The Super Falcons have qualified for the quarter-finals of the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations after a comfortable 4-0 win against debutants Burundi in their final Group C game, Completesports.com reports.
A brace from Uchenna Kanu and a goal each from Rasheedat Ajibade and Peace Efih secured the Falcons’ second win in the group.
Falcons coach Randy Waldrum made some chances as Nicole Payne, Peace Efih and Christy Ucheibe all made their first start of the tournament.
In the group’s other game, Banyana Banyana of South Africa recorded their third win after pipping Botswana 1-0.
The South Africans broke the deadlock with 10 minutes left thanks to Nthabiseng Majiya.
Despite the defeat, Botswana qualify alongside Nigeria and South Africa into the quarter-finals.
South Africa top the group with nine points, the Falcons finish in second spot on six points while Botswana placed third on three points and clinched one of the third best placed positions.
The quarter-final pairing will see the Falcons face Cameroon on Thursday while South Africa and Botswana will take on Tunisia and Morocco respectively.
Against Burundi, the Falcons had the first opportunity on second minute but Ifeoma Onumonu was her shot go hits over the bar.
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In the sixth minute Kanu almost put the Falcons ahead but a timely intervention denied her a tap in.
The Falcons continued to press for the opener and had another chance on 13 minutes after Onumonu ran on to a long pass but her goal bound shot was saved.
The Falcons eventually took the lead on 25 minutes thanks to Ajibade who converted from the penalty spot after she was fouled by Burundi keeper.
Burundi’s keeper was replaced due to injury after colliding with Ajibade which resulted into the penalty.
In the 28th minute Efih doubled the Falcons’ lead as she pounced on a lose ball inside the box to slot into an empty net from a cross by Ajibade.
Just a minute later Kanu made it 3-0 as she tapped home Ajibade’s low cross.
In the 38th minute Kanu thought she had scored the fourth goal for the Falcons but her effort was ruled out for offside.
With just a minute left Toni Payne ran on a long pass on the right but her cross was cleared away.
Just one minute into the second half Kanu grabbed her second goal and Falcons’ fourth from close range.
In the 57th minute Christy Ucheibe tried a shot from distance but it came off the post.
Ucheibe went close again on 63 minutes as she hit a shot inside the box from a rebound off a corner which went off target.
With 15 minutes left a Burundi player tried a shot from distance but it was well dealt with by Chiamaka Nnadozie who had been on holiday throughout the game.
And on 84 minutes the Falcons were close to extending their lead but Burundi keeper came off her lines to avert the danger.
By James Agberebi
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COMMENTS
My Analysis of the match against Burundi
1. Coach Waldrum still hasn’t found the right balance in his team selections:although the performance tonight was an improvement on the last 2 matches,it was by no means a vintage due to the lack of sustainability in phases of play,our girls played more in the first half but nosediveved in the second and there was a “disconnect” in midfield at times,this happened partly because of the number of changes made by the coach in hope of keeping his charges fresh as the tournament wears on.
2.The SF lack cutting edge: during the course of the match,the SF were guilty of missing clear cut chances due to the combination of poor decisions,lack of composure in front of goal and a lack of technical application both team wise and individual wise as well as a selfish attitude especially in the second half,the coaching staff must ensure that the team must imbibe a selfless attitude while ironing out the technical issues in front of goal.
3. Squad selection for tonight proves what everyone myself included has been yearning for: it was no surprise to any football loving Nigerian that the performance of the team improved because younger and hungrier players were selected for tonight’s match however it remains to be seen if coach Randy proves me right in terms of selection as the tournament progresses (sentimental selections over merit).
4. Team attributes marries a physical, athletic counter attacking style: in my previous analysis I said that this team is not suited to the possession based style of play but are more of a counter attacking team due to the body language of the players especially on the ball and also like to play on the dribble also the marking scheme or out of possession shape isn’t that good due to a lack of support from the players when a teammate hunts for the ball,the former was proven tonight by the likes of U.Kanu,R.Ajibade and C.Ucheibe and more of this is needed to ensure clarity in our identity while the latter needs to be sorted out by the coaching staff ASAP.
With that being said I wish the SF the best in this tournament thanks.
LMFAO!!!
It doesn’t take away the FACT that WE will not be going to QUATAR…
HOPE you GUYS know???