Super Eagles home-based players were beaten 1-0 by the Republic of Benin in Cotonou on Sunday, August 13.

With the match edging towards a goalless draw, the referee awarded a late penalty to the Republic of Benin which was converted by skipper Seibou Mama.

Pinnick who was at the Stade de Matheu Kerekou to watch the game was not happy with the officiating of Algerian referee Mustapha Ghorbal who handled the game.

“I believe we will do our best on the second leg in Kano, “But I can say emphatically that the officiating was very poor and the turf too affected our game but we will be able to overcome those two challenges in the next game and qualify,” Pinnick told Complete Sports.

“The officiating was very poor and I have notified the authorities concerning it.”

The NFF boss also admitted that he was disappointed by the Nigerian players who did not ‘live up to expectations’.

The second leg of the tie will hold in Kano on Saturday, August 19, 2017.