Burkina Faso held the Golden Eaglets to a goalless draw in their opening game of the WAFU Zone B U-17 Championship at the University of Ghana Stadium, Accra on Thursday evening.
Manu Garba opted for a 4-3-3 formation, with Dominic Chinedu named in goal while Sylvester Chika, Daniel Mende, Waris Yunus and Boluwatife Ekishola lined up as the defenders.
The skipper of the side, Simon Cletus, was joined by Destiny Samuel and Abdulmuiz Oladimeji in midfield, while Rapha Adam led the attack and was flanked by Imrana Muhammad and Ibrahim Abdulganiyu.
In a cagey affair, the Eaglets managed to carve out their only chance in the first half in the 24th minute as Cletus’s defence-splitting pass found Oladimeji, who failed to hit the target.
There was not much action in the first 45 minutes as both the Eaglets and their Young Stallions counterparts failed to create any goal-threatening opportunities.
The second half had a bit of action as Garba’s side came out with more intent.
Despite their threat, the first chance of the restart fell to Burkina Faso, who had an opportunity to score from a set piece on the edge of the box but wasted the chance.
There was a nice exchange of passes by the defending champions in the 58th minute as they worked their way into the opponents’ area but Muhammad couldn’t get his shot on target.
Nigeria’s best chance of the game fell to captain Cletus in the 65th minute after finding himself through on goal with only the goalkeeper to beat but he dragged his shot wide.
Burkina Faso almost punished the Eaglets for the wasted chance but Garba had Ekisola to thank after the defender made a superb block to deny the opponents in the 71st minute.
A minute before stoppage time, the Eaglets struck the bar after a defensive mix-up in the Burkinabe area.
The Eaglets will hope to record their first win of the championship when they face Niger in their second game on Sunday.
