third, with several quality deliveries from Taiwo and Musa with no one on the end of it.
The transition game was largely not visible. In fairness, the poor quality of the pitch made this near impossible.
Overall it was good to see Peter Utaka finally get on the scoresheet for the Super Eagles and especially to see Ike Uche make a scoring return from a long layoff...
A great start and morale booster for Siasia and the new Super Eagles project. The key to victory lay in the pressing game and the dominant move-and-pass game from central midfield.
Man of the match: Joel Chukwuma Obi
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