Hosts of this year’s CAF women’s Champions League ASFAR of Morocco, have qualified for the final after edging Nigeria’s Bayelsa Queens 1-0 on Wednesday, Completesports.com reports.
The only goal of the game was scored by Ibtissam Jraïdi whose 27th minute strike was enough to earn her side the hard fought win.
Bayelsa Queens have now lost their second game of the tournament after losing 2-1 Mamelodi Sundowns in their Group B opener.
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The win means ASFAR will take on defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns in the final on Sunday.
While Bayelsa Queens will take on Simba Queens of Tanzania in Saturday’s third place match.
In the first semi-final also played on Wednesday Mamelodi Sundowns overcame Simba Queens 1-0 courtesy Boitumelo Rabele’s 76th minute effort.
By James Agberebi
6 Comments
Years ago, I used to feel if there was ever going to be anything like a continental competition for female clubs in Africa, Nigeria clubs would make a clean sweep of its first 10 editions like the AWCON. Alas, I get am before no be property.
2 straight editions of the CAF WCL now and we cant make the final at the 2nd time of asking. How are the mighty fallen….!!!
_Moroccan Thunder Struck Twice_
Bayelsa Queens came to the party rather late in the day. After conceding a careless goal, they then started asserting themselves with the Moroccans effectively shutting up shop.
Nothing really is uplifting about Nigerian football these days. It’s always the same old story: close but no cigar.
Nigeria lost to South Africa in their first match of the Women’s Afcon this summer and then went on to lose to Morocco in the semi finals, sounds familiar?
Football rewards short and long term investments, professional preparations, superior facilities and proper management. Our players – male and female – continue to be let down by a system currently founded on rotten edifice.
I only watched today’s match out of a sense of blind patriotism more than anything else and I wasn’t disappointed.
Well done to the gallant Bayelsa Queens players. Despite the odds stacked against them by decrepit football infrastructure, they pulled out all the stops to at least make it a fascinating encounter to watch. That is the Nigeria spirit that keeps going in the face of insufferable difficulties.
In the first half, they were disjointed at the back and lacked conviction and ideas going forward. This was published by the Moroccans for their first and only goal of the encounter.
As the match was slipping off their grasp, Bayelsa Queens and their coach then threw everything at the Moroccans including the kitchen sink. But the Moroccans, like a promontory, held firm, withstood the onslaught, employed time-wasting shenanigans and saw out their lead.
I am only left scratching my head as to why the Bayelsa Queens had wait for desperate times before showing their true colours.
The only silver lining is that a Nigerian team got to the semi-finals this time around (as Rivers Angels crashed out of the group stages last year).
So, there is improvement. Also, I struggle to see how Bayelsa Queens will lose to Simba Queens in Sunday’s third place playoff.
Bronze will be very well deserved for this doughty Bayelsa Queens stars. They have done well thus far even though they came agonisingly short in today’s painful semifinal loss.
Watched the game and was ok with the officiating especially after what happened between Sundowns and Mazembe where the Referee denied the Congolese outfit a stone wall penalty and red carded one of their players for stamping an opponent (similar to kanu) which led to an incensed reaction from the TP players. CAF have work to do regarding refereeing quality in Africa, wether they do it or not is up to them.
This is the team some guys were hyping as being better than Super Falcons players few day ago, you see yourselves now?
The bane of our development is administrative and I don arrive mentality, always overhyping any player that scored 1 goal or a team that won 1 or 2 matches. We don’t value consistency, technicalities and tactical play at all, but east to make noice
Thank you @Dr.
They are better than Plumpther, Ajibade, Payne , Oshoala and Co. says some fans
Nigerian clubsides both male and female are just struggling these days on the continent. They barely produce anything spectacular. Plateau United unbelievably conceded three unreplied goals to crash out of the confederations cup after taking a 4-1 lead. Very incredible how a team could surrender such huge advantage!
Bayelsa Queens I saw last night, albeit briefly during the closing stages of that encounter pushed very hard for an equalizer but I have a problem where a team goes into heavy slumber when they could be game drivers only to wake up when it has become too late and start chasing shadows.
After their first match against Sundowns in which they had the opportunity of killing the game early enough with better possession and incursions and they bungled it, I lost whatever interest I had in the team and their title hopes. In that match, they allowed their opponents to regain confidence thereby dictating the pace of the game and before you knew it, they were 2 goals down! They woke up from their slumber too late in the game that the goal they got merely became a consolation.