Nigeria won a seventh African Youth Championship crown Sunday night in Dakar when they pipped hosts Senegal 1-0.
Their previous triumphs were in 1983, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2005 and 2011.
Nigeria went in front after 18 minutes when Man of the Final Bernard Bulbwa fired home a beauty of a volley from the top of the box past the stranded goalkeeper Ibrahima Sy.
But it was the host team who got the best chance of the first half when goalkeeper Joshua Enaholo had to save virtually off the feet of Eld Hadj Niang right inside his six-yard box.
Both teams started the game brightly but after some time, Senegal stepped up the pressure.
Sidy Sarr threatened the Nigerian goal in the 20th minute and in the 35th minute Moussa Kone fired from the edge of the box, but it missed its mark.
Kone will also see his header come off the post five minutes from the interval.
In the 47th minute, tipped away for corner a shot from skipper Roger Gomis from just outside the box as Senegal continued to press for the equaliser.
‘Muazam’ Ibrahim Alhassan replaced the injured Obinna Nwobodo in the 56th minute.
In the 58th minute, desperate clearance off the goal-line denied ‘Muazam’ to double the Flying Eagles lead.
On the hour Enaholo’s indecisiveness almost gifted Senegal a chance to get back into the game, but again poor finishing ensured they did not.
In the 75th minute, Sy was alert to save off the feet of Taiwo Awoniyi as the game swung from one end of the pitch to the other.
Sy pulled off the save of the day in the 87th minute, when he kept out a goal-bound shot by Ifeanyi Matthew.
Nigeria then ran down the clock to win yet another AYC title.