DISAPPOINTMENT and disbelief were some of the words angry fans at the Abuja Stadium used to describe the shambolic performance of the Super Eagles 2-2 draw against the Syli Stars of Guinea yesterday.In a game the Eagles needed at least a 1-0 victory to book an automatic place in the 2012 African Nations Cup, the Nigerians failed to take the opportunities that came their way; especially in the first half, and consequently crashed out of the competition, which comes up next year in Gabon/ Equatorial Guinea.To show their disappointment, the fans held the team hostage and demanded for the sack of Coach Samson Siasia and the President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Aminu Maigari. They accused Siasia of high handedness in the manner he handled the Vincent Enyeama issue and noted that he lacked the pedigree to manage the Nigerian team.The irate fans also tried to attack the media tribune at the stadium. Doors were shattered and glass broken. The fans also wanted to gain access to the players and officials. One disappointed group praised the Guinean team as it left the stadium - while others were calling for the head of Siasia. It was, in short, a highly charged atmosphere at the Abuja stadium after the disastrous end to Nigeria chase for a Nations Cup ticket.They also said that Maigari should quit the NFF top job the same way Ibrahim Galadima was forced out after Nigeria failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. One thing is for sure, the game is in turmoil after this latest disappointment.Siasia's might have thought he had a suitable game plan to beat the Guineans but at the end of the encounter, the French tactician in charge of the stars, Mitchel Dussuyer proved to be the better coach and would be heading to next year's Nations Cup while the Eagles would rue this miss for a long time.Siasia inability to qualify the team for the Nations Cup may be his albatross. He may be sacked and the search for a coach for the Eagles will begin again and the debate, as usual, would be whether to hire another journeyman from Europe or stick to a local coach who can do the job better, that is if, there is any.The technical crew, the players and die hard fans of the Nigerian team will still be wondering what went wrong in a game Nigeria dominated the first stanza and came close to scoring three times through Osaze Odemwingie, who was given the license to shoot down the Guinean Stars. The West Brom of England star had other ideas as he missed one chance after another.Other fans were also bitter about the fact that Siasia was busy experimenting under the guise of building a formidable team, which has robbed the country of a ticket to the Nations Cup. The game stated well for the Nigerian team as they piled up pressure on their opponent, who were willing to seat back and attack on the counter.The first half ended goalless and the fans were becoming agitated, wondering if the Eagles would carry the day. They were also afraid that the Guineans could become more confident the longer the game stayed without a goal.At the resumption of the second half, the Guineans came out strong and surprisingly got the opening goal through Ismael Bangura. With that goal, the Super Eagles' chances of making it to the finals was hanging by a thread. To top the group and go through automatically, they needed to score thrice now. The fans immediately turned against Nigeria booing every touch made by the Eagles.The jeers seemed to wake up the team, who equalised shortly after with a screamer from outside the 18-yard box through Obinna Nsofor. It was one down two to go for the Super Eagles, who were now doing everything possible to go ahead. But their cause was made more difficult as the Guinean goalkeeper stayed on the floor with an injury. The Nigerians needed to score two more, so they were visibly annoyed with the time-wasting tactics of the Guinea's shot stopper.After some good display, the Nigerian team took the lead through Ikechukwu Uche who had been very impressive since coming in for the Eagles. At this point, it was eight minutes to go and Nigerian fans were hoping that their darling team would get the third goal and book their place at the Nations Cup. But the Guineans, who took over the midfield after the substitution of Joel Obi, shocked the Nigerians with the second goal in the closing minutes of the game through Ibrahima Traore. With six minutes added on, the Nigerian team still had the opportunity to qualify as one of the best runners up if they got the third goal, but the players failed to get the winner.The Eagles could not muster the courage to get a goal and effectively failed to qualify for the Nations Cup. The angry fans, who had travelled far and wide, were left to wonder what would become of their national team, which also failed to fly at last year's World Cup in South Africa.After this setback, the direction Nigerian football would head for would be seen in the coming days.
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