U23 AFCON Qualifier: Nigeria See Red As Olympic Eagles Fail to Defeat Guinea in Abuja

• Nigeria's U23 team failed to deliver when it mattered most as they were held to a goalless draw in Abuja
• The Olympic Eagles played poorly in the face of their Guinean counterparts who proved a constant threat
• Defender Christopher Nwaeze was sent off in the closing stages after he was shown a second yellow

Nigeria's Olympic Eagles failed to fly past the Junior Syli of Guinea, in a relatively poor game at the scanty Moshood Abiola Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Both teams matched each other in all departments in the first half of the encounter, with the visitors also making some threatening moves.

Captain of the Nigerian side, Success Makanjuola came close in the closing stages of the first 45 minutes but his effort was tipped over by the Syli goalkeeper.

The home team began the second half of the encounter on a more desperate note, blazing forward from the first blast of the whistle.

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Following a tactical change from the coaches, the Dream Team were able to restrict their opponent's fluidity in midfield as they pushed for the opening goal of the encounter.

Makanjuola again produced Nigeria's first shot on target following the restart, while Ifeanyi Ogba also missed a good chance to give the home team the lead in front of an excited crowd.

It then went from bad to worse as the hosts were reduced to 10 men after defender, Christopher Nwaeze was shown a second yellow card.

With this disadvantage, Nigeria could not break the deadlock and the game ended in a goalless draw, with the crucial return leg to be played in Morocco in four days' time.

Nigerian star nominated for award

In related news, Sports Brief reported on Nigerian striker, Gift Orban being nominated for the UEFA Europa Conference League Player and Goal of the Week awards.

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The nomination followed his recent performance for KAA Gent on March 15. He made headlines after netting three goals for the Belgians in their recent ECL win.

In the game against Istanbul Basaksehir, which Gent won 4-1, Orban put on a match-winning performance and was therefore nominated for both of the awards.