Sunday Oliseh and his Super Eagles responded to their 2-0 defeat by Congo in the best possible way, hammering arch rivals Cameroon 3-0 on Sunday.
This was not just about the scoreline but the smoothness of the performance, the control and the tempo. With slightly better finishing, this could have been even uglier for the Indomitable Lions.
Here are a few observations from the game ...
Oliseh gets timing right
For the first time since taking over, Oliseh had the luxury of a week to train with his players. Prior to the away game in Tanzania, he had two days. Before the DRC game, he had three -- two of which were compromised by the distraction of his confrontation with former captain Vincent Enyeama.
With a few more days of focused training, the result was clear to see. Oliseh is changing the way the team play; making them quicker and exploiting the wide areas with the pace and skill of Ahmed Musa and Moses Simon.
Against the DRC, the passing and combinations improved, albeit at a lower tempo. But it was still a shade better than the first two games. The team may have lost but they controlled the game and limited the opposition to four shots at Carl Ikeme's goal.
Unfortunately, two of those went in, helped by errors from a makeshift back four cobbled together in near desperation. Time and patience is what's needed as Oliseh gets to know his side.
Need for speed
For the last couple of years, one of the big deficiencies in the Super Eagles' play has been their speed on the break. Picks and interceptions invariably petered away to another spell of laboured build ups. Results were ground out, but the play was dire.
Simon's goal, however, was a perfect example of how to take advantage of an opponent caught overloading in the wrong area -- it took just over six seconds for Simon to score for Nigeria following a Cameroon corner.
Variety
That also brings up something else of interest. All three goals illustrated the variety of Oliseh's philosophy.
The first, Efe Ambrose's opener, was the result of a well-executed set piece. The second came from Simon following that rapid-fire breakaway and the third courtesy of Odion Ighalo after a spell of possession, complete with diagonal movement and sharp, cross field passing. Cameroon had no idea where the ball was until they were picking it out of their net.
Mikel, Balogun and Emenike impress
In the two games of this tour, John Obi Mikel has proved a class act. He sparkled in the first game, then dominated Stephane Mbia so much the Cameroon captain ended up getting sent off in frustration. When he is good, he is imperious and totally invaluable for Nigeria. His passing, economy of movement, ball shielding and vision is second to none. If only he could shoot.
Elsewhere, Leon Balogun made errors when forced from right-back into central defence against DRC but one game later, the regulars might have to watch their backs. Tackles, clean and timed to perfection, aerial dominance, excellent reading of the game, interceptions, bringing the ball out of defence -- he did it all.
Emmanuel Emenike took flak for his performance but to his credit, he bullied the Cameroon defence with his pace and power, softening them up for Ighalo's arrival late on.
The future
Oliseh has a talented crop of youngsters at his disposal, with the likes of Alex Iwobi, Simon and Shehu Abdullahi all seen as stars of the future.
This is a team being rebuilt from the ground up. It will be a long process and might involve some setbacks like against DRC, but Oliseh is in it for the long haul. Once again, patience is required.
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