Nigeria senior women’s national team the Super Falcons recorded a crucial win over their West African counterparts Ivory Coast in 2022 Women’s Cup of Nations qualifier in the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja on Friday evening.
Ifeoma Onumonu hit the back of the net twice in the 21st and 56 minutes to power the Super Falcons to an advantageous 2-0 first leg triumph over the Lady Elephants. The victory gives Nigeria huge advantage to advance to the 2022 Women’s Cup of Nations tournament to be staged in Morocco in July.
Substantive captain of the Super Falcons Asisat Oshoala missed the game on Friday due to a harmstring injury she suffered at training, paving way in one way or the other for Leicester City forward Ashleigh Plumptre, who was handed her first international debut for the Falcons by coach Randy Waldrum.
Nigeria showed signs of a missing link in a person of Oshoala in the team in the early stages of the game, but later took control of the game, scoring twice through Onumonu to put the game beyond the Lady Elephants. The visitors will try posing attacking threats but the determined and supreme Falcons gave no chances as the game ended 2-0 for Nigeria.
Nigeria edged out Ghana, the Black Queens 2-1 on aggregate in the third round of the qualifiers to set up a fourth round tie against Ivory Coast. Having won the first leg in Abuja, the Super Falcons will travel to Abidjan on February 23 for the second leg to determine who qualifiers to the 12th AWCON in Morocco.
