Nigeria Thrash Ivory Coast 4 - 1

Nigeria's quest to qualify for the third edition of the Orange CHAN, South Africa 2014 has been handed a massive boost after the Super Eagles defeated the Ivorian National Team 4 - 1 on Saturday evening at the Ahamdu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.

The line up before the start of the encounter revealed all; this was going to be a mismatch, different from what was witnessed at the 2013 African Cup of Nations, where Nigeria narrowly defeated the Ivorians 2-1.

Gambo Mohammed, who two weeks back was playing against World Champions Spain, opened the floodgates for the domestic Eagles in the 14th minute .

It did not come as a surprise when Sunday Mba netted the second goal for Nigeria with only 28 minutes played.

Tiecoura Coulibaly gave the Elephants false hope when he pulled a goal back on 45 minutes.

Enugu Rangers midfielder Sunday Mba made amends for an earlier miss by netting Nigeria's third goal after 51 minutes.

With 39 minutes remaining, spectators at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium knew the scoreline wouldn't end at 3 - 1.

And the final goal arrived through substitute Ifeanyi Ede in the 83rd minute.

Abidjan will host the second leg in two weeks time. The winner on aggregate qualifies for the tournament in South Africa, billed to be staged from January 10 - February 1, 2014.