Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr attributes last night's draw to his players being fatigued

SUPER Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr has attributed his team's failure to win yesterday's World Cup qualifier away in Yaounde to fatigue stating that the players felt very tired after Friday's first leg in Uyo.

Last week, the Eagles beat Cameroon 4-0 at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo but in the return leg yesterday could only manage a 1-1 draw at the Ahmadu Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde. After taking the lead early on through Moses Simon, the Eagles faded badly in the second half, allowing Cameroon to dictate the play and in the 75th minute conceded a penalty, through which Vincent Aboubakar equalised for the Indomitable Lions.

Mr Rohr said: “It was a difficult match but I expected that from a team that lost 4-0 just days before. They wanted revenge and they played well and they brought in three fresh players, while we had the same team that played on Friday.

We got tired in the second half. Before the two games I wanted four points, so I’m happy we got what we targeted, so the match was not about spectacle, we just wanted to get a result and if they didn’t have that penalty we’d have got all three points.”

Members of the Super Eagles have expressed their gratitude to fans via social media for their support during the two games against Cameroon. Nigeria are now six points clear in Group B and are on the verge of reaching her sixth World Cup after the1-1 draw in Yaounde.

Yesterday's result allows the Eagles to remain top of the group with 10 points, while Zambia who play Algeria on today are second with four points. Cameroon are out of the competition as they can no longer catch Nigeria, while Zambia and Algeria only have a mathematical chance of making the World Cup.