Completesports.com’s ADEBOYE AMOSU rates the performance of Super Falcons players in their 2022 Africa Women’s Cup of Nations Group C clash against the Banyana Banyana of South Africa on Monday night…
TOCHUKWU OLUEHI 5/10
Conceded twice in the game. She will surely make way for the suspended Chiamaka Nnadozie in the next game.
MICHELLE ALOZIE 71/10
The 25-year-old had a good outing. She supported the attack and performed her defensive task dutifully.
ONOME EBI 6/10
The veteran centre-back put up an above average performance. Her lack of pace was exploited at times by the South Africans.
ASHLEY PLUMPTRE 6/10
The Leicester City defender didn’t do too badly in the game. Coped well the physicality of the South Africans.
OSiNACHI OHALE 5/10
Had a tough evening against the pacy South Africans. Not at her best in the game.
HALIMAT AYINDE 5/10
Didn’t do too much in the game. She will need to step up in subsequent games.
TONI PAYNE 7/10
A lively display from the midfielder. She was one the few Super Falcons players who impressed in the game.
RITA CHIKWELU 5/10
A below par showing from the midfielder. She was replaced by Vivian Ikechukwu in the 70th minute.
IFEOMA ONUMONU 5/10
Failed to live up to expectations against the Banyana Banyana. She looked off the pace and didn’t contribute much.
RASHEEDAT AJIBADE 6/10
Showed flashes of her brilliance. She scored Nigeria’s solitary goal in added time.
ASISAT OSHOALA 5/10
The Barcelona forward started the game brightly, but fizzled out afterwards.
SUBSTITUTES
VIVIAN IKECHUKWU 4/10
Took the place of Rita Chikwelu. Did her best but couldn’t help her side rescue the game.
UCHENNA KANU
Not Rated
FRANCISCA ORDEGA
Not Rated
COMMENTS
“PRIDE GOES BEFORE A FALL”
Next time be humble!
Simply call these old momas falcon pls nothing super about dem…
The demise of Nigerian sports generally not just football is as a result of the devious manner our political class in partnership with our sport administrators
removed sports from our school curriculum and until sports is returned back to schools ( primary – tertiary institutions) Nigeria shall continue to face the embarrassment that have become the order of the day especially in our football matches. We could not qualify for the Olympics both men and women football teams 8 years in a roll, Super Eagles failed to qualify for this years World Cup, our junior teams only qualify once in a while these days. What a shame, the policy makers i Nigeria that are destroying everything went to school when sports was part and parcel of our educational system but are not ashamed to yank the same sports off school system in their children and grand children times because all they care about is how to steel the money budgeted for things like youth and sport development.
Not a terrible outing from the Falcons. Yes, it could be better, but there are positives to take from the game.
SA have really come of age. They had more of the ball, and kept possession well. The match could have gone either way, but it favored them today.
Onome Ebi may be up there age-wise, but she defended admirably today. A calming influence at the back. Made several important interceptions, and marshaled the defense well.
Plumptre is a PROPER LEFTBACK. Defended well, and a joy to watch when overlapping. May not be as fast or athletic as a typical African, but makes up for it with her tactical awareness.
Ajibade impressed today in the middle. Tried to make things happen. Always looking to make a pass or take a shot.
The team will likely improve with more games. The one change I recommend is that Onumonu should be deployed as a center forward, or partnered with Oshoala or some other capable forward upfront. Onumonu on the wings is not what the doctor ordered. It’s in the center forward position that she can do some damage.
Looking forward to improved performances in subsequent matches.
Pompei, don’t be carried away, trust me Plumptre is miscast in the left fullback role. Her skillset and sense of positioning are inadequate for that role. These and other shortcomings will be rightly identified and ruthlessly exploited by savy opposition.
What we saw yesterday was Plumptre putting an excellent shift when it comes to work rate, desire, patriotism and determination. For those she could never be faulted yesterday. But, her approach to tackling from left back and her inability to keep up with pacy striker and recover from swift take ons were exploited for South Africa’s first goal.
It’s like playing Liverpool’s Van Dyke of Super Eagles’ Balogun in left back. They will do a decent enough job, after all they are professionals and elite athletes. But their shortcomings will stick out like a sore thumb!
I am very disappointed that Waldrum has not raised ample natural full backs for the Super Falcons. Both fullbacks, Plumptre and Alozie, were mildly complicit in both goals scored by South Africa yesterday
As much as I agree with your insights on Plumpte and Alozie, I don’t agree they were the problem yesterday. There were many occasions where those guys tracked back and cover their oppositions when they overlap. For me, the wo of them were among the top performers yesterday and they deserved unwavering credits. For me the coach was slow at reading the game, that was why we lost. Onumanu was completely ineffective since the first minute and chikwelu was too slow for the fitter SAs in the midfield. I would have substituted both at the beginning of the second half. Also, Asisat again, squandered number of chances. If she had converted at least one of those chances, the game could have ended differently. She needs to do better, otherwise, Kalu should just be given the opportunity.
Deo, is Plumptre really miscast in a leftback role? I must disagree with you on this.
Plumptre’s overlapping moves threatened the SA defense, and she delivered some quality crosses into the SA box. She also defended well, for the most part. She and Ebi stopped quite a few SA attacking moves. Her weakness, which I alluded to in my first comment, is that she’s not as pacy or athletic as the typical African opponent she’ll be up against. It’s a significant weakness, but she has managed it well thus far. To improve, she needs to work on that. Apart from that, I think she acquitted herself quite well today.
Our problems today, and the reasons we lost the game in my opinion are:
1) Onumonu on the left wing. Now, she was the one that was miscast. A fox in the box on the left wing? Wrong move. Onumonu needs to be the main striker. With someone like Onumonu in the SA box, it could have been a different game, as she would have been more of a nuisance to the SA center backs. And possibly converted a few chances.
2) Ayinde overworked in the middle, mainly because Chikwelu had a subpar showing. Ayinde needs a more energetic presence alongside her. If Chikwelu does not step up her game, someone like Regina Otu can replace her and form a double pivot with Ayinde in the midfield.
3) We need a ball player with skill and pace in the “hole” behind the main striker, to receive the ball, and drive at opponents. Anyone of Oshoala, Ordega and Kanu can do this well.
Ajibade and Payne did ok. Both were close-marked by SA in the game, but still showed flashes of brilliance. They will hopefully grow into the tournament as it progresses.
My suggested lineup going forward:
Nnadozie
Alozie, Ohale, Ebi, Plumptre
Ayinde, Otu
Ajibade, Oshoala, Payne
Onumonu
What kind of mumu rating is this, Asisat Oshoala should be rated 3/10… She did nothing on the field yesterday and Chilwelu I didn’t see at all…
Rita Chikwelu was great in the midfield.