Okocha's Nigeria thump Zimbabwe

Okocha's Nigeria thump Zimbabwe

OKOCHA: Got cheers from the Zimbabwean crowd

• Fans disrupt Warriors' training

• Ndlovu taunts Nigerians

• Warriors hit by match fixing claims

• Nengomasha, Nyazika named in cheating scam

• EXPOSED: Footy cheating scandal

• Gumbo given 6 months

• Ndlovu hat-trick sparks riots Swaziland

• Hands off Rahman Gumbo!

• Zimbabwe in draw with Algeria

• Come on Zimbabwe!

• Gumbo guides Warriors to 1-1 draw in Gabon

• Marimo quits Warriors

• Sono tipped for Warriors

By Mthulisi Mathuthu

Zimbabwe.....0
Nigeria..........3
NIGERIA toyed with Zimbabwe in the World Cup showdown in Harare on Sunday, before dispatching the Warriors with three clinical strikes.

The fine display by the Nigerian Super Eagles all but ended Zimbabwe's hopes of qualification for the finals to be held in Germany in 2006.

The Warriors -- a hotchpotch of ordinary players plying their trade in peripheral leagues
around the globe proved to be a gigantic national yawn and a pathetic lot before the might of the Super Eagles led by captain Austin Jay-Jay Okocha.

Such was the Nigerians' dominance and presence in this match that the home crowd ended up cheering Jay Jay Okocha's trickery with the ball. After all they say if you can't beat them, join them!

Nigeria took an early lead when skipper Peter Ndlovu needlessly gave away possession three minutes into the match, allowing the Nigerians to break with Julius Aghahowa who outpaced left back Harlington Shereni, then swept the ball past a drawn-out Tapuwa Kapini with a low strike.

With the Zimbabwean defence shaky and the midfield outshone by Bolton Wanderers star, Okocha, moments of anguish were to come later. Both Tinashe Nengomasha and Esrom Nyandoro were occasionally forced to drop back to complement the miserable defence of Shereni, Dumisani Mpofu and Bekithemba Ndlovu leaving Okocha and company enough room to launch wave after wave of assaults on the Zimbabwe goal.

The Nigerians then raced to a 2-0 lead five minutes before the half hour as Joseph Enakarhire rose the highest to stab home a header which Warriors defenders desperately tried to clear off the line.

Zimbabwe's problem got worse five minutes later when skipper Ndlovu was pulled out for Shingi Kawondera after taking a tumble.

The 45 000 capacity crowd had been shocked into silence by the Nigerians whose defence was not really tested until the dying minutes of the game when Benjani Mwaruwari struck the cross bar.

Any lingering hopes of a Warriors come-back were perished just four minutes after the restart when the Super Eagles were awarded a penalty after Okocha was pulled to the floor by Tinashe Nengomasha.

Portsmouth livewire Yakubu Ayegbeni stepped up and fired into the top right-hand corner.

At the back, the Nigerians were impenetrable, their midfield a hub of athletic defiance and their strikers irresistible. Zimbabwe were being battered in all corners of the field, and for the rest of the match the Warriors defended to keep some respectability about the scoreline.

Simply, the Warriors were out-fought and out-thought by a superior and more talented side.

ZIMBABWE: Kapini, B Ndlovu, D Mpofu, H Shereni (C Yohane), G Mbwando, E Nyandoro, E Kasinauyo (R Sibanda), T Nengomasha, B Mwaruwari, P Ndlovu (S Kawomndera), J Luphahla

CURRENT GROUP FOUR LOG STANDINGS (Results for Angola v Rwanda, Algeria v Gabon not included as matches kick off late)
[The draw also acts as qualifying for the 2006 African Nations Cup.
The winner of each group will compete in the 2006 World Cup, while the top three in each group qualify for the 2006 Nations Cup]

	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	PTS
Nigeria	4	3	0	1	6	1	9
Angola	3	1	2	0	3	2	5
Zimbabwe	4	1	2	1	4	5	5
Rwanda	3	1	0	2	3	5	3
Algeria	3	0	2	1	1	2	2
Gabon	3	0	2	1	4	6	2

Results & Remaining Fixtures
2004
June 5: Nigeria 2-0 Rwanda; Gabon 1-1 Zimbabwe; Algeria 0-0 Angola

June 19: Rwanda 3-1 Gabon

June 20: Zimbabwe 1-1 Algeria; Angola 1-0 Nigeria

July 3: Nigeria 1-0 Algeria; Gabon 2-2 Angola; Rwanda 0-2 Zimbabwe

September 5: Zimbabwe 0-3 Nigeria; Angola v Rwanda, Algeria v Gabon

October 9: Gabon v Nigeria
October 10: Rwanda v Algeria; Angola v Zimbabwe

2005

March 25: Algeria v Rwanda
March 26: Nigeria v Gabon
March 27: Zimbabwe v Angola

June 5: Zimbabwe v Gabon; Angola v Algeria; Rwanda v Nigeria

June 17: Algeria v Zimbabwe
June 18: Nigeria v Angola; Gabon v Rwanda

September 2: Algeria v Nigeria
September 4: Zimbabwe v Rwanda; Angola v Gabon

October 8: Nigeria v Zimbabwe; Gabon v Algeria
October 9: Rwanda v Angola
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