Guinea Conakry 1-Nigeria( 0)

Guinea sent a lack lustre Nigeria side crashing 1-0 on Sunday evening during their AFCON 2012 qualifying match at the 28 September Stadium in Conakry. The lone goal scored early in the first half ensured that the Guineans now have six points to lead Group B while the Nigerians remain with three points.

The loss capped a week of drama for the Nigerians who were banned earlier in the week by FIFA over issues pertaining to government’s interference in the affairs of the Nigerian Football Federation. After a long and eventful week for Nigerian football, this match away to Guinea finally arrived and the Super Eagles were able to get on with the AFCON Qualifiers. This did not seem like it was going to be possible a few days ago when FIFA suspended the Nigerian Football Federation because of government interference, but the ban was provisionally lifted on Thursday and CAF agreed that the qualifier should go ahead as normal.

Nigeria came into this match off the back of a win against Madagascar, while Guinea got the better of Ethiopia in the previous match, so both had wins under their belts from the first round of fixtures.Home advantage was the key for Guinea on the day, with their fans attempting to destabilize Nigeria. Michael Eneramo missed an opportunity to equalise for the Nigerians eleven minutes to the end of the 1st half. Instead the Esperance striker shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat. It was to be the best chance created by the Super Eagles in the match that saw them missing a trio of their star players.

Chelsea’s John Mikel Obi, Peter Odemwinigie of West Brom and Dickson Etuhu of Fulham had all dropped out due to injuries.Valencia’s Sunny Stephen who made his debut in the green and white partnered Yusuf Ayila in the midfield while Obinna Nsofor and Kalu Uche played on the outside. Obafemi Martins and Eneramo led the attack but could not find the net to get the Nigerians back into the game.The introduction of John Owoeri and Ahmed Musa in the second half brought some life into the Nigerian attack but their resolve could not break down the Guinean defence who played in front of a partisan home crowd that chanted and supported them all through. Obafemi Martins had a shot on goal tipped over the bar by the Guinean goalkeeper as the Nigerians tried in vain to get the score even in the dying minutes.

**Kick-off Africa