CHAN 2014: Super Eagles Rally to Beat Morocco 4-3; Advance to Semi-Finals

The Super Eagles of Nigeria rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat the Atlas Lions of Morocco 4-3 in a stunning display of resilience just as it advanced to the semi-final stage of the African Nations Championship. The Eagles went scoreless in the first half trailing the Lions 0-3. Barely five minutes into the second half, Ugonna Uzochukwu shot a volley past Nadir Lamyaghri of Morocco into the net, thus securing the team’s first goal of the day. Rabiu Ali reduced the deficit to 2-3 when he found the corner of the net before Ejike Uzoenyi evened up the scores, which consequently forced the game into extra time. But for Abubakar Ibrahim that saved the day, the game would have gone on to a penalty shootout; the forward sealed the team’s quest for victory when he sent a shot spinning past Nadir in the seventh minute of the second half of extra time. The Eagles have now advanced to the semi-final stage of the tournament.