Nigeria crushed Liberia 6-1 in Calabar to advance to 2012 African Nations Cup

Super Eagles of Nigerian humiliated Liberia’s Lone Star 6-1 at the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar to qualify for the South Africa 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

Nigerian Efe Ambrose sent fans at the packed Stadium into rapturous celebrations when he headed in Ahmed Musa’s free kick as early as the first minute.

Musa doubled the lead after evading a desperate tackle from a Liberian defender to poke home Emmanuel Emenike’s cross in the 38th minute.

Nosa Igiebor set up Moses for the Eagles third goal and his first goal for Nigeria — just after the break and two minutes later, Mikel scored the fourth goal from the penalty spot after goalkeeper Nathaniel Sherman had brought down Igiebor.

Liberian woes were compounded when captain Duncan Gebro was expelled for diving inside the Nigerian box in the 70th minute. Nigeria capitalized on the advantage when substitute Ike Uche, who came on for Emenike, made it 5-0 in the 72nd minute.

Substitute Patrick Wreh got a consolation for the visitors with 10 minutes remaining but the Eagles, cheered on by the home fans, sealed an emphatic win when Moses headed home Mikel’s precise cross with seconds remaining.

Nigeria were favoured to progress, but the winning margin over the Lone Stars exceeded expectations and will cheer coach Stephen Keshi, who promised to quit if his team failed to reach South Africa.