Nigeria’s Enyeama ‘just enjoying the moment’ as he keeps clean sheet for Lille win

The Nigerian keeper kept Marseille off the board as Lille secured a 1-0 victory on Tuesday night and solidified their hold on second in the Ligue 1 table.

Vincent Enyeama has gone 1035 minutes since allowing a Ligue 1 goal. Pascal Rossignol / Reuters
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A goal two minutes into time added on by Nolan Roux gave Lille a priceless 1-0 win over Marseille in their Ligue 1 clash on Tuesday and consolidated their second spot in the table.

Roux’s sixth goal of the season was a bit harsh on a Marseille side that had several superb chances throughout the game but found Nigerian international goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama in imperious form.

Lille’s win moved them to wthin a point of leaders Paris Saint Germain, who play Evian on Wednesday, while Marseille are 10 points adrift of PSG and being threatened for fourth spot by Nantes, who grabbed a late winner in a 2-1 victory over struggling Valenciennes.

Monaco stayed third and moved to within two points of PSG when they beat ailing Nice 3-0 later on Tuesday with Emmanuel Riviere ending a scoring drought dating back nine games as he grabbed the second goal to help his side to their third successive win.

Enyeama moved past 1000 minutes in not conceding a goal – since the 2-0 defeat by Nice on September 15 – taking it to 1035 minutes.

The 31-year-old goalkeeper – who captained Nigeria to their Africa Cup of Nations triumph earlier this year – is second on the all-time top flight list behind Frenchman Gaetan Huard who in the 1992-1993 season didn’t concede a goal for Bordeaux for 1176 minutes.

“What can I say? I am just enjoying the moment,” Enyeama told Bein Sport.

“It’s not just me, though, it is the whole group. We stay strong like a team. We have the spirit and the strength.

“I don’t know what is possible now. All I can say is that I havre a great team round me and a great set of coaches.”

Going into the match there had been fears over how former Lille star Florian Thauvin would be received after a group of Lille supporters went to the airport and booed and hissed him when Marseille arrived for the match.

Thauvin – in form of late with five goals in the last 12 games and creating another three – produced not much of note in the first-half, save one wonderful mazy run deep into Lille territory and although he was dispossessed the ball fell to Mathieu Valbuena who found Andre-Pierre Gignac.

The former France striker shrugged off a defender and only had Enyeama to beat but the goalkeeper proved equal to the task blocking Gignac’s shot and when the rebound fell to Valbuena his shot drifted wide.

One double save in the second-half in particular stood out, Dimitri Payet’s fierce strike being batted away by Enyeama but straight to Gignac out wide right in the area, but his curling effort was tipped away by the goalkeeper.

Marseille’s frustrating evening deepened when the ever lively Valbuena went down heavily on his left shoulder and had to be taken off immediately, leaving the pitch and trudging down the tunnel holding his left arm gingerly.

The game seemed to be petering out into a deserved share of the points only for Roux to reward Enyeama’s superb display as he headed into the far corner.