Nigeria’s Super Falcons began their title defence on a faltering note on Monday at the 12th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Rabat, Morocco by losing again (1-2)  to South Africa’s Banyana Banyana.

Enugu fans express dismay over Super Falcon 2-1 loss to S/Africa

Some football enthusiasts in Enugu, on Monday expressed dismay over the Super Falcons of Nigeria’s 2-1 loss to Banyana Banyana of South Africa at the ongoing African Women Cup of Nations (WAFCON)  in Morocco.

Some of them who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)  after the match on Monday in Enugu said it was time to groom new and energetic players for the national team.

Okechukwu Nnamani said the players showed weakness in strength and needed to be replaced with vibrant and energetic players.

“It seems like age is catching up on the players and they failed to withstand the fire power of the South Africans.

The Chief Executive Officer of Enugu Coal City Girls, advised  female football administrators in the country to look into the players welfare  and growth of the nation’s female league.

“I know that we can do better than this with the home base players with well organised league.

“We have to come back home and fix a lot of things that have gone wrong.

“Before, we use to hammer teams 5-0 but these days, those teams are now thrashing us and this shows that we are going down in female football,” he said.

Ignatius Okpara, Former secretary, Sports Writer’s Association of Nigeria (SWAN), said the girls’ performance was nothing to talk about.

“We have players who can do better than this set of players in the league, I do not know why we so much depend on foreign players.

“The coach should have talked to the girls after the interval to remove anxiety in thier approach to the game,” he noted.

Okpara advised the team handlers to go back to the drawing board and correct the lapses and ensured that the girls finished well at the Championship.

The   Enugu State Boxing coach, Blaise Ude, said the game had been played and that the team should redeem themselves with the remaining matches of the group.

“There is no need to cry over spilled milk, so the only solution is for the team to come up better in subsequent matches in the group.

“Thank God, it is the first match of the group stage and not a knockout stage.

“We still have room to achieve our target at the championship with determination.

Coach Anistar Izuikem of Stars Plus FC of Ngwo  expressed  shock over the loss to South Africa.

“These girls defeated us at the group stage in Ghana and at the Aisha Buhari Football Tournament but we taught it was a fluke.

“Now, we know they mean business and the technical crew should not sleep over it because it is going to cause the country a lot.

“This is the only game we have been dominating in Africa and now we are at the verge of relinquishing the superiority, something has to be done,” Izuikem said.

Super Falcons unfazed inspite of loss to South Africa, says Coach Waldrum

Randy Waldrum, Head Coach of the Super Falcons of Nigeria, says his team is unfazed, inspite of their 1-2 loss to South Africa at the 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that It was bad day at the office for the nine-time champions.

This was after they suffered a 1-2 loss to Banyana Banyana of South Africa on Monday, in their Group C opening game of the 2022 WAFCON.

The Super Falcons came into the game against South Africa as favorites, having won the competition more than any other nation on the continent.

Banyana Banyana however scored twice in two minutes thanks to Jermaine Seoposenwe and Hilda Magaia goals in the 60th and 62nd minutes to destabilize their opponents, who were caught off-guard by the quick firing South Africans.

The Super Falcons eventually found a goal in the first minute of added time, thanks to an incredible finish by Rasheedat Ajibade, but it was too late as South Africa reorganized themselves and bagged the three points.

Waldrum told newsmen during his post-match conference that his team was in good spirit, inspite of the loss, adding that they intend to go back to the drawing board and work on all their mistakes.

“Inspite of the loss, we are still positive in camp. It is obviously the first game of the tournament so we have to go back and regroup.

“We have to increase our urgency in the fighting spirit because we are encouraged by it.

“We have to play the way we played in the last 10-15 minutes so that we get going,” Waldrum said.

NAN reports that Botswana now top Group C with three points and a superior goal difference of +3 after thrashing Burundi 4-1 in their opening game.

South Africa are second also with three points and a goal difference of +1 ahead of their next game against bottom-placed side Burundi on Thursday.

While Nigeria currently in third take on Botswana on the same day at 8 p.m.

Abuja fans express disappointment over Super Falcons’ poor performance against South Africa

Some football fans in Abuja on Monday expressed disappointment over the Super Falcon’s poor performance against their South African opponents at the ongoing 2022 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that South Africa’s Banyana Banyana on Monday stunned champions Super Falcons of Nigeria 2-1 in the Group C opening match at the 2022 WAFCON in Morocco.

The result was similar to that of 2018 WAFCON where Banyana Banyana pipped the Super Falcons 1-0 in their opening game.

The result also meant that the South Africans have now recorded back-to-back wins against Nigeria after they defeated the Super Falcons 4-2 in the Aisha Buhari Cup Invitational in 2021.

A cross section of football fans who spoke to NAN after the game said that they were very disappointed with the performance of the Falcons, adding however that they were hopeful that the team would bounce back from the defeat.

Victor Thompson, a public servant, singled out Asisat Oshoala for criticism, saying that she failed to bring her A-game into the match and let her teammates down at critical moments in the game.

“Oshoala for me was the worst player on the pitch today. She failed to shine as she missed several clear cut opportunities in front of goal.

“The Barcelona star indeed was ineffective and had a disappointing game.

“She was the biggest star on the pitch and much was expected of her, but she failed to live up to the hype and expectations of Nigerians.

“I hope she can quickly put this disappointing game behind her and show us what she is capable of in their two remaining group games,” he said.

Rita Akintujoye, a business woman, said that the Falcons were technically as well as tactically deficient and didn’t show enough hunger to win the game.

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“It was a lackadaisical performance from a team that had a lot of technical and tactical issues. The Falcons had no playmaker as Rita Chikwelu failed to offer any creative spark in the game and rightly deserved to be taken off.

“The team in my opinion, relied so much on Oshoala who failed to deliver. Infact, the first team choice for me was wrong from the onset.

“Coach Randy Waldrum made a mistake by leaving the likes of Francisca Ordega and Uchenna Kanu on the bench. You could see the impact of both players when they were introduced very late into the game.

“I also thought the experience and commanding presence of goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie was missed in the game.

“Her absence was a big blow for the Super Falcons, who have now lost three of their last four outings to Banyana Banyana,” he said.

NAN reports that Nnadozie who plays for French club, Paris FC was suspended for the game after receiving yellow cards in different matches in the qualifiers against Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

She was replaced by a less experienced Tochukwu Oluehi who tried her best to marshal a poor defensive line which lacked discipline. She was not convincing either and was lucky not to be sent off,” he said.

Femi Oyelade, an entrepreneur said it was reality check for the nine-time champions, adding that he was hopeful that they would bounce back from the defeat and perform better as they progress in the tournament.

“The Super Falcons suffered a reality check today against a young Banyana Banyana side who have proven to be a thorn in our flesh in recent times.

“They are the defending champions and the team to beat, but they were brought down to earth by the South Africans, who indeed earned a well deserved win I must say.

“All eyes were on Oshoala, but the Barcelona Femeni star was disappointing to say the lest as she had a couple of chances in the game but could not make it count.

“The team generally speaking, looked rusty and its fair to say their errors in the second half cost them the game.

“I hope they will go back to the drawing board, make the necessary adjustments and bounce back quickly from this defeat just as they did in 2018,” he said.

Amaka Obiekwe, a student, noted that the Falcons’ defence line was poor, adding that only Michelle Alozie and Ashleigh Plumptre showed some flash of brilliance.

“The two centre-backs were a mess, failing to cope with the speed and skill of the South Africans. Onome Ebi, the captain was unaware of her surroundings for the first goal and out of position for the second.

“She lacked positional awareness and the speed to match the athletic South Africans.

“Alozie, the American fullback was solid defensively in the first half and looked good going forward. However, she was at fault for South Africa’s second goal as she was caught out of position.

“Plumptre was by far our best defender on the night, inspite playing in an unfamiliar left-back role .

“She was comfortable and calm with the ball. However, she was beaten too easily for the first goal,” Amaka said.

The Super Falcons will next face debutants Botswana while South Africa take on Burundi.