African Nations Cup quarter-final:
Nigeria 1 - Garba Lawal 80
Ghana 0
Halftime: 0-0;
Attendance: 25,000
Teams:
Nigeria: 1-Ike Shorunmo (22-Murphy Akanji 38); 2-Joseph Yobo, 6-Taribo West, 5-Isaac Okoronkwo, 14-Ifeanyi Udeze, 15- Sunday Oliseh, 10-Austin Okocha (16-Wilson Oruma 90), 7-Finidi George (8-Yakubu Aiyegbeni 90), 11-Garba Lawal, 17-Julius Aghahowa, 4-Nkwanko Kanu
Ghana: 12-Sammy Adjei; 6-Yaw Amankwah Mireku, 19-Kofi Amponsah, 5-John Mensah, 21-John Painstill, 15-Princeton Owusu- Ansah, 20-Abdul Razak Ibrahim, 9-Prince Amoako (16-Emmanuel Duah 88), 3-Emmanuel Kuffour, 10-Derrick Boateng (7-Matthew Amoah 88) 13-Isaac Boakye
Referee: Mohammed Guezzaz (Morocco)
An assured Nigeria notched up their third 1-0 victory at the finals thanks to a superb long-range strike from midfielder Garba Lawal with just 10 minutes left of a hard-fought but entertaining tussle.
The Dutch-based player met a weak Ghana clearance with a left-foot volley from 30 metres to win the tie with possibly the best goal of the tournament -- just as the game appeared to be heading for extra time.
"I saw the goal coming. I tried to hit the ball on target and I was lucky," said Lawal, who had gone close with a clutch of long-range shots in the previous match against Liberia.
The Super Eagles, who have won the tournament twice and come second four times, lost the 2000 final at home in Lagos after a controversial penalty shoot-out against Cameroon and will be hoping for revenge this time round.
Nigeria created a host of chances but were kept at bay by valiant defending from their modest opponents, some top-class goalkeeping from Sammy Adjei and their own poor finishing.
Ukrainian-based striker Julius Aghahowa had a gilt-edged chance to take his tally at the finals to three on 38 minutes but his header just shaved the upright.
After the game, coach Shaibu Amodu braved a barrage of questions from a hostile Nigerian press demanding more goals from the star-studded national side.
"It doesn't matter if we win 10-0 or 1-0, we're in the semi-finals. Every team we play against puts nine men behind the ball," Amodu said.
Four-times Nations Cup winners Ghana still have the upper hand in clashes with their West African rivals, having won 15 times in 37 encounters over Nigeria's seven, but there was little doubt which was the superior side on Sunday.
