Eagles’ slump should give Amavubi hope

RWANDA’s hopes of qualifying to next year’s African Nations Cup in South Africa are very much ALIVE after a goalless draw with the Super Eagles at Kigali Regional stadium.The wasps started the match as underdogs but as the game progressed, they imposed themselves on the game.Nigeria, who were playing their first competitive match under Stephen Keshi, failed to break a seemingly organized wasp’s defense in front of the joyous home crowd.It is very usual in life to experience a slump in form but Wednesday’s display was a reality check for the two-time African Champions.In terms of quality, there is nothing much to separate this team from the one which played at the 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa.Starting their campaign as one of the group favourites, Nigeria failed to win a single game and in the process crashed out of the tournament.Even with the likes of Yakubu Ayigbeni and Peter Odemwingie, Keshi’s side still looked disjointed with no real threat.The team just can’t match the likes of Nwanko Kanu, Jay Jay Okocha and Emmanuel Emunike. The Super Eagles started the game with plenty of expectation after failing to qualify for the 2012 African Nations Cup which was jointly staged in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.Keshi tried to experiment with a blend of domestic and professional players but there was simply no cohesion in the team.Both teams have new coaches and just like Nigeria, Amavubi also have many technical issues to solve. Coach Milutin Sredojevic is trying to build a formidable team for the future as he targets possible qualification to 2013 Afcon in South Africa.Micho will take delight in a draw even though he is well aware that he needs a result in the return leg in Abuja.