Nigeria 2-1 Ghana: Dessers and Lookman return with a bang as Super Eagles down Black Stars

Goals from Ademola Lookman and Cyriel Dessers sealed a 2-1 for the Super Eagles of Nigeria in their friendly game against Ghana at Stade de Marrakech on Friday, Soccernet.ng reports.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria filed out for their first game since their 2-1 loss to Cote d’Ivoire in the final of the 2023 Africa Cup. Both teams were missing some of their stars going into the fixture, with Nigeria missing Victor Osimhen, Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi. At the same time, Mohammed Kudus, and Thomas Partey were not included in the squad.

Both sides had new coaches going into the fixture, with Finidi George taking charge of the Super Eagles on interim basis following the exit of Jose Peseiro, while Otto Addo just got the Ghanaian job after Chris Hughton was sacked after their poor performance at the AFCON.

Finidi stuck to the formation Peseiro used at the AFCON, albeit with different players.

The Super Eagles dominated the fixture from the start, with Iheanacho showing his ability on the ball. However, they failed to score until the 36th minute, when a Ghanaian defender handled Iheanacho’s shot from outside the box. Rangers star Cyriel Dessers was on hand to calmly dispatch to make it 1-0 after 38 minutes.

After conceding, the Ghanaians pushed for the equalizer, but the Super Eagles held on strongly to their lead.

The Super Eagles entered the second half more vitalized, and they were given an extra advantage in the 56th minute, when Jerome Opoku was sent off.

In the 72nd minute, Finidi introduced Raphael Onyedika, Moses Simon, and Ademola Lookman. That decision yielded fruits minutes later, as the team showed team work, breaking down the Ghanaian backline with some nice passes. It eventually resulted in a goal for Lookman in the 84th minute.

It looked like it was going to end in a 2-0 win for Nigeria, but they conceded a late penalty, which Jordan Ayew calmly slotted in to ensure that it ended 2-1 in Nigeria’s favour.