Nigeria 2-0 Chad: Keshi's second coming celebrated with three points

The Super Eagles got their 2017 Africa Cup of Nations campaign off to a winning start in Kaduna

Goals from Gbolahan Salami and Odion Ighalo ensured Nigeria began their Africa Cup of Nations 2017 qualifying campaign in winning fashion with a victory over Chad .

After a lethargic, uninspired first half, the Super Eagles improved after the break and took the lead on 69 minutes when Salami finished well after an excellent assist from substitute Ighalo.

The Watford man, who was promoted to the Premier League this season, confirmed the victory with a penalty on 80 minutes after being brought down in the box.

Stephen Keshi’s side played out the final ten minutes with ten men following a red card for Ogenyi Onazi during the pre-penalty melee, but the visitors' man advantage wasn’t enough for Chad to stage an unlikely late comeback.

The match marked Stephen Keshi’s return to the national team top job after being re-appointed by Amaju Pinnick and the Nigeria Football Federation.

The Big Boss opted to include several new faces in his first starting XI back in the hotseat, and understandably, Nigeria were disjointed and lacked cohesion during the opening 45 minutes.

The terrible pitch in Kaduna hardly helped, and the Super Eagles struggled to retain possession in the face of an uneven surface and well-organised Chadian pressure.

Ahmed Musa and Salami both took the opportunity to demonstrate their dribbling ability with the ball at their feet early on, but both—the former in particular—was guilty of poor delivery.

Chad also had their chances, and could have taken the lead on 17 minutes, when Marius Mbaiam's shot flew wide of Vincent Enyeama's post.

Michael Babatunde—returning to the starting lineup for the first time since the World Cup defeat to Argentina last summer—struggled to get a handle on the game from the heart of the park. The midfielder worked tirelessly, but failed to demonstrate the creativity that the Super Eagles were looking for.

After the break—doubtless following some terse words from Keshi—Nigeria began to impose themselves.

Kingsley Madu, one of the debutants, began to show his quality in possession, while his counterpart in the right-back berth, Leon Balogun, was similarly confident with the ball at feet.

It took two changes to break the deadlock, however, with Ibrahim Rabiu replacing Babatunde, and Ighalo coming on for the injured Aaron Samuel.

It was the latter who made the telling contribution, first setting-up Salami for the opener-a powerfully struck shot into the roof of the net-before firing home himself from the spot after winning the penalty.

Onazi’s late red was an unfortunate footnote, with the Lazio midfielder dismissed after shoving a Chad defender in a momentary lapse of discipline.

While the victory ensured that Nigeria got their Group G campaign off to a winning start, Keshi’s return to the side—and the indifferent performance of his chosen team—failed to truly erase memories of the disastrous 2015 qualifying campaign.

There is still much work to be done, both for the Super Eagles to secure a spot in Gabon, and for the Big Boss to mend his tarnished reputation.

BREAKING! Nigerian Player Dies In Malaysia

Nigerian defender David Faramola Oniya died on Saturday after collapsing on the pitch during a friendly match between his Malaysian club T-Team and Kelantan. He was 30.

Local media said the T-Team skipper collapsed three minutes into the match in Kota Bharu and was taken to hospital.

T-Team CEO Syahrizan Mohd Zain said Oniya did not receive medical treatment quick enough.

"He suffered a heart attack but it could have been a different story had the ambulance driver been alert," he told the New Straits Times.

"The driver was at the stands watching the game when Oniya suddenly collapsed and our defender was deprived of oxygen for several minutes."

Syahrizan said the match was called off after 60 minutes after they were informed by the hospital Oniya had died.

"He was pronounced dead at the hospital about 30 minutes later," he told the Star newspaper.

Oniya had only just joined the Malaysian club this season after spells in Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan.

Ronaldo, Lewandowski Hit Hat-Tricks

Yet another Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick propelled Portugal to a crucial 3-2 win in Armenia in Euro 2016 qualifying on Saturday while Poland's Robert Lewandowski hit one of the quickest triples in the competition's history.

Andre Schuerrle also bagged a hat-trick in Germany's 7-0 thrashing of Gibraltar but former European champions Greece's embarrassing campaign continued as they were beaten 2-1 in the Faroe Islands.

Real Madrid superstar Ronaldo scored his third hat-trick in his last three games for club and country as Portugal held on with 10 men for the final half-hour in Yerevan to claim a crucial win in Group I.

Brazilian-born Marcos Pizzelli gave Armenia the lead but Ronaldo equalised from the penalty spot before adding two more in the space of four second-half minutes.

Fernando Santos' side then had Tiago Mendes, the Atletico Madrid midfielder, sent off and were left to hang on after Hrayr Mkoyan pulled a goal back for the hosts.

Portugal have now won four games in a row since starting their campaign with a 1-0 home defeat to Albania and they top Group I by two points from Denmark, who beat Serbia 2-0 in Copenhagen thanks to a goal in each half from Yussuf Poulsen and Jakob Poulsen.

Poland remain top of Group D ahead of World Cup holders Germany after Lewandowski's late hat-trick sealed a 4-0 win against Georgia in Warsaw.

Arkadiusz Milik put the Poles in front before captain Lewandowski doubled their lead in the 89th minute.

The Bayern Munich striker added another in the 92nd minute and completed a remarkable treble in the third minute of stoppage time to secure a handsome win.

It is the second-fastest hat-trick in the history of European Championship qualifying, bettered only by Arif Erdem, who scored three in three minutes for Turkey against Northern Ireland in the qualifying campaign for Euro 2000.

Poland are a point clear of Germany, who won 7-0 against minnows Gibraltar in Faro, southern Portugal, despite Bastian Schweinsteiger having an early penalty saved.

Schuerrle set them on their way and six more goals followed in the second half, including two more from the Wolfsburg forward, a brace from Max Kruse and one each for Ilkay Gundogan and Karim Bellarabi.

Scotland deny Ireland

Scotland remain third, two points better off than the Republic of Ireland, after coming from behind to draw 1-1 in Dublin, Shaun Maloney's shot deflecting in off home skipper John O'Shea to cancel out Jon Walters' opener for Ireland.

The prospect of seeing all four British sides qualify together for a major tournament for the first time since the 1958 World Cup remains a very real one, with Northern Ireland still second in Group F after a 0-0 draw at home to leaders Romania at Windsor Park.

Michael O'Neill's side are a point behind the Romanians and two better off than third-placed Hungary, who boosted their own chances by winning 1-0 in Finland thanks to a late goal by Zoltan Stieber of Hamburg.

However, Greece's disastrous campaign continued as they were beaten 2-1 by traditional minnows the Faroe Islands in Torshavn.

A goal in each half from Hallur Hansson and Brandur Olsen secured a famous win for the hosts, with Sokratis Papastathopoulos of Borussia Dortmund getting one back in vain for Greece.

It is the second time the Euro 2004 winners have lost to the Faroes in this campaign – coach Claudio Ranieri was sacked after a 1-0 loss at home in November.

There has been no improvement yet under his Uruguayan successor Sergio Markarian, and Greece are rock bottom of the group with just two points from six games.