Nigeria beat Australia 5-1, sound warning to all

Nigeria were in devastating form as they rolled over Australia 5-1 on Sunday
23 September to qualify for the semi-finals of the FIFA U-17 World
Championship Trinidad & Tobago 2001 presented by JVC.
A capacity crowd in the Dwight Yorke Stadium in Bacolet, Tobago witnessed
Femi Opabunmi grab a hat-trick for his side, while Suleiman Mohammed and
Omonigho Temile scored the other two. Matthew Engele pulled a consolation
goal back for the Australians late in the match.

Nigerian coach Musa Abdullahi was forced into one change from the team that
started all three group matches. Injured star forward Karimu Shaibu, who
scored a goal a game heading into the match against the Australians, started
on the bench after the technical squad decided they did not want to risk
playing him. Soga Sambo started in his place.

The change seemed not to make much difference in the way the West Africans
played, as they pushed forward from the opening whistle. Australia seemed
content to soak up the intense pressure.

In the 11th minute a long-range effort from Joseph Eyimofe went just wide. A
short while later, Australian goalkeeper Nathan Coe did well to parry a
Richard Eromoigbe shot from well outside the area.

Coe pulled off a spectacular save on 18 minutes after Austine Nnamdi turned
his marker inside-out and unleashed a powerful drive from inside the area.

But although the Nigerians dominated most of the early play, Australia
looked dangerous on the break, often outnumbering the Nigerian defenders.

The West Africans broke the deadlock midway through the first half after
referee Kristinn Jakobsson judged Matthew Hunter to have brought down Temile
in the area.  Opabunmi calmly slotted the opener home.

On the half hour, Nigerian goalkeeper Akpan Bassey was called upon to make a
magnificent save after Australian captain Carl Valeri blasted a shot from
the edge of the area.

In the second half the Nigerians showed why they are one of the tournament
favourites, as they impressed their fans with a scintillating attacking
display.

Substitute Victor Brown, who came on for Nnamdi, created the second goal for
his side in the 69th minute when he penetrated the area. He seemed to have
lost the ball, but somehow managed to push it back to Opabunmi, who side
footed it past Coe.

Opabunmi got his hat-trick ten minutes later, when he headed a cross from
Eyimofe into the goal from point-blank range. The Nigerians scored a fourth
two minutes later through captain Suleiman Mohammed, who blasted a long
range shot into the roof of the net. Temile added a fifth in the 85th
minute, nearly bursting the back of the net with a thunderous volley.

Australia grabbed a late consolation goal through substitute Matthew Engele.

Australian coach Ange Postecoglou said that he felt his side managed to
contain the Nigerians for most of the match. "It was only in the last 15
minutes that they had the better of us."

Musa Abdullahi of Nigeria criticised his side for not finishing chances
earlier in the match. "We need to use those chances that we have early in
the game," he said.

JVC Best player of the match as selected by FIFA was Femi Opabunmi of
Nigeria.

Nigeria will now meet the winner of Monday's match between Burkina Faso and
Costa Rica in Thursday's semi-final in the Larry Gomes Stadium in Malabar.

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