Nigeria lifted the Unity Cup in West London on Saturday, beating Jamaica 5-4 on penalties after an exciting 90 minutes which saw four goals.
Although Jamaica easily boasted the largest number of ers on the evening at Brentford‘s Gtech Community Stadium, it was Nigeria who took control of the game when Moses Simon beat the ‘keeper to a long ball and slotted home inside 10 minutes.
Jamaica were quick to respond to their opponents taking an early lead, however, as a Renaldo Cephas surged down the left wing to play in Jonathon Russel who calmly slotted it into the bottom right corner two minutes later.
As Russel cupped his hands to his ears, it was clear the Reggae Boyz were back in the game.
Nigeria’s Cyriel Dessers set up their next attack in the 22nd minute, maneuvering around a four-man Jamaican defensive line shoot straight at the keeper, whose fumble was leapt onto by the waiting Samuel Chukwueze. However, stopper Davis managed to hold on.
Just when the Super Eagles were looking the more dangerous of the two sides, Jamaica responded quickly on the counter and the Gtech erupted when Rumarn Burrell was brought down by Nigeria’s Samuel Chukwueze in the box, although referee Stuart Atwell kept his cards in his pocket.
Both sides were amped up from the booming noise inside the stadium, resulting in battles played out in the midfield, though Atwell was happy to let the game flow.
The scuffles did not go unpunished for much longer, though, as Jamaican goalscorer Russel was warned for a heavy challenge in the 37th minute, and saw yellow less than 60 second later for a shove on Nigerian captain Wilfred Ndidi.
Tensions continued to build in first-half added time, with Nigeria awarded a free kick after a foul by Kasey Palmer, although they failed to capitalise as the opening 45 minutes ended 1-1.
Both teams looked more settled after the break, beginning to work through the midfield, but Nigeria found their rhythm fasest.
They retook the lead when Nathan Tella played on Samuel Chuckwueze, who side-stepped around Cephas to fire it into the bottom right corner in the 53rd minute.
The cheers echoed across Brentford as Nigerian fans were bolstered once more by their one-goal lead, while the amplified emotions of the players led to another tussle on field, leading to Nigerian keeper Stanley Nwabali being shown a yellow card.
It wouldn’t be long before the Nigeria stopper was beatem for a second time either, as Cephas whipped in a cross which landed for Russel to fire home his second of the game and bring Jamaica level at 2-2.
Having dropped their lead for a second time, Nigeria piled on the pressure for the remaining 20 minutes of the game.
In contrast to the end-to-end play before the break, Jamaica struggled to work into Nigeria’s half, although Cephas forced keeper Davis to meet him off his line just short of 70 minutes.
At the other end of the pitch, substitute Tolu Arokodare saw three opportunities in the box sail over the crossbar.
Nigeria continued to work relentlessly, carried in part by the efforts of AC Milan’s Chuckwueze as he caused Jamaica problems down to the right wing.
As the clock ticked down, Chuckwueze later went for goal himself despite the raised arms of his team-mates, with the long-range effort pushed past the left post by Davis.
Three minutes of added time came and went as Warner Brown lobbed the ball forward which was calmly collected by the Nigerian defence as the full-time whistle blew.
With the match going straight to penalties, Richard Kings and Isaac Hayden both coolly converted from the spot for Jamaica, while Kelechi Iheanacho, Moses Simon and Tolu Arokodare found the net for Nigeria.
Yet Dwayne Atkinson hit the crossbar for the Reggae Boyz, leaving Christantus Uche to fire home the winning penalty for Nigeria.
Celebrations rang out across the Gtech for the Super Eagles, boosted by a pitchside performance from Nigerian star D’Banj.
It felt a tad harsh on the Jamaican side having to stand through D’Banj hits medley and a DJ set pre-trophy ceremony.
Although Nigeria were the favorites heading into the game, the Reggae Boyz certainly held their own to take the final to a penalty shoot out.
As Nigeria hoisted the Unity Cup, the stadium announcers calls for another tournament next year were met with loud cheers from the crowd in Brentford, ensuring the continued celebration of the nations with deep community connections in the capital.
All pictures: Bella Shepherd-Evans.
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