RUSTENBURG, South Africa, Jan 29, (Agencies): Chelsea midfielder Victor Moses converted two late penalties to give Nigeria a 2-0 win over Ethiopia on Tuesday and a place in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals. Moses calmly slotted spot kicks into the corner of the net on 79 and 90 minutes to earn the Super Eagles a last-eight showdown with title favourites and Group D winners Ivory Coast on Sunday. It was a sad exit for bottom team Ethiopia, back in the big time after 31 years, as they finished the game a man short because goalkeeper Sasay Bancha got a late red card.

Ethiopia coach Sewnet Bishaw reacted to a 4-0 hammering from Burkina Faso in Nelspruit four days ago by making eight changes — the most by a team so far in the competition. Bancha was the third goalkeeper chosen for the Walias Antelopes in three games with Jamel Tassew sent off during the opening round against Zambia and Zerihun Tadelle found wanting against the Burkinabe. Nigeria made three changes as they sought maximum points and a guaranteed place in the knockout stage — a regular occurrence for the Super Eagles with only two first round exits in 16 previous appearances. The two-time champions had the better of a goalless first half before a big, lively crowd in this north-western mining town with a mass of Ethiopians on one side of the ground and almost as many Nigerians on the other.

Despite having far more of the ball, the Eagles only threatened to break the deadlock from set pieces with Efe Ambrose, the Celtic full-back returning after a one-match ban, heading wide when unmarked at the far post off a free kick. Ikechukwu Uche was also off target with a header and came even closer from another header off a Moses corner that the partly unsighted Bancha pushed away and the ball was cleared. While Nigeria came forward patiently and favoured getting the ball out wide, Ethiopia adopted a more direct approach on the odd occasion they attacked as they tried to play passes over the defence to danger man Salahdin Said. Nigeria were looking equally ineffective in the second half as they tried to break down the Walias Antelopes defence until a crude Alula Girma tackle on Moses earned them a penalty 12 minutes from time. Moses recovered, took his time, and calmly stroked the ball low into the right corner of the net as Bancha dived in the opposite direction.

Ethiopia almost equalised before Bancha fouled Moses to concede a second spot kick and pick up a red card. Addis Hintsa went into goal as the east Africans had used their three subsitutes and Moses converted the kick.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel Adebayor has a chance to lead Togo to the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals for the first time on Wednesday, while already qualified Ivory Coast may leave out captain Didier Drogba again.
Togo will face Tunisia in Nelspruit needing at least a draw to finally get past the group stage. It would be the first time in eight appearances that Togo would advance.
“I am excited that Togo is ever so close to a historic qualifier,” Adebayor said.
Tournament-favorite Ivory Coast, last year’s runner-up, has already secured first place in Group D, so the match against Algeria in Rustenburg will allow coach Sabri Lamouchi to make more changes to his lineup. He said he still doesn’t know if he will bench Drogba for a second straight match.

“I still haven’t decided who will play, but definitely we will see new faces in the lineup against Algeria,” Lamouchi said through a translator. “Because of the situation we are in, I’ll be able to use some of our youngsters.” Ivory Coast, seeking its first title in more than 20 years, won the first two matches and has six points, three more than Togo and Tunisia. It won’t be surpassed even if it loses to Algeria because it has the tiebreaker advantage against Togo and Tunisia.
Lamouchi benched Drogba and other regular starters in the team’s 3-0 win over Tunisia on Saturday, saying he didn’t feel they were ready after a lackluster performance in the opener against Togo, against whom the Elephants needed a late winner.
Lamouchi said Drogba was fully fit and the decision about whether he will play will not be based on his physical condition. The coach also said the rest of the players were pleased with the news about Drogba moving from Chinese football to Galatasaray.

“We are happy for him,” he said. “He’s joining a club playing in the Champions League, it’s going to be good for him to play at a high level again.”
Togo and Tunisia have three points each in Group D, but Togo has the tiebreaker advantage because of a better goal difference, meaning it can advance with a draw. Algeria has zero points after losing both games and has been eliminated.
Adebayor, one of the tournament stars along with Drogba, helped Togo keep its hopes alive by scoring his first goal of the tournament against Algeria on Saturday. The team eventually won 2-0 to recover from the opening loss to the Elephants. Adebayor dismissed critics who have complained of his lackluster play so far, saying he is just worried about scoring goals, not showing off his skills.

Togo didn’t qualify for last year’s African Cup and was forced to withdraw from the 2010 tournament in Angola after two team officials and a driver were killed when gunmen ambushed their bus. The team also faced problems before this year’s tournament, with Adebayor threatening not to play because of security concerns and disagreements with Togo’s federation over bonus payments for players.
“Adebayor is a good player, with big quality, but we also have good defenders,” Tunisia defender Aymen Abdennou said. “I know Adebayor is a good player but the team is 11 players.”
Tunisia coach Sami Trabelsi said he expected young midfielder Youssef Msakni to recover from a bronchial infection in time to face Togo at Mbombela Stadium. Msakni, who scored the late winner in the opener against Algeria, did not practice with the rest of Tunisia on Monday but was back in action on Tuesday.