Keshi wary of Ethiopia despite victory

Stephen Keshi

Nigerian coach Stephen Keshi said the Super Eagles are not overconfident after a 2-1 win in Ethiopia Sunday set up a probable fifth World Cup appearance, AFP reports.

An Emmanuel Emenike brace won the first leg of a playoff, leaving the Eagles needing just a draw at home next month to secure a place at the 2014 finals in Brazil.

“We still have to go play Ethiopia at home as if we never played them, and we’ll take it from there,”  he told reporters after the match in Addis Ababa.

Keshi commended the Walya Antelopes, who fought hard to keep up with the the Eagles in the first half only to tire down the final stretch.

“Ethiopia were awesome today – they played good,” he said amid lively celebrations from Nigerian supporters dancing and waving flags.

“We (went) with our game plan, we just wanted to see how Ethiopia play at home,”

Ethiopia came out strong in the first half with several goal attempts, including a shot deemed not to have crossed the line by the Cameroonian referee.

Angry fans disputed the call and lobbed bottles at the officials as they left the stadium in the Ethiopian capital.

“The referee was not good – there were some errors,? said upset supporter Eyob Abera.

But he is still confident his team will win in Nigeria on November 16 to secure a ticket to the World Cup.

“We will be the winners in Nigeria. We have to go to Brazil,” he said.

Ethiopia, a country better known for world-class runners than footballers, have amazed supporters by making it this far in the qualifiers, the closest the country has come to reaching the finals.