Rasheedat Ajibade was named Woman of the Match following the Super Falcons hard-earned victory over Botswana on Thursday night.
Nigeria defeated the Mares 1-0 in a keenly contested Group B encounter at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium, Casablanca.
Substitute Chiwendu Ihezuo scored the decisive goal on dot of 90 minutes.
It was Ihezuo’s second goal of the competition following her superb strike in 3-0 victory over Tunisia on Sunday.
Ajibade put up a strong display against Botswana, and was rewarded for her effort after the game.
Read Also:WAFCON 2024: How Super Falcons Rated In Slim Win Over Botswana
The 25-year-old was on the pitch for the entire duration of the game.
The Super Falcons booked a place in the quarter-finals following the victory over Alex Malete’s side.
The nine-time champions top Group B with six points from two games, and are yet to concede in the competition.
Their next opponent Algeria occupy second position with four points from same number of matches.
The game against Algerians will hold at the Larbi Zaouli Stadium, Casablanca on Sunday.
By Adeboye Amosu
10 Comments
Match Observation (Part 1):
The 4-3-3 continues to serve Madugu well. The wingbacks overlap to devastating effect; the 2 attacking midfielders (Ajibade and Abiodun) participated in offensive passing routines, thereby not overloading the wings; Ayinde held the fort well as the lone dm; wingers Babajide and Payne were busy delivering crosses and chipping in with defensive duties; whilst the lone CF much maligned Oshoala made her presence felt with (admittedly predictable) runs, flicks and neat passes; with Nnadozie being attentive when called upon for goalkeeping duties.
I don’t know about other fans, but for me, I found their pattern of play discernible, coherent, free flowing, and harmonious, particularly when the (super) subs were introduced. Fans forget that the Super Falcons were not playing against ghosts! Botswana didn’t show up to sell akara and eko, or puff-puff! When the Super Falcons looked disjointed in their play, it was because Botswana made them look so with their highwire, high-energy energy and high-tempo approach, which the Super Falcons initially struggled with but soon curtailed and eventually subdued.
When you analyse a game, remember there are 2 teams on display, not just your team! And football nowadays is no longer the preserve of previous super-powers, so we should cut the team some slack!
But this woman of the match was supposed to go to Ashleigh Plumptre. Let’s be honest guys….
Ajibade is my favourite super falcons player but Ashleigh Plumptre deserve this award for yesterday not her….
Mo-Post, I have to be honest, I was wrong to think Plumptre wouldn’t make it as a credible full back. She has made that position her own. If she continues like this for the remaining of the tournament with great movements and flawless deliveries, Plumptre might just cement her place as arguably the Super Falcons left back to any tournament in the history of the game!
Match Observation (Part 2):
I thought Ohale was solid in defence with some nice shielding, interceptions and leadership. Abiodun, who might struggle to reclaim her starting position after the next match, was firm, solid and reckless at times.
Plumptre is a behemoth in left back (the best I have seen her in that role in her Super Falcons career). Whether she is running late into the box 18, delivering deft crosses, launching audacious long-range shots or being involved in intricate passing routines, Plumptre schools us in a masterclass study of modern-day fullback grace, eloquence, and effectiveness.
Ajibade made her presence felt here with powerful runs, neat crosses, insightful passes and all-round progressive play, with a few cracks at goal. Her interactions with others were purposeful. Alozie’s throw-ins were menacing, almost contributing to 2 goals.
Match Observation (Part 3):
Oshoala’s cunning and cheeky chest-down to Ajibade from an Alozie throw-in can easily go unnoticed, but so did the majority of her hard work as Botswana marked her out with 3 CBs.
Payne, slightly subdued, still produced some decent crosses, meaningful moments, and an effort on goal that sailed just wide. Babajide also seemed subdued, but her interplay with others produced suspenseful moments that helped drive the team into enemy territory.
Demehin stayed dialled in and would work with her colleagues to crowd out the defence, making it difficult for Botswana to make headway.
Match Observation (Final Part ):
And the subs, they were dynamite! Echegini has the best technique when it comes to scoring goals, and she came close with one low drive and another exceptional curling effort that drew a picture-perfect save from the opposition goalkeeper; a fine example of an attacking midfielder’s craft accomplishing a showcase of singular expertise.
Okoronkwo was smooth, intricate and precise in her application; no fat, waste or bloat, each move was pure relevance.
Her headed flick-ons and aerial prowess are out of this world! These almost led to 2 goals, but she would display telepathic understanding with the bullish Ihezuo by sliding a world-class through pass across the entire backline of Botswana for Ihezuo to magically connect and stab home for the only goal of the encounter!
I don’t think Ajibade has got into her groove yet. The Botswana goalkeeper should have nicked this. I’ll even rate Echiegini next.
@deo, great analysis. I think their play yesterday was an improvement to the opening play. But let me ask: Do you think their starting composition and tactical organization was flawless?
What would you have done differently if you were in the dugout? Would you deploy same formation, same starting line up and subs? Do you think one or 2 other subs would have made a difference!
Lastly, which teams do you think in this tournament might have a good chance against the girls.
I think almost all our girls are talented and hard workers. Many of them surprised me. But honestly, that’s where I’ll stop.
Dear Kel,
Thank you for the compliment, which really should go to the players and coaching staff.
To address your questions, I don’t think any tactical organisation or starting composition is flawless. Part of the fun in watching football is to see how both teams will try to cancel each other out by identifying flaws in tactics and composition. Regardless of who coaches this team, there will always be flaws to be found in how Demehin, Alozie, Plumptre, Oshoala, and Abiodun play. All the players on the bench that most fans clamour for (Ordega, Onumonu, Echegine (who is lightweight in centre midfield, apart from her exceptional goal threat), Okoronkwo and Ihezuo (who flopped spectacularly in the olympics when handed a starting 11 slot)).
The job of the opponents is to identify these (natural) shortcomings in ALL players and ALL formations and seek to exploit these. I thought Botswana played out of their skins yesterday and I remain grateful to them for making it a well-worth encounter to watch. I almost cheered every time their 3 centre backs left Oshoala dancing fuji-gabbage with no-nonsence ambush that showed no respect for all the accolades Oshoala has bagged – she was never going to add them to her highlight reels, they made sure of that!
Two years ago, Nigeria scored 2 past Botswana, this year it was 1: Nigeria haven’t regress, Botswana has improved!
If i were in the dugout, yes, I would definitely have deployed the same formation, same starting lineup, same subs and same tactics. The English would say: “repetition is the mother of all skills”. By repeating what I did in the first match (which produced 3 unrequited goals by the way), I am forging an identity, settling on my heirarchy of players, allowing same players to get used to the pattern and themselves thereby solidifying their chemistry and sending a clear signal out that only (glaring) poor performance will make any of my starting 11 and settled 5 substitutes to lose their place (which has a psycological effect of making them fight like hell to not be relegated).
10 years from down, we will be able to easily name Madugu’s starting 11; that, my friend, is a solid identity.
Will these be my starting 11? Hell no! Abiodun, Toni Payne, Babajide, Alozie and even Oshoala will never make my starting 11. But, I am not the coach, in fact, I have never coach a football team in all my life! So, what do I know? This is not Playstation 5, that is where I can pit my skills against Madugu and I will defeat him in PS5 any day of the week!
I can never stick my neck out for Madugu to lift the trophy in this tournament. I am not a coach, but I am not naive either. I don’t think he has the tactical range, nuance, judgement or sagacity to outwit some of the coaches in this tournament.
What I think is that he is extremely lucky to be managing some of the most skillful set of Super Falcons players in the history of the game. Players like Plumptre, Payne, Onumonu, Ajibade, Babajide and Nnadozie are at the peak of their physical prowess and mental conditioning. With is flat, practical one-dimensional brand of football, any team in this tournament (regardless of how tactically sound their coach is) will have to work their socks off to defeat the Super Falcons.
Look at the players, they seem to prefer playing under a local coach because they can express themselves better and not feel shakled or chained by having to dutifully adhere to some advant-gard tactical methods of modern football.
– Full backs want to overlap with impunity.
– Support strikers want to inject flair.
– Midfielders want to tackle recklessly.
– Wingers want to roam anywhere across the box 18.
– Centre backs want to launch long balls like crude missiles.
– And Oshoala wants to be the starting striker at all cost.
Under Madugu, these players are like little children in a candy store!
It worries me a bit, but I think our opponents too have to be worried because, once the level of understanding that Madugu wants to achieve, by using the same players the same way, is achieved, these ladies, even with this basic brand of football, will take some stopping!
Ajibade isnt the woman of the match, far from it, Ihezuo who came in as subtitute can even stand ahead of her, the winner suppose to be Ashley Plumptre.
Good analysis @deo. Hmm. @Kel, you are a very intelligent and smart man for asking those questions.
For me, the Super Falcons haven’t reached their potential under coach Madugu yet. The gaffer has to convince me against the Algerian team. Algeria is another strong opponent. Fingers crossed. Ire o. God bless Nigeria!!!