The AFCON host nation Ivory Coast suffered defeat to Nigeria, falling on the wrong side of a 1-0 scoreline in the group stage matchday two.
The Super Eagles captain William Ekong scored the spotkick to ensure his side come out with their first victory in the tournament having drawn their first clash against Equatorial Guinea.
Nigeria had a busy spell at the back within the first five minutes with the hosts exerting pressure on them seeking an early goal.
In the 7th minute, Victor Osimhen missed a big chance after he was released by Samuel Chukwueze with a through pass. The Napoli striker managed to get behind the Elephants’ defence but he skied the ball over the bar.
Thereafter, the home side drove forward quickly with a break attack and Stanley Nwabali forced a corner kick, keeping a scoreline goalless.
In the 15th minute, Nwabali denied Evan Ndicka in the box after the left-footer had unleashed a thumping shot from close range.
The Chippa United shot-stopper was called into action to repel Seko Fofana’s rocket shot. The midfielder came close to repeating a thing of beauty he scored in the tournament’s opener against Guinea Bissau but the Nigerian ‘keeper parried the ball away.
The match went to the break with a 0-0 scoreline on the board.
The Super Eagles came back with more aggression keeping the Ivory Coast in their half.
SUPER EAGLES CAPTAIN OPENED THE SCORING THROUGH PENALTY
In the 53rd minute, Nigeria were awarded a penalty after Osimhen was brought down in the box. The nation’s skipper William Ekong stepped up and converted from the spot to put his side ahead.
In the 61st minute, Osimhen had a chance to add the second for Nigeria but failed to head home from a corner kick. It was Jose Peseiro’s side that kept on threatening when attacking as the home side had pressure to get a much-needed leveller.
The introduction of Nicolas Pepe gave the Ivorians some spark offensively as they kept on knocking looking to get back into the game.
In the closing stages, there was action from end-to-end with Ivory Coast searching for an equaliser while Nigeria were looking to exploit space behind. The Nigerians stood firm until the final whistle to secure the maximum points.
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