by Olorunwa Lawal

Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets on Saturday at the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar, defeated Gabon 5-0 to qualify for the 2015 Confederation of African Football (CAF) U-17 Championship holding in Niger Republic.

The match was the second leg qualifying match, as Nigeria lost 1-2 in the first leg played in Libreville a fortnight ago.

The team thus qualified on 6-2 aggregate score line.

Captain Kelechi Nwakali put the Eaglets ahead in the 20th minute through a spot kick after the Gabonese goalkeeper, William Alin, brought down Kingsley Dogo in the 18 yard box.

The goal spurred the Eaglets to action, and this resulted in the second and third goals by Ebere Osinachi in the 35th and 43rd minutes respectively.

The Gabonese came out stronger in the second half putting pressure on the Eaglets but poor finishing robbed them of goals.

Kehinde Ayinde sealed the hope of the Gabonese through a brace in the 65th and 75th minutes to make it a historic 5-0 win for the reigning world champions.

After the match, Coach Emmanuel Amuneke said that the team would proceed on a short break before the tournament proper in Niger Republic.

YEditor