BANYANA HOLD FALCONS AT BAY
Our gals show how it’s done
NIGERIA’S Super Falcons failed to recover from a disjointed first half display and were held to a 0-0 draw by South Africa’s Banyana Banyana in the
“second leg” of friendly internationals between the two nations at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos yesterday.
Nigeria started brightly with Esther Sunday causing problems for the Banyana defence with her pace and penetration on the left.
But the former junior international suffered a rush of blood to the head in the fourth minute when she opted to shoot rather than square for the unmarked Desire Oparanozie after out smarting Lebogang Mabatle.
Banyana responded soon after through captain Amanda Dlamini, whose ambitious shot from the edge of the Nigeria penalty area was blocked by Nigeria’s defence.
The next Banyana attack ended with a Nigerian casualty. Precious Dede picked up a nasty injury following a full-blooded clash with Andisiwe Mgcoyi.
The damage proved extensive and Dede made way for the unheralded Tochukwu Oluehi.
Nigeria never seemed to recover from Dede’s injury in the first period as they found clear cut opportunities difficult to come by.
Nigeria looked to improve after the break and coach Samson Unuanel introduced powerful forward, Ebere Orji for the tiring Ameze Aighewi.
The attacker’s impact was immediately felt as she whipped in a free kick, which was just missed by the arriving Nigerian strikers.
Gloria “Eche” Iroka had come close moments earlier with a pow- erful strike that rattled the side netting.
Banyana continued to soak up the pressure and attempted to find some joy with lightning-fast breaks, with the veteran Portia Modise at the tip of the spear.
Nigeria failed to profit from the half chances they created as Banyana claimed a heroic draw against the storied opposition. Banyana s
’ team manager, Lydia “Skills” Manyepao was full of praise for Banyana for their “display of courage and passion”.
“It was a good performance. The girls displayed courage and passion against opponents as credible as Nigeria.”
Nigeria assistant coach Ann Agumanu-Chiejine was not impressed with her Falcons.
“If we’d played like this (in the AWC qualifier) against Zimbabwe, we wouldn’t have won by as much as four goals. All the same ... we didn’t lose,” she said.
The result will be a boost for the South Africans as they prepare to make a good impression at the football event of the Olympic Games in London in July.
But Nigeria will look to improve ahead of the defence of their Africa Women ’ s Championship (AWC) trophy in 2013.
– supersport.com