Nigeria's Enyeama Steals The Show Against Argentina
June 13th 2010 01:49
Heinze celebrates his goal
The Albiceleste were the first Cup contenders in action this weekend, facing African underachievers Nigeria at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. Although Argentina dominated the game, they had to settle for only one goal as goalkeeper Enyeama had the game of his life.
Maradona's men had a brilliant start, opening the score in the sixth minute via a header by Heinze on a corner-kick. The defender tasked with picking up Heinze was sleepwalking on the play, leaving a wide open space for the veteran to run through. After that goal, it seemed like the Messi-led squad were on their way to a good old-fashioned thrashing, but goalkeeper Enyema made sure that it didn't happen.
The 28-year-old was magnificent through 90 minutes of play, stopping Messi's beautiful long-range curlers as well as point-blank shots by the Barcelona striker and Higuain. At the other end, the young Romero didn't have much to do but his defense revealed all sorts of flaws that can be easily exploited by stronger teams.
For all their firepower in front, Argentina are quite weak in their own end. They are vulnerable to both crosses from the wings and late runs by opposing midfielders. As a matter of fact, if it wasn't for Enyema's composure and Nigeria's lack of finishing, we could have had a classic barnburner in our hands. The final 30 minutes were especially enthralling as the game suddenly became end-to-end with great scoring opportunities at both ends.
In the end, for a team keen on winning the Cup, Argentina have a fair share of problems they must fix before getting to the knock-out stages. Their defense isn't too reassuring and in front Higuain is slowly confirming his reputation as a floater during big games. Korea will put up a much better fight than the Africans; there we will see how Argentina responds to adversity.
My man of the match: Vincent Enyema
| 105 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
