By Toby Prince
Nigeria beat fierce rivals Cameroon 3-0 on Sunday in Brussels, Belgium in a much improved display from the loss to DR Congo.
After the shambolic showing against DRC on Thursday, the Super Eagles raised their game against the Indomitable Lions and ease pressure on coach Sunday Oliseh after his major falling out with goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama.
Second-half goals from the impressive Moses Simon and substitute Odion Ighalo put the result beyond doubt following Efe Ambrose’s opener before the interval.
Any hopes of a Cameroon comeback were all but ended a minute into the second half when captain Stephane Mbia received his marching orders for a second bookable offence.
Nigeria capitalised on their numerical advantage through Simon’s strike, Ighalo rounding off the triumph in the 89th minute with a close-range header after Cameroon forward Vincent Aboubakar had a goal disallowed.
The loss was just the second of 2015 for Volker Finke’s Cameroon, while the victory provides a timely morale boost for Nigeria ahead of their AFCON qualifier against Burkina Faso next weekend.
Determined to make amends for their 2-0 defeat to DR Congo last time out, Oliseh’s side came out strong this time round, with Cameroon goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa on form to deny both Sylvester Igboun and Emmanuel Emenike.
But Nigeria made their dominance count shortly before half-time, Ambrose – who had gone close to scoring an own goal at the other end with an over-hit back pass a few moments earlier – heading home from John Obi Mikel’s free-kick.
Thing got worse for Cameroon a minute into the second half, Mbia picking up his second yellow card after diving in on Igboun.
Nigeria duly extended their lead on the hour mark, Simon slaloming through Cameroon’s defence before lashing a finish into the bottom-right corner.
Aboubakar thought he had pulled Cameroon back into contention with 15 minutes remaining, but his strike was ruled out for offside.
It mattered little, however, with Watford forward Ighalo coming off the bench to nod in a third late on.
