The Nigeria under-20 women football team, the Falconets, on Saturday in Abuja beat their South Africa counterpart, Basetsana, 2-1 in the first leg match of the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup Qualifiers. It was a slim victory.To qualify, they need to ensure the South Africans do not beat them in the second leg.
The Falconets scored their first goal of the match in the 27th minute by Kanu Grace wearing jersey no. 11.
Kalu Patience with Jersey no.14 netted the second goal in the 45th minute.
The South Africans, however, scored their first goal through a penalty in the added time by Gabriela Salgado with Jersey 11.
Speaking after the match, Falconets’ Chief Coach Peter Dedevbo said he was not satisfied with the result.
“I am not satisfied with the result and but I am not disappointed; my team would have done better. Though they did their best, I cannot tell what happened.
“The girls are very fit, I don’t have fitness problem with the girls and I hope they will play better in South Africa.
“We are not going to play defensive game in South Africa, we will play attack, this will make them come out and remain in the midfield,’’ he said.
Dedevbo assured Nigerians that `there is no cause for alarm, all is well.
The Head Coach of South Africa, Elizabeth Migchelsen, however, expressed satisfaction with the result and hoped that her team would beat Nigeria in the second leg.
“I am feeling good with the result. We missed our three starts due to injuries and I think we have a chance to beat Nigeria at home with our full team.
Migchelsen said that there was no surprise from the Nigerian team, adding that the team played what was expected