Edo Queens and FC Masar played out a goalless draw in Wednesday’s Group B clash at the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League.
A win for either side could have seen them put one foot into the semi-finals of the competition.
High in confidence following their impressive 1-0 win over defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns, FC Masar were hoping to carry on from their momentum.
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Equally so, Edo Queens who cruised past Central Bank of Ethiopia by 3-0 were hoping to build on the impressive performance.
Despite the numerous chances created, neither of the two debutants could break the deadlock, with both goalkeepers and set of defenders being on high alert throughout the tense encounter.
The result sees Queens maintain their lead at the top of Group B with four points, with Masar just behind them on the same number of points.
Edo Queens will take on Sundowns in their last group game on Saturday.
11 Comments
Edo Queens will be knocked out by Mamelodi Sundowns. They aren’t clinical
After seeing 2 games, I will not bet on Edo queens making it through, not because the players are not good enough, but because of the absence of the expected level of technical input required to compete at this level.
The way these local coaches just get tactically exposed once they meet a team they can’t bully physically with superior player abilities is beyond shocking.
I don’t think any of the Massa girls can make Edo queens starting XI, but the way they were set up tactically meant even if the game had gone on for days, Edo queens still wouldn’t be able to defeat them.
Something urgently needs to be done about the training curricullum of coaches in Nigeria.
Do we ever learn? NO! Only Remo Stars coach spent a year in Portugal as an understudy to a clubside and Madugu who assisted Waldrum have the tactical wherewithal.
Humour me pls….has Madugu ever led any team to the CAF women’s champions league…?
I don’t think Madugu has participated in the CAF Women’s Champions League.
The very likely result (although I hope I’m wrong):
– Masar beats whipping girls CBE and finishes group winners with 7 points
– Mamelodi Sundowns beats Edo Queens and finishes 2nd with 6 points
– Edo Queens ends the group on 5 points and crashes out.
Nigerian female teams always losing from the bench (like the last U17 FUFA tournament), not on the field or a lack of talent). A good driver in a Corolla will always do wonders and beat a poor driver in a Mercedes Maybach.
Edo queens finishing on 5 points (your last prognosis) would mean a draw with Sundowns and the defending champions will be out instead. Seeing they posted a 4-0 win just now, that means it is lose-and-crash-out situation on Saturday. I still don’t have respect for any local coach because they hardly upgrade their skill sets. I wish the queens good luck. But the highlight was too boring.
I meant 4 points. Mistake.
Good luck to the queens. They showed so much promise before now. But once again, coaching lets a Nigerian clubside down in a continental competition,
Wow, see negative comments everywhere, how are you so sure the sundown ladies will beat the the Edo queens. Was it not the same sundown’s that lost to the same Masar women’s team. Why not wait till Saturday and lets see before discrediting the girls. The Nigerian girls have not conceded a goal yet, have watched the sundowns team and am not scared of them, i see the Edo girls going through.
A throbbing sore thumb of many a Nigerian team is over-reliance wing play.
In their first game, I saw beautiful balls being whipped in from the flanks with reckless abandonment.
Against FC Masar, the Egyptians effectively made the flanks a no-go area with emphatic and timely tackles, interceptions and double, even triple teaming on Edo Queens wingers to make sure the Nigerians will not gain access to that area.
It was a cagey affair.
Possession switched hands between both teams in harmless parts of the pitch with minimal incursions made into delicate parts of either team’s 18 yard box.
Edo Queens were reduced to taking some long range shots and trying to bully their way to the flanks to deliver crosses without meaningful success.
Goalkeeper Oyono, who proved to be a steady hand on the tiller, showed excellent timing to be in the right position to attempt some neat interceptions.
The centre backs ran out of the blocks severally to avert danger.
The midfielders battled relentlessly to retrieve, retain and recycle possession.
And the strikers toiled with sweat and tears to drive into delicate Egyptian areas with physical runs and passes that were pick off and repelled affectively by the Egyptians who matched Nigeria’s physical style across the patch with assurance.
FC Masar are technically sound and secretly dangerous. It is great testament to the focus and determination of Edo Queens that the game ended 0:0.
The Wafu champions put up a masterclass in physical football in being compact in midfield with a network of decent passes, sturdy in defence with last ditch tackles propped by a reliable goalkeeper and being bullish up front with stubborn efforts to bomb down the flanks which proved to be a hiding-to-nothing as the Egyptians knew what to expect and produced the right antidote to douse Nigerian flames.
I wasn’t too disappointed.
You play to your strengths and Edo Queens flaunted their physical credentials without giving grounds. But they didn’t gain grounds either.
To gain grounds, they would need to inject fresh ideas and a new dimension to their physical approach. It’s late in the day to expect a more tactical hue. But physical football too can be interpreted differently and creatively to keep the opposition guessing.
Starting with relying less on wing play and perhaps going long, route one or crossing from higher up like David Beckham (who lacked and trickery the pace to run down the flanks) used to do.
With the level of concentration Edo Queens showed in this encounter and an alternative approach up front, all hope is not lost for the ladies from Edo state.
Edo Queens only require a draw, although, it would be dangerous to play for a draw. The South African possession play has always suited the Nigerian style and Nigeria have always struggled against North African teams at all levels in football. Its advantage to Edo Queens and barring any sort of blunder they should go through in second place.
Masar FC was playing to get the Nigerians sent off and that made the play dicey.