The Cranes of Uganda on Tuesday forced the Super Eagles of Nigeria to a goalless draw in an international friendly football match at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba.
The game, watched by several thousands of Nigerian football fans, saw the stadium over-stretched as fans scrambled for viewing space.
The first half of the encounter saw the Super Eagles dictating the pace of the game with brilliant ball possessive and control.
However, the game went more physical with three Ugandans being booked players by referee Louis Hougnande from Benin Republic within a space of 20 minutes for rough tackles.
The Eagles had four clear goal scoring chances but wasted the opportunities, while the Ugandans also wasted two glaring chances to score.
The second half saw the Ugandans launching persistent attacks on the Eagles, as the Nigerian defence line, led by William Trost-Ekong and Brian Idowu, had a hectic task curtailing the Ugandan attackers.
Coach Gernot Rorh made six changes in a bid to strengthen the Eagles attack, bringing in Moses Simon in place of Ahmed Musa and Kelechi Iheanacho in place of Alex Iwobi.
Samuel Chukwueze and Victor Osimeh were also introduced into the game in the dying minutes of the second half.
Towards the end of the second half, the Ugandans launched spirited attacks but failed to take hold of the game with them.
On the sidelines of the Nigeria-Uganda encounter was an entertaining match between Nigerian ex-internationals and a Delta All-Stars team put together by the state government.
The Nigerian Legends, coached by Henry Nwosu, had the likes of Mutiu Adepoju, Edema Fuludu, Friday Ekpo, Bright Omokaro, Ifeanyi Udeze and Mobi Oparaku.
A surprise inclusion in this match was that of Amaju Pinnick, the President of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), who was not an ex-international.
The ex-internationals defeated the Delta All-Stars team, through two goals by Adepoju, who brought back memories of his playing days with a brilliant trademark header. (NAN)
