Vogts deplumes Super Eagles

After sending Nigeria packing, the hosts' party started early and looks unlikely to stop
Paul Doyle
February 3, 2008 9:38 PM

Berti Vogts came close to concocting a winning formula and Nigeria came close to pooping their biggest rivals' party. But, in the end, Vogts's plan unravelled just as it seemed certain to succeed and the Super Eagles fly home knowing they could have evicted their hosts.

Vogts began with a 4-3-2-1 formation that blunted the Black Stars. The midfield trio marshalled by Obi John Mikel left Michael Essien and Anthony Annan chasing air. Further forward, the zest and dazzle of Ikechukwu Uche and, in particular, Peter Odemwingie tormented a Ghanaian defence made to seem stodgy and Ayegbeni Yakubu offered a powerful and intelligent pivot.

With their defence comfortably containing the maladroit Junior Agogo and Asamoah Gyan, the Super Eagles were superior in every sector of the game, by far the more fluid side. The absence of Stephen Appiah was achingly apparent and Ghana's only real threat in the early stages was Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, whose jinks and jiggles befuddled the full-backs - but too frequently his team-mates found his passing just as difficult to read.

Essien was having a stinker. When he could get on the ball his touch was treacherous and his distribution wayward. In what looked like being a reversal of last year's friendly in Brentford - when Essien lorded it over Mikel and the Black Stars battered Nigeria 4-1 - Mikel was clearly on top of the battle of the Chelsea team-mates.

For all his class, however, Mikel lack assertiveness (though not aggression). In a spellbinding bout of possession just before the half-hour mark, he orchestrated a sequence of flicks and one-touch passes that Ghana simply didn't look capable of - however, the move lacked purpose: keeping possession is all very well but Mikel seemed too satisfied with that, not bold enough to drive towards a target.

Fittingly, it was immediately after that spell of snappy but aimless passing that Essien sprung into action - as if riled by Mikel's delicate dithering, he seized the ball in his own half and simply stormed towards the Nigerian box before teeing up Gyan. The striker took the ball in his stride and smashed it against the outside of the post.

Moments later Agogo would have opened the scoring but botched his first touch. Nonetheless, when Nigeria found the net three mintues later, their lead was deserved. The Algerian referee could already have awarded Nigeria a penalty and several dangerous free-kicks but instead constantly penalised Odemwingie rather than the home defence he was bamboozling. When John Mensah wrestled him to the ground in the 31st minute, it was a Ghanaian foul too far. After Yakubu converted the penalty, Ghana seemed to be on their way out. Indeed, the shot that Essien pumped yards wide two mintues later looked not so much like the harbinger of a revival but the symptom of a dearth of better ideas

You don't often see referees allocate three minutes of additional time at the end of the first half (though they frequently should) but that's what Mohamed Benouza did and Ghana were soon to be grateful. Because at a time when most officials would have already signalled a break, Sulley Muntari swung a cross into the centre and Essien, surging between the centre-backs, planted a header in off the post. The Ohane Djan Stadium bounced throughout the interval as the Black Stars' fans exulted. But after the resumption it quickly became clear that Nigeria were still the more coherent unit. Ghana suffered from awkward spaces between their various components and looked like they were trying to advance by missing out a step.

On the hour mark, Nigeria tore through Ghana's middle and Odemwingie, collecting a clever through-ball, cut in front of Mensah. Ghana's captain chopped the Nigerian down and deservedly saw red. From the resultant free-kick Taye Taiwo unleashed a trademark thunderbolt and Richard Kingson saved superbly.

It was then that Vogts's limitations came to the fore. With Ghana down to 10 men and Essien drafted into defence, the circumstances were changed utterly - but Vogts neglected to react accordingly. Afterwards he said he instructed his players simply "to attack, to keep on going". That wooliness failed to address the fact that the expulsion compelled Ghana to find extra steel.
"After the red card we went into a huddle and said 'we now have big responsibilities to our country'," explained Muntari. "We told each other to make sure we were big enough to handle them."

The Ghanaian players' resolve, perhaps epitomised most by Agogo, who, though now alone up front, suddenly transformed himself into a rampaging menace, was matched by that of their manager. Claude Leroy's changes were audacious. And effective.

Gyan was withdrawn and Laryea Kingston introduced in the middle, where he contributed creativity. Quincy was replaced by Haminu Dramani, whose entrance was greeted with suspicion by the crowd. The winger's first touch gave an indication why - after mis-controlling the ball he ran to retrieve it but instead headed it straight out of play.

His second touch, however, ignited the fans and his team-mates. Showing the directness Quincy so often spurned, he simply skinned Obinna Nwaneri and fired the ball into the middle, only for brave blocks by Yobo and Danny Shittu to keep Ghana at bay.

Ghana kept coming and Vogts still did nothing. On 81 minutes Dramani again drove towards the box and this time fed Muntari, whose shot-cum-cross was hammered into the net by Agogo.

Now, at least, Vogts reacted. But his switch to a desperate 4-2-4 simply ensured Ghana maintained their newfound dominion in the middle. The Black Stars were so sure Nigeria hand been neutered that Kingston and Hansu Adu Sarpei decided to entertain the crowd by each juggling the ball before flipping it provocatively over Taiwo's head. The ball then came to Muntari on the far side and he got into the spirit of things by nutmegging Obinna. Three mintues to go and the Ghanaian party had begun. By the look and sound of things around Accra now, it's not going to stop any time soon.

Sauce: Guardian Sports

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....Perception Is Everything....

Pa

I wonder what all these rumbling is about, folks seem to forget this is the 60th encounter b/n the Super Eagles and the Black Stars both at the competitive and friendly levels of football, the better of which the Stars have enjoyed. Through it all, Ghana has won 24 times and lost 16 times to Nigeria, both sides have drawn 16 times, with Ghana scoring 98 times against Nigeria and conceding 62 goals from the latter. [U]"I'm yet to add Sunday's match to it"[/u] This shows that the Stars are not as week as u think bro. The boys did a good job and I say kudos to them.

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CHERISH YOUR VISIONS AND YOUR DREAMS AS THEY ARE THE CHILDREN OF YOUR SOUL; THE BLUEPRINTS OF YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS

..I laff...75% of those Ghana 'wins' came when dem no dey even wear boots to play soccer sef.Many of those matches were played between 1950 and 1980.Nigeria actually hardly participated in whatever the Nations Cup was called back then...I believe we officially started participating in the mid 1970's,and within a few years won it in 1980.Ghana won it in 1982.Since 1980,which can be noted as the modern era of football,Nigeria has beaten Ghana more times in COMPETITIVE FOOTBALL,in all grade and gender levels.
What pisses Nigerians off really is the fact that,just like anything else Nigerian,we shoot ourselves in the foot.Like a crooked politician forcing his way to the top,only God knows why we ended up with this coach.I'm not making excuses because Ghana deserved to win under those circumstances(Berti Vogts was outcoached) but as an objective football follower,I look @ the details and what happened.This is what football pundits do.There are times when Nigeria have won and I haven't been happy with the win because we played ugly.So..I dont just say "Oh yeah..we won...case closed".For instance,if I were Ghanaian,I'd be worried because Nigeria exposed your defence yesterday,bad touches and a hapless coach who didn't know when to bring in other strikers cost us the match.Samuel Eto'O or Drogba will not miss the sort of chances we missed yesterday...but again..congratulations......
Pa

__________________
....Perception Is Everything....

Pa

....btw...U call it rambling...but...if we don't look @ what went wrong....how we go fix am?I should expect the coach to be fired if the NFA knows what's good...
Pa

__________________
....Perception Is Everything....

Pa